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Bad Roads

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joshua segal Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jul 12, 2004 Posts: 5942 Location:NH	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 1:51 PM GMT Last spring, we had a thread titled, When location is not enough http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=topic18686. Snoweast's 2012 Reader Poll shows the following as NH's Top Ten Areas. 1. Loon Mountain 2. Cannon Mountain 3. Wildcat Mountain 4. Bretton Woods 5. Waterville Valley 6. Mount Sunapee 7. Gunstock Mountain 8. Attitash 9. Pats Peak 10. Black Mountain I think that the significant NH areas not on the top 10 list included Cranmore, Whaleback, Ragged, Crotched Mountain and perhaps, Granite Gorge and King Pine. One common feature of all areas with bad road access is they are not in the top 10: Ragged, Crotched, Dartmouth and Granite Gorge. Are