For me, that's the beauty of returning to a familiar place. Just when you think you know the people and the area, you meet someone or learn something new.
Lincoln is a western White Mountain staple for Boston skiers headed north. They drive up Interstate 93, find their motel or condo, then eat, ski, and sleep for a couple of days before heading home.
In winter, when the Clark's Trading Post bears are hibernating, the water slide is closed, and the stairs up the 100-foot steel Indian Head Resort tower are cordoned off, Lincoln is transformed into a ski town with its strip of ski shops, shopping, restaurants, and lodging. Since 1966, Loon has been the beacon in a White Mountain National Forest kingdom of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and white-knuckle drives along the Kancamagus Highway.
Loon can get crazy crowded on blue-sky weekends as a train shuttles the masses between base lodges. The mountain's 2,100-foot vertical drop keeps the intermediate skier happy on long, winding trails. Blue-square sweets are found on Lower Picked Rock, Blue Ox, and Rampasture. North Peak, a tad off the beaten path, is prized for its Upper Flume challenges and convenient Sunset to Haulback bailout. If there's no race on Upper Rumrunner, there's that black diamond to beat. The Terrain Park and superpipe are twin-tipped favorites, while beginners have their secluded areas.
When the skiing and snowboarding are good, there's no reason to do anything else. But Loon also has tubing day and night Wednesday through Sunday, an indoor climbing wall with three routes, an outdoor skating rink, free Wi-Fi in the base lodges, the slopeside Viaggio Spa, Health & Racquet Club at the Loon Mountain Club, 35 kilometers of nordic skiing with trails along the chilled Pemigewasset River, and horseback riding through the snow.
