Winter, White Mountains
Jackson, NH
Friday, Feb. 20- Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026
There’s something thrilling about heading into the mountains at their absolute wintriest.
New Hampshire’s White Mountains are beautiful in all seasons, but you really need to see them snowcapped and iced-over to get a sense of their true selves.
And the more frigid the weather, the cozier your fire-crackling inn is going to feel when you bundle yourself into it. We’ve got just the place.
This weekend in New Hampshire, ensconce yourself in one of the finest boutique hotels in New England, chug halfway up Mt. Washington by steam locomotive, and dine at a place that’s equal parts elevated dining and elevated cider.
A rare two-night stay for us, and totally warranted.
As always, your stay, meal and local experience are all bookable in one click.
Get the full story for the weekend.
Why here?
New Hampshire’s White Mountains are real mountains, first of all, and that’s a rarity in the Northeast. High, blunt hills? Plenty. But honest-to-goodness elevation is harder to come by.
Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the Whites (also in the entire Northeast) and it’s imposing and severe-looking. It’s tall enough that it was first observed by the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, all the way from the Atlantic. And it’s wild. The summit holds the record for the fastest non-tornado windspeed ever recorded, anywhere in the world.
All of this is to say that you’re going to get a real wilderness sense here. Especially in winter.
Read on or
Image courtesy the Inn at Thorn Hill
The town of Jackson, right in Mt. Washington’s shadow, is an ideal basecamp in these mountains. There’s more quaintness per capita here than just about anywhere: the classic village loop is dotted with a general store, a country store (not to be confused with the general one), historic lodges and taverns, a curio emporium of sorts, a cake studio, and a shop dedicated entirely to puzzles. The place has a population of 800.
Just down the way, stretching amiably across the Ellis River, is a red covered bridge that looks dabbed on by a watercolorist. At nearby Nestlenook Farm, theres a three-acre Victorian ice skating pond.
This is turning into a list, but it’s quite a list. If you are outdoorsier than us, there’s nearly 100 miles of trails maintained by the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation. You can cross-country ski or snowshoe through some of the most breathtaking winter landscapes anywhere in this nation.
And with all these things to do, you need to pair it with a just-right mountain inn to return to, where you can accomplish absolutely zero. We’ll tell you all about it.
This weekend in the White Mountains, discover…
Image courtesy the Inn at Thorn Hill
The stay.
Image and video courtesy the Inn at Thorn Hill
The Inn at Thorn Hill
The beauty part of the Inn at Thorn Hill is pretty obvious, so we don’t need to belabor it, but we will. The building itself was designed by Stanford White, the preeminent American architect of the early 20th century, and the hotel balances tasteful luxury with a down-to-earth charm. Rather than the slightly alien atmosphere that a high-end resort can occasionally have when set against a woodsy backdrop, the Inn feels of a piece with the mountains.
Yet amenities abound. In the longstanding hotel tradition in these parts (the region has been famed for its grand resorts for more than a century) there is fantastic dining on the property. Separately billed as its own stand-alone culinary concept called Forty at Thorn Hill, there’s the stone-inflected Granite Room, an elegant private dining space, and a newly reopened and dineable wine cellar that offers a multi-course menu with wine pairings.
And because we are history and literature people, we also have to tell you that property was once the residence of Katherine Wormley, a Civil War nurse turned writer who adapted her experience serving on a hospital ship into a novel, and became one of the foremost translators of the French writer Balzac.
If French translation history doesn’t do it for you, the Inn also has a terrific spa.
There’s no better place to explore the White Mountains — or to get in from the cold of them — than the Inn at Thorn Hill.
.
A room for two, already reserved for Friday and Saturday night.
The day.
Jackson Village and the Cog
You’ll want to roam the village loop of course, and see the bridge, but one of the few hard and fast things on your itinerary will be the Cog.
Known more formally as the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the Cog chuffs straight up to the summit of Mt. Washington. It’s the oldest mountain-climbing railroad system in the world, built in 1869, and the second steepest (the top spot is in Switzerland).
The winter route for the Cog is a station about halfway up, so you won’t make it all the way up this trip, but the views are no less sweeping.
Your destination is Waumbek Station at 4,000 feet, with sightlines all the way to the Canadian border. A fire pit and refreshments greet you there.
Cog Train tickets for two, already reserved for Saturday afternoon.
RavenWood Curio Shoppe
Authentically curated, with an exterior desgin that does a good job suggesting the whimsical mood inside.
RavenWood hosts wonders that run the gamut from vibrant and eclectic art, to pottery, glass, chimes, wall sculpture, and endlessly more things.
You can find it, “through the covered bridge,” they say, “where the past, the present, the curious and the creative come together.”
The find.
The food.
White Mountain Cider Co.
The name may be burying the lede a bit.
White Mountain Cider Co. is celebrated for its food as much as its cider (to take nothing away from the cider). Executive chef and owner Miles Williams sources ingredients from local farms and curates something very far from a brewery menu; it’s creative food, with a unique cocktail program to match.
And the cider too, of course. They have their own cider mill on the property.
Pre-paid, just arrive. You have reservations on Saturday evening.
The tucked away.
Jackson Public Library
Our tucked away spot choices are not usually public libraries, but you need to duck in here if you can.
The space is a reconstruction of the formerly dismantled Tricky Barn, originally built in the 1850s. The books and beams are a nice pairing, and the whole place has a literary hay-loft feeling.
The evening mood.
Back Atop Thorn Hill
We are staunch advocates for getting back to a hotel early and hunkering down. Especially so in this case.
Settle in beside the Inn’s vaulting stone fireplace, have a drink or dessert (possibly the chocolate torte), and warm up in the heart of the cold and beautiful White Mountains.
Two-night stay for two at the Inn at Thorn Hill. Reserved for Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb 21.
Pre-paid dinner at White Mountain Cider Co. Reservations are for Saturday evening.
Tickets for two on the Mount Washington Cog Railway,
Book it all in a click.
This Overnight includes:
See here for a full list of photo credits for this story.