Lunch break for the entire crew of family and friends at Hugh Gallen Memorial. (Doug Goodin photo)

For the last several years my husband Doug and I have hosted what we call the “Family and Friends Flotilla.” It started as a way to get the entire family together and have some fun and for us to share the kind of activities we enjoy. (You can read about our Flotilla on the Baker River in 2009, and on the Bearcamp River in 2010 here.)

This kind of active family gathering is actually fairly easy to plan. It’s been a great experience for our family, and I highly recommend it for your family, too.

2011 was the fourth annual, Flotilla and this year we added a Friday bike ride to our list of fun things to do during what’s evolved into a full week’s camping trip. Since we were camping near New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch, we thought we would give the Franconia Notch “bike trail” a try. We had heard good things about it from friends and, since it is mostly downhill, it sounded appropriate for our gang of cyclists that ranged in age from 10 to 66 with varied abilities and interests. Doug’s family is from Connecticut and hasn’t seen the wonders of Franconia Notch a bazillion times. Exploring by bike would entice the rest of us to take another, fresh look.

We talked to several people who assured us that the nine-mile ride was easy and mostly downhill, which was good news to our group, most of whom do not spend a lot of time on their bikes. Doug and I ride when we can on the Northern Rail Trail, which runs very near our home, but my bike is a fat-tire single-speed. If I can ride the Franconia Notch trail on a bike with no gears, so can you!

We started at the trailhead for the Skookumchuck Trail, north of the Notch, which led to a few raised eyebrows and (good natured, we hope) comments about false advertising (remember that “mostly” downhill?). From this starting point, the first couple of miles have some uphill pedaling. Still, I didn’t have to walk my single-speed at all (and I don’t get out on my bike all that much). You can avoid the uphills almost entirely by starting at the parking lot at the Lafayette Bridge Overlook, Echo Lake, or at the foot of Cannon, where you can  rent bikes for the trip.

If you do plan to rent, dress appropriately (meaning always wear a helmet and have, at least, sneakers on your feet) and bring water. Other options for renting bikes can be found at Loon Mountain or Rodgers Ski & Sport in Lincoln. Both offer transport to Echo Lake for rentals and personal bikes. Whether you are riding a rental or your own bike, make sure it is in working order and test your brakes, especially if you are going north to south. If you or someone in your group has physical limitations, contact New England Disabled Sports at Loon Mountain: They have hand cycles available and events throughout the summer.

Doug and Max don't have a lot of extra room passing the bollard. This one is south of Profile Lake. (Kate Goodin photo)

Motorized vehicles are kept off the trail at intersections with roadways by bollards. They narrow the space bikes have to pass, so be aware; you are going to see them again and again. They look intimidating at first, but proved wide enough for Doug to get through while towing our son Max in his Schwinn trailer.

Your first real view is of Mt. Lafayette as you cross a bridge that once was part of Rt 3. Ahead is a parking lot with a sculpture of former Governor Hugh Gallen. We had lunch there as some of our crew had apparently not eaten enough for breakfast (nudge, nudge).

Artist's Bluff from the bike path. (Kate Goodin photo)

Use caution when getting back on the bike path. You are about to head downhill, and some of it proved steep, winding, and, for some in our crew, too wild for their blood. They walked their bikes.

Almost immediately the trail starts heading up again and comes out to an unusual (at least for those of us used to the view from the road) look at Artist’s Bluff. A bit more huffing and puffing brings you to Echo Lake and the end of any major uphills. A few of our crew took a quick dip in the lake, despite the wind and whitecaps (Franconia Notch State Park has a nice beach and charges $4 admission for adults; $2 for children ages 6-11; children ages 5 and under and NH residents age 65 and over are admitted free). It was a hot day and the water was reportedly “refreshing.” I think they meant cold.

By this point in the ride, we already had riders running low on water, so it was off to the Cannon Aerial Tramway Base, where we stopped for a long break and lunch for those not hungry earlier, ice cream (for a surprisingly good price!), and a water refill.

It’s a little unclear how to pick up the bike path from the Cannon Tram Base parking lot (the actual path bypasses it), so we sent out a search party to make sure the trail was where we thought it would be, and then a search party to find the search party. Eventually, we regrouped on the trail. The trick is to simply head south out of the parking lot.

