Waterville Valley Snows Mountain Hike

Thanks to everyone for a great day walking on Waterville Valley cross country ski trails for a loop hike up to the top of Snow's Mountain.     We hiked up Livermore Road to Upper Snow's trail, with pretty much a continual 2-3 inches of hard pack snow and ice, so microspikes and yak traks came in handy.    We stopped to admire the upper portion of the Waterville Valley cascades, which were raging due to the snow melt.   At the top of Snow's Mountain we ate our lunches sitting by the chairlift.   Snow's Mountain used to be the downhill ski area for Waterville Valley decades ago until the current downhill ski area on Mount Tecumseh replaced it.   You can still ride the chairlift in the spring, summer, and fall, but it does not run in winter.    There wasn't that much snow after we left the top to go down Beanbender and Swazeytown ski trails, and then we walked on roads, past the Waterville Valley Academy and the library, to the Connector trail.   On the connector trail we admired the raging stream and some beautiful houses alongside the trail.    

Join us for an easy loop walk on cross country ski trails at Waterville Valley, including beautiful views from Snow's Mountain looking over to Mount Tecumseh and Mount Osceola.   This hike is about 5 miles with only about 600 feet of elevation gain.  The walk is on cross country ski trails at Waterville Valley., and the trails are wide and the walking is easy, so it will be easy for social distancing and conversation.   The trails had been packed down only a few weeks ago for cross country skiing, and there really hasn't been much more snow, so snowshoes are not necessary.    Microspikes or yak traks would be useful, but it probably is OK with just hiking boots.   We will walk up Livermore Road and then Upper Snows Mountain trail to the top of Snow's Mountain, where there are beautiful views of Mt Osceola and Mt Tecumseh and plenty of space to sit and soak in the views and have lunch.   Then we will go down Beanbender, Swazeytown, and Connector back to the parking lot.   Joe and I cross country ski at Waterville Valley a lot, and also we hike there are a lot, so we're very familiar with the trails.   There's plenty of trail options to add on more if people would like to.