Cannon Mountain Ski Area

Good children’s program. Family area is small and easy to outgrow. Some blue trails are quite steep so there isn’t much options if you want larger trails for greens or easier blues. Chairlifts seems old but there isn’t a long line. Lodge and food is fair.

Nice curvy runs when it is not icy! Cannon is definity a challenge! It would be nice to add more easy features in the little terrain park.

Simply the best, friendliest, old, cold, great mountain. When snow is good, best in the east, when sun is out, best views, when it is icy and cold, hang on! Are you a complainer? Better stay away.

I took the aerial tramway with my son on 8÷8÷15. We went on a beautiful, clear morning. The tram operator — Don — said we could see about 80 miles at the top. Don delightfully narrated the 7 minute trip to the top with facts, figures, and locations. There is a tram every 15 minutes.
Once at the top, you can hike, eat in the restaurant, take in all the views, and enjoy the quiet.
It was about 20 degrees cooler at the top, so grab a sweatshirt. I would recommend going early in the day. As we were leaving with about 12 people in the tram, a VERY full one was going up the mountain.
The price is very reasonable.

Went on a spring hike via the Lonesome Lake/​Hi-​Cannon trail to the summit and what a great workout. The view of the lake was absolutely beautiful and the 360 degree views on the summit were amazing!
The trails still had snow on them so crampons around the May time frame is still highly recommended. A great 4000 footer to embark for a slighter longer day trip.

Very reasonably priced ($ 48) half day tickets that start selling at 11:45AM. There are plenty of breathtaking views of the White Mountains if you are willing to take the lift all the way up to the summit.
The beginner area is pretty good. It wasn’t a bunny slope. it was a MINI slope! You take a short lift ride to ride the easy short trails. It was a great area to warm up before hitting the regular lifts.
The only concern I have are the unmarked merges of trails. There wasn’t a whole of people today so it wasn’t really an issue. I just didn’t realize I merged till after the fact which made it kind of uneasy since it raised the probability of causing an accident. It would’ve been freakingly painful if there was an accident today on loose granular conditions.
Their chili is definitely one of the better recipes of all the mountains I’ve been to. Chili and Boarding goes hand in hand!

I must first preface this review based on the fact that I am comparing it to other second tier destinations which I consider to be in it’s class (Waterville Valley, Gunstock, Wildcat, Attitash etc).
Cannon Mountain can be one of the most fun mountains to ski if the conditions are right. It is definitely one of the better values in terms of quantity and quality of the terrain. Even on it’s busiest day Cannon is much less busier than Loon.
The folks in the ski shop are super nice and helpful. I had a pair of new boots that I had not yet fitted to my skis. The pro shop fitted them in less than 5 minutes and didn’t charge me anything for it. Thank you for not ripping me off.
If the temperature is below 10 – 15 degrees or the wind is whipping more than 20 – 25 mph, you are better off staying home or going somewhere with more protection as Cannon Mountain is one of the least forgiving mountains in NH when it comes to extreme weather. The top of the mountain is very exposed to winds and if it’s really cold out you will not be happy.
Areas where Cannon needs to improve: snow making, and snow reporting accuracy. I was just there Super Bowl Sunday and there was way too much exposed rocks, twigs and ice from poor snow making coverage. I know this mountain is state run, but if they would crank it up a little more I would come here more often.

My boyfriend and I chose Cannon Mountain because they offered a half day lift ticket, and we decided that a half day would be ideal for us because I was a beginner and had never skied before. We got there before 12, which was when half day tickets went on sale, and we were able to get a great parking spot across the street. We registered on the computer, and the girl working the ski rental/​lift ticket sales was pretty cool. Her name was Maddy. She told us we could get our skis while we waited for the computer to switch over to half day lift tickets to save some time. The people that rented us the boots and skis were so helpful. They made sure we were comfortable and secure with our equipment. By that time, it was time to purchase our lift tickets. The line was pretty short and within minutes we were able to put our backpack and snow boots in a cubby and head out on the mountain. We went on a Saturday (yesterday) and it was not too crowded at first. It was more crowded at lunchtime, but not to the point where it was too crowded to ski. Being a beginner, I stayed on the same trail for most of the time, and there were always employees skiing or snowboarding around in case someone needed help or were giving lessons. The sun was shining and there was plenty of snow, plus the views are unbelievable! I got brave enough to go higher up on the mountain, however it was a little icier up there. I would definitely go back, the staff was very friendly and helpful, and the mountain is beautiful.

What can I say? This is my home Mountain where all of my ski family comes every weekend. Great skiing! Great music! Great food and drink! Great events!

I am reviewing the adventure park wich is the summer activities
We started out with the Aerial Adventures. This is basically ziplining and an obstacle course through the trees. It was so much fun and a challenge. We brought our 8 year old and and he had a blast. We only did through the green courses because the 8 year old could only do those.
They also have a few rides a Mountain Coaster wich you operate the speed of we had fun on this. Next we went on the swing ride. It’s a thrill ride it brings you way up and then drops you and swings you back and forth for a while. I don’t do good with backward things so this wasn’t my favorite part of the day. They also had summer tubing which was basically a big fun slide but with tubes. The kid liked it though. He wanted to keep racing down them
Lastly we got some drinks at the cafeteria type place. We got 2 gatorades and a water and it was about $ 10.00 it doesn’t loose a star for this though because i expected high prices.
Over all a great place and I highly reccomend it

We just visited last week and was as amazing as always. Cheap tickets, great conditions and as always great beer at the end of the day! Only downside, we had to leave. Definatly one of the best «bang for your buck» mountains in the east! Would definatly recommend and will hopefully be back before the season ends!

