Get Out of Town: Embrace Winter and Take a Digital Vacation at Huttopia
The White Mountains of New Hampshire offer an opportunity to get out in nature to ski and snowboard, visit breweries, and disconnect from digital technology.
Huttopia White Mountains in Albany, New Hampshire. Photo by Jamie Coelho.
For someone who always has to be everywhere all the time, it was nice to be in the middle of nowhere for a little while. Over February school vacation, I spent a great few days with my family near North Conway, New Hampshire, a place that is great for vacation in both winter and summer.
We stayed at the little cabins at Huttopia White Mountains in Albany, New Hampshire, followed by skiing and snowboarding at Attitash. The wood cabins are so charming with everything you need to survive a few days in the woods (sheets, towels, toilet paper), with one exception: No TV, no video games, and no wifi. This little detail, which I kept a secret until we arrived, made me squeal with delight. Of course, let’s be real, that’s the first thing my daughter asked for the moment we stepped inside the cabin. But the kids, ages nine and twelve, got used to the lack of digital technology quite easily since I brought along Monopoly and UNO to keep us occupied before bed. I always think about all the things my kids would be doing if they didn’t have video games or YouTube. Here was my answer. All of sudden, my kids were pestering me to stay up late and play another round of Monopoly and UNO instead of for more screen time.
The cabin was equipped with a bathroom with a shower and enough space to sleep six in two bedrooms and a futon upstairs. My kids shared the upstairs room with twin beds. A small kitchen offered a stove, refrigerator and dishwasher, as well as pans, dishes and utensils for cooking and eating. Before we got there, we stopped at Hannaford to buy breakfast foods and ingredients for sandwiches and snacks for the slopes, which saved us time and money. Huttopia provides a cart and sled to take your luggage and items up to your cabin since you have to walk down a winding snowy path to get there. I liked being set back in the woods and off the beaten path from traffic. A view of a frozen pond can be seen in the distance and each cabin is equipped with an outdoor fire pit with firewood available for purchase. Inside, a wood stove also kept us warm and cozy.
Huttopia cabins are lit with string lights.
Now for the activities. We went to Attitash last year, and unfortunately, last February, all the kids skiing lessons were booked. So I was brave and tried to teach my eight-year-old daughter how to ski myself, which was challenging to say the least. In true Rhode Island fashion, as I was starting to get really frustrated and my daughter was ready to give up, I heard my name — “Jamie?” — on the bunny slope. I looked up and there was a woman I knew from Rhode Island who just happened to be at the right place at the right time. And she just so happened to have been a ski instructor in Aspen! My saving grace was armed with a bag of Skittles for encouragement and ended up teaching my daughter “pizza” and “french fries” on her skis. More importantly, she made my daughter love skiing.
When we went back this year, I prepared in advance and enrolled my daughter in a half-day skiing lesson. She made a lot of progress going down the bunny hill without falling. She even wanted to try the learning lift, but she wasn’t quite ready for that. Attitash made the lesson fun and easy, and I also got to hit the slopes for three hours with my sister while my daughter completed the lesson.
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Meanwhile, my son also made a lot of real progress snowboarding at Attitash. He spent the whole day practicing with his dad on the mountain, and finally mastered the moves. I can’t wait to take them out skiing again, now that they are both more experienced. Good thing for us, winter doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon. Might as well embrace it.
While we were in the White Mountains, we visited a few great breweries and brewpubs, including Hobbs Tavern and Brewery in West Ossipee, and Moat Mountain Smokehouse in North Conway, known for its barbecue. Both of these family-friendly brewpubs serve their own craft beers and crowd-pleasing menus of burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, barbecue and more.
Nachos at Moat Mountain Smokehouse.
At Huttopia, we all had early bedtimes — after several rounds of UNO and a long game of Monopoly — and we woke up early to hit the slopes. I finally got the rest I so desperately needed after a winter of running around everywhere.
Before going home, we even stopped by the Schartner Farms honor system farm stand in North Conway for the drive-thru, year-round strawberry jam. Yes, it’s the same Schartner family that owns the farm in Exeter, Rhode Island! It was so cool seeing the New Hampshire version of the Rhode Island farm I’ve always known and loved.
Now we have to go back for strawberry-picking season at Schartner Farms in New Hampshire and see what Huttopia looks like in summertime.
The drive-thru strawberry jam farmstand at Schartner Farms in North Conway.