The highway isn't far through those trees, but I had this wild looking spot all to myself. (Kate Goodin photo)

Soon you come to beautiful views of the cliffs on Cannon Mountain and Profile Lake. Despite the shouts of my crew to pedal like mad to make it up the hill, I stopped to take pictures. The hill was short but steep and, from a stand-still, I just barely made it on the single-speed without having to walk.

After one sharp left hand turn under the highway, you pedal to the edge of Profile Lake. From here the trail is almost all downhill (no kidding). You go back under the highway, past a great little access point to the tail end of Profile Lake (where we spotted a family of geese), and then come to a blissful respite from pedaling alongside the highway. Enjoy it, because once you get to Lafayette campground, the rest of the path parallels the notch highway for much of the way and traffic is steady on busy weekends.

Some great little pull-out spots along the trail reveal things you would never see otherwise: different views of landmarks you are used to seeing from the road; secret swampy areas where you might see a bear or moose. More than likely, unless you are on the trail when you are not supposed to be, (the trail is open ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset), bears will be in hiding. We did, however, see several telltale, berry-laden bear pies on the path….

This is NOT a bike walk zone! (Kate Goodin photo)

South of Profile Lake, keep your eyes peeled for “bike walk zones.” They aren’t always adequately marked. Keep in mind that this is, technically, a “multi-use” path and the walk zones are necessary for safety reasons. One of them stretches for a while and I can only guess that walking it really does make sense on a busy Saturday or Sunday.

There are several places along the path near The Basin where you can stop and admire, and even take a dip in, the Pemigewasset River. There are enough pools and spots to pull off the trail so that, at times, we had the place to ourselves.

After the Basin parking lot, the bike path passes under I-93 again into a lovely woodsy section along the foot of Mount Liberty, and, beyond that, is the trailhead for Libery Springs Trail. There is a road crossing somewhere in this section that doesn’t appear on my map. It’s by no means a high traffic road, but keep an eye on the kids and the path.

Finally, you’re upon the Flume parking lot before you know it. If you’ve staged a car here, you can drive back to your starting point knowing you’ve experienced Franconia Notch in a new way; you’ve seen the tourist spots and earned your ice cream, too!

We had this beautiful waterfall and the pool below it all to ourselves. (Kate Goodin photo)

If you go:

Franconia Notch State Park Recreation Path distances (Traveling South from Skookumchuck & Rt. US 3)

• Total  mileage: 8.8 miles
• Skookumchuck to Lafayette Brook Bridge scenic vista south end: 1.49 miles (mostly uphill)
• Lafayette Brook Bridge to north end of Echo Lake and junction with Rt.18: 0.68 miles
• North end of Echo Lake to aerial tramway parking lot: 0.59 miles
• Tramway to north end of Profile Lake underpass: 0.54 miles
• North end of Profile Lake Underpass to southern end of Profile Lake hiker parking area: 0.68 miles
• Southern end of Profile Lake parking to Lafayette Campground: 1.3 miles
• Lafayette Campground to Basin viewing area: 1.7 miles
• Basin viewing area to Whitehouse Bridge: 0.88 miles
• Whitehouse Bridge to the Flume: 0.95 miles

Be Prepared:

While there are places, most notably at the Cannon tram building, where you can buy water, snacks, and even good ice cream along the trail, it’s always a good idea to carry water, at least, and your own snacks. This is especially important on a hot day, particularly, if you start at the north end.

Editors’ Trail Notes: More experienced cyclists who like to travel fast and far are not likely to enjoy biking the Franconia Recreation Path, especially on summer and fall weekends when it can get congested. But it can be a joy as a family ride if you pay attention to your own behavior and abilities and those of any children in your group.  The more popular parts of the path around The Basin and other hotspots might require some walking of bikes to be safe. Bring a bike lock for side trips by foot to the notch’s attractions off the path.

Here are two ways to save during vacation weeks (and all season long!)

Ticket Packs

Many areas sell blocks of three, six, or more anytime tickets.  Yes you pay more up front than you would for one day, but the tickets are good for a whole season, they are often transferable, and buying in blocks offers significant savings.

They seem particularly popular in New Hampshire and here are some examples:

Gunstock in Gilford, N.H. is a good example: with their 6-packs you get 6 tickets for the price of 5 and  their Baker’s Dozens get 13 tickets for less than the price of 10! These are anytime, fully  transferable tickets. An adult 6-pack is  $340, Baker’s Dozen is $675

Cannon Mountain in Franconia, N.H.has the 10 any-day, adult, transferable tickets good all season for  $569, which saves over $100 off the regular window price of $67/day.