I gave 2 stars only giving them the benefit of the doubt because of the poor conditions. I skied a few days before the new year. They claimed that nearly half the mountain was open but their definition of open was not what I expected. I don’t think I made one good run all day. The trails that were groomed had been over-​skied and were nothing but a sheet of ice. The trails that had not been groomed were either giant moguls or extremely thin cover. I say extremely thin because we were avoiding rocks and the snow was brown from all the dirt that had been dug up. It was clear that they prematurely opened some runs to increase their trail count. Overall I was expecting a larger mountain. The lift lines weren’t bad in the afternoon. We waited for over 15 minutes but that was only once. The aerial tram was cool. It was slow but neat to try once.
I would not return and pay a full price ticket. There are many other ski resorts in the area, and I’d even rather pay a few dollars more to a place that has better conditions and is a little larger. I would like to try their mittersill backcountry slopes, they were not open this time.

This is my home hill. I’ve been skiing it since I was knee high, raced it in high school, and love visiting winter or summer now that I’m older. Nowhere in the world is as beautiful to me as being up on this mountain. There are trails for every level snow enthusiast, including the little ones who can plop to their heart’s content all over the bunny slope. The lodges are roomy and have lots of nice little places to curl up and warm or drink and laugh with friends. Equipment rental is very easy and convenient. Often you get lucky enough to catch a race, it’s fun to cheer the athletes on. Food/​drinks are not cheap, but not a bank breaker. Visit in the summer when you can take the tram up and hike around above the tree line. It’s just breathtaking gorgeous all year round.

I felt lucky to have come here when the conditions were favorable. Actually if I came here a day earlier, it was closed due to high winds! So this review might not be a great sample since this is the only time I’ve been here but am confident that I can come here again and have great conditions again. Besides, with the non-​winter that the northeast had this year, if conditions are this good, I’m pretty confident in a normal winter that Cannon can get only better!
Now for the review. This is definitely not a beginner mountain who is just learning to edge either on skis or board. But if you know how to carve and dig your edges in, this mountain is one of the best. Conditions near the top were not powdery but I won’t say it was icey either… it was just the right amount of snow cover and grip that one can carve across the wide steep trails. When the summit has only blue squares and black diamonds coming down, you must respect it. But if you do, you will be repaid handsomely.
Few memorable trails:
Upper Cannon to Middle Cannon is a blast. Feels like you’re in a water slide swinging high up left and right banks as it goes down. One of the best trails I’ve ever ridden. Also one of the most scenic.
Avalanche. One of the scariest trails I’ve been on while being one of the best trails I’ve been on. It is steep, wide and a carver’s dream. Remember to have enough speed to make it to the flat trail if you’re going to the tram.
Blue Turnpike leading to Green Turnpike. I totally underestimated how fast one can go on this trail. It is very deceiving since it looks flat but the undulating mini hills make this a very fun and fast (scary) trail.
Did I mention it has a 70 person tram? Yeah. Very cool views.
To describe Cannon, it is sophisticated, curvy and smooth. It has bad days and good days. If you’re lucky enough to be on it on the good days, it is bliss and beautiful. If you disrespect it, it will bite you back and take revenge on you. Either way you will never forget it. I guess I might be describing any girl out there ;)

One of the best ski areas on the East.
No Lines
Steep Face
Cheap for East Coast
Solid Skiing
Two Hours from Boston
Also, Cannonball Pub kills it — the Bloody Mary is bomb. Go light on Horseradish and its just what the doctor ordered.

Stay away… all the snows at loon… stay there… don’t ever come here… EVER… you hear me?

I took the ski lift during the summer to get a view of the mountain. This view was pretty decent but would have loved to actually be here around winter. Overall, I can’t complain since it’s nice to get a quick trip up and back down. If you want something higher, then take the trip up to Mount Washington observatory.

Because of low temps and higher altitudes (I think? Meteorological consult please!), after a heavy snowfall or icestorm the trees get all icicley and this place looks magical. [See: Ansel Adams.]
Rarely crowded; tough terrain; accessible from Boston without requisite longterm cartrip cramping: like, like, like.
Disclaimer: if you’re not down for a windblasting:
1. Get over it.
2. Avoid the north face of this mountain at all costs.
Actually, on icy days — even I tend to avoid it. There are plenty of other trails and I’ve been blown across this glacier against my will one too many times. [Cue Styx jam].
I’mmmm sailingggg awayyyyyyy.

Snow-​Decent mountain the «secret» peak is better though when there is some real snow up there.
Hike-​Short, fun and your lazy friends can take the tram up to meet you at the top without hiking.
Finished the 48 NH 4000 ft’s on this peak. yeeearrh :)

I skied Cannon for the first time this past Saturday and was pretty impressed. It wasn’t too crowded, although some of the more heavily skied trails got very skied off by the afternoon. My biggest complaint was that I pretty much had skied the entire mountain by lunch time. It was also my first time skiing since last year skiing out west, and I wasn’t used to the trails ending so soon. That said, going from the top of the mountain to the bottom was a pretty good length, and the diamonds were moderately challenging. (What, no double diamonds here?) I’m looking forward to the expansion which seems to be opening next season.
It’s a decent enough drive from Boston that it makes for a good weekend trip. And you can hit up those amazing NH liquor stores on the way.