Last summer we visited Waterville Valley for the first time and fell in love with the small New Hampshire resort town. When thinking about where we wanted to spend a couple nights for winter vacation it was an easy decision to go back to Waterville Valley.
Since it was a last minute decision we called the main number to the resort and asked what was available. We were able to get a suite at the Valley Inn at a decent price. When we checked in I heard the receptionist quote a caller $50-$60 more a night than we paid. If you are planning a trip there I highly recommend calling a few days in advance if you are not picky on where you stay.
We were able to check in about two hours early, our room was a little outdated, but had everything we needed. Our suite had a bathroom, kitchenette with a two burner stove, microwave, large fridge, sink, along with the kitchenware we needed to cook and eat. We had a living room with a pull out couch and a bedroom. The bed on the pull out couch was not super comfortable, but it was fine for our daughter.
Since we were able to check in early we visited the Fitness Club which has a large pool and two hot tubs. This was included with our Freedom Passes which is part of your stay.
After our swim we walked around town to help us decide what we wanted to do on our visit. We explored the Town Square where there are shops, restaurants, the Adventure Center where you get your cross country ski passes and/or rentals and the ice arena.
We also walked over to the golf course where they have a small tubing hill. You do have to walk up the hill, but they have a snowmobile that brings the tubes up for you.
That night we cooked in the room. The only downside to staying in Waterville Valley is the food choices are not great. There are a few restaurants, but we have found the food mediocre. I always recommend people get a room with a kitchen so you can cook your own food.
That night we had tickets to the Ice Castles in North Woodstock. It was about a 20-30 minutes drive from our hotel. Tickets need to be purchases in advance. We went to the Ice Castles six years ago and they have added on a lot over the year. This is also a new location with a lot more space.
They have added a small tubing hill, sleigh rides and a walking path.
If you have not checked out the Ice Castles I highly recommend visiting as they are beautiful.
The next day we wanted to cross country ski. We have our own gear and just had to purchase trail passes for the day. I wanted to ski at the North End, which you need parking pass as the parking lot is a couple miles away from the Adventure Center. The skiing was perfect, we got there right after the groomer left and did not see a lot of people on the trail.
We skied a 3-4 miles loop on a Green Trail. The nice thing about the Green Trails on the North End is that coming back is gradually downhill most of the way making it a fun and fast ski back. There was not much for views, but the woods was sure pretty.
We headed back to Town Square and tried to ski from there, but as it was warming up the trails were getting icy for our liking.
My daughter was really looking forward to ice skating so our next stop was the Ice Arena. We brought our own ice skates and with our Freedom Pass were able to skate for free. If you need rental skates there is a small fee. My daughter skating for two hours straight. The area can tend to get a little packed, but everyone was respectful.
After skating we were all pretty hungry and our daughter wanted Mexican so we stop to get some dinner at La Hacidenda. The views on Yelp were not great. When we first arrived the restaurant was pretty quiet, but it was late afternoon so not technically dinner time yet. It took us about five minutes before someone acknowledged we were there and sat us. Everything else about our meal was prompt. It is your typical hot plate Mexican restaurant. There was not anything wrong with our food, just not a lot of flavor.
After dinner we walked around the village and explore some of the cute trails.
We spent the evening enjoying the pool and hot tubs. They had some lights set up in Town Square, but we were tired and did not check them out.
The next day we checked out right before 10am and head to the North Conway Area to do some sight seeing. We had another wonderful stay in Waterville Valley. We did not downhill ski or go tubing, but feel we were able to get in a lot of activities while we were there. If you have not been I highly recommend checking out this cute village.