Crotched Mountain in Bennington, N.H. offers a 10 pack of tickets for $449.  They are transferable and valid all season long.

Mount Sunapee in Newbury, N.H. has 6 – Packs which can be pre-purchased for the price of 5. Only two tickets can be used per day Dec. 25  through March 6. All six can be used in one day before or after those dates

Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H. has PIC-A-PAC anytime transferable Tickets, a 6 Pac ($336) saves $42,  a 12 Pac ($672) saves  $120, and an 18 Pac ($1,008) saves $216.

Waterville Valley in Waterville Valley, N.H. sells 5 Packs of any-day, non-transferable tickets which $10 a day off the regular ticket price.

Whaleback Mountain in Enfield, N.H. has a 4 pack ($120) for the price of 3, saving $40. (Yes, Whaleback’s weekend/Holiday all day lift tickets are $40 . . . )

There are more deals like this in other states, but you get the idea. If you want to ski several days or with several people over the holiday, this might be your best way to save.

Loyalty Cards:

At this time of year, if you don’t ski enough to justify a season pass but still want to save money, your best deal at many areas is a skier loyalty card. You buy a card up front (some come with a lift ticket) and it gets you a significant discount every time you ski. Some include discounts on lodging, meals, and resort services. Usually they pay for themselves in two or three visits. After that, it’s all savings all the time. Last week we looked at multi-mountain cards. Here are some examples of savings at individual resorts:

Ski Sundown in Canton Center, Connecticut has an $89 Savings Card that gets discounts up to 50% on lift tickets.

Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Mass has a $45 Value Card that saves you $15 off  every ticket and 7th visit free.

At Gunstock in Gilford, N.H. the Take 50 card ($130) cuts the price of a weekend/holiday adult lift ticket to $34.

Hunter Mountain in Hunter, New York offers the  $45 Big Lift Cards which saves 25% on Weekend & Holiday Tickets, 50% on Mid-week Tickets and four free Sunday lift tickets!

Bromley Mountain in Peru, Vermont has the $69 Sun Mountain Card which gets a free lift ticket and $10 off every lift ticket for the season.

Jay Peak in Jay, Vermont has the $99 581 card (named for their average annual snowfall in inches) which gets one free lift ticket and $50 adult tickets for the rest of the season

Killington in Killington, Vermont has the $79 Express card which saves 25-50% on tickets all season.

Mount Snow in Dover, Vermont has the $79 Fan Fare Card that gets 50% off midweek tickets, 10% off weekend/holidays.

Smugglers Notch in Jeffersonville, Vermont has the $89 Bash Badge which gets $25 lift ticket or $15 afternoon tickets all season.

The $79 Stowe Points Card at Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont earns points for each dollar spent at the resort, redeemable for lift tickets.

Stratton Mountain Resort, in Stratton, Vermont offers the $79 X2 direct-to lifts card that pays for itself with the first use, gets $30 off weekday tickets, $20 off Weekend tickets and $10 off holiday tickets.

Of course Killington will be open for Thanksgiving . . .they've been open a couple of weeks now. (Tim Jones photo)

It’s been frustrating . . . as usual.  Mother Nature is teasing us with colder temps and snow flurries, but refuses to let real winter settle in and make us happy. So please, get out and do your sacrifices to Ullr and dances for snow or, at least,  cold weather so the resorts can make snow.

While Sunday River in Newry, Maine and Killington in Killington, Vermont have been open for awhile now (some people already have 10 or more days on snow this season!)  and even tiny Woodbury Ski Area in Hotchkissville, Connecticut managed to get open for five days last week,  other areas have been waiting for the magic words “extended cold spell” to fire up their snowmaking systems.

On Thursday morning, November 18, Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley, Maine started blowing snow.  They turned their first lift, the SuperQuad   Sunday, November 21. Read what the conditions were like on Opening Day here (the ES team skied Sunday River, too!). Bretton Woods in Bretton Woods, N.H., opened Monday, November 22.  Okemo Mountain Resort,  in Ludlow, Vermont opened Tuesday, November 23

Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, N.H. is making snow and plans to open on Tuesday, November 23. Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont is blowing snow and will open on November 24, the day before Thanksgiving.and Stratton Mountain Resort (1-800-787-2886; ), in Stratton, Vermont are  also blowing snow and trying for a pre-T-Day opener.

The cannons began firing the first salvos of winter at Sugarloaf in Maine this past Thursday. The lifts will be turning by the time you read this, (

Sugarbush in Warren, Vermont and Mount Snow in Dover, Vermont, started blowing snow last week and plan to open on Thanksgiving Day.

