Loon Mountain: Lincoln, NH

Directions to Loon: Click here for Google map

Loon Mountain is a real adventure for the whole family, including your 4-legged child! When you think of Loon, you may immediately picture a wonderful ski mountain, but it's also a fantastic place to visit in the summer! We just spent a week there and had a great time.

My favorite parts of visiting Loon with Cooper were the Pemigewasset River (aka, the "Pemi"), which runs straight through the middle of the resort, and our hiking trip at Sabbaday Falls. The weather and the view at Loon were so beautiful and peaceful that we just wanted to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible (which was as easy as stepping outside our rented condo). But just down the street, you can also enjoy a variety of great restaurants and lots of shopping! Does it get any better than that?

Here are the positive features:

• Tons of hiking trails off the main road (Kancamagus Hwy, or the "Kanc"), which often have pretty rivers & waterfalls (we hiked here: Sabbaday Falls)
  
• Lots of very helpful info from the resort's staff
  
• Beautiful and relatively cheap condo rentals
  
• Incredible attractions and views just outside your door
• Many family-friendly activities (gondola, horseback riding, mountain bike rentals, etc.)
  
• Great restaurants & shopping just down the street
• Not overcrowded at all in the summer
• Tick-free! I'm sure they exist, but I didn't find one tick on Cooper so they clearly aren't as bad as they are in Massachusetts.
  

Negative features:

• The nicest resort lodging is not pet-friendly (see below for lodging options)
• You can't really do all the resort's activities with your dog (i.e., horseback riding & mountain biking), but walking/hiking is amazing and free!

Lodging options:

• We stayed at a rented condo within The Village of Loon: www.villageofloon.com
• There are also dog-friendly options that you can find using these websites:
• www.loonres.com
• www.cyberrentals.com

Dining options:

• The Common Man: Casual, delicious home cooking
• Gypsy Cafe: Excellent food from around the world (we liked the mediterranean dishes)
• King's Corner Cafe: Awesome (and cheap) breakfast!
• Flapjacks: Also a good breakfast (but we liked King's Corner better)
  
• Kimberlee's Deli: A fantastic lunch spot with fresh deli sandwiches and salads
• There are lots more places that we didn't try, but I wouldn't recommend Gordi's Fish & Steakhouse. The food was bland and the service was sloooooow (and there were only 3 parties in the whole place).
  

For more info on Loon Mountain, visit their website! Have fun!