Cannon Mountain in Franconia, N.H., Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, N.H., Gore Mountain in North Creek, New York, Smugglers’ Notch in Jeffersonville, Vermont, Waterville Valley in Waterville Valley, N.H., and Whiteface near Lake Placid, New York are all blowing snow and all planned to open the day after Thanksgiving but the weather didn’t cooperate at all and at least some had to postpone until Saturday

Jay Peak in Jay, Vermont. is blowing snow on Stateside and has six inches of natural on the ground.  They are looking to open Saturday, November 27.

Attitash (603-374-2368; ) in Bartlett, N.H, and Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Mass haven’t actually fired their snowguns yet, but they are ready and are hoping to offer skiing for the Thanksgiving weekend. Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall, Connecticut had hoped to open for Thanksgiving, but temperatures just haven’t cooperated . . .

As always, at this time of year, call ahead or check the website before you leave the house. Mother Nature can still be cranky and shut things down in a heartbeat. But right now, there’s snow on the slopes. What are you waiting for?

Other Projected Openings (Weather Permitting, of course . . .) :

December 3:  Bromley Mountain in Peru, Vermont; Gunstock in Gilford, N.H..

December 4: Hunter Mountain in Hunter, New York, Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H.; Wildcat Mountain in Pinkham Notch, N.H.

December 10: Bolton Valley (1-877-9BOLTON,  ) in Bolton, Vermont; Ski Butternut in Great Barrington, Mass.

December 11: Burke Mountain in East Burke, Vermont, Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme Center, N.H.; Saddleback in Rangeley, Maine; Shawnee Peak in Bridgton, Maine

A Different Drummer . . .

To prepare this story, I contacted every ski resort in New England, New York and Quebec asking if they were blowing snow and when they planned on opening. The reply from Eric Friedman at Mad River Glen in Fayston, Vermont (which, of course, does not make snow or allow snowboarders on its slopes) is a classic:

“Ummm, we’re  not exactly ‘blowing snow,’ but it is spitting a bit here and there and the slopes are in fact white! We plan to open anytime Mother Nature allows from Thanksgiving weekend on. THINK SNOW!!!!”

Good advice!

Thanks to the New England ski industry and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire, Brendan got his wish . . . (Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire photo)

If you are reading this, you are probably wishing for more snow. Be patient, it’s coming.

But if you are really into seeing wishes come true, check out the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions. The stated goal of Make-A-Wish is “to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.” Most of these kids need all the joy, strength and hope they can get to help them though unimaginable times.

The ties between the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the New England ski industry are deep and profound. Did you know, for example, that every current  “Wisher”

So did Rosie . . . (Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire photo)

from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts receives a VIP pass which entitles them and an accompanying adult to a full day on the slopes with lift tickets, rental equipment and lessons at one of 32 different resorts across New England. That’s offered with the cooperation of Ski NH, Ski Vermont, Ski Maine, and the New England Ski Areas Council.

Ski NH adopted the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire as its official charity four seasons ago. They donate $5 from every $20 Ski NH Fifth Grade Snowsports Passport directly to Make-A-Wish.  On November 19, 2009 at the Ski NH Boston Media reception, Ski NH presented the Make-A-Wish

And "wisher," Michael (Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire photo)

Foundation of New Hampshire with a check for more than $10,000 from the winter 2008-09 passport sales.  Over the past three seasons, Ski NH and families of fifth graders have donated more than $20,000 in total. That kind of money makes a lot of wishes come true—and some of those wishes are for time on the slopes.

Here’s a list of the participating ski resorts. Wish them a prosperous New Year the next time you visit:

Massachusetts : Ski Blandford ,
Ski Butternut, Catamount, Jiminy Peak, Nashoba Valley, Wachusett.

Maine : Black Mountain of Maine, Lost Valley, Mt. Abram, Saddleback, Shawnee Peak.
New Hampshire: Attitash, The Balsams, Black Mountain, Cannon Mountain, Cranmore Mountain Resort, Crotched Mountain, Dartmouth Skiway, Gunstock Mountain Resort, King Pine, Loon Mountain, Mount Sunapee, Pats Peak, Ragged Mountain, Waterville Valley, Wildcat Mountain.

Vermont: Bolton Valley, Burke Mountain, Jay Peak, Magic Mountain, Mount Snow, Okemo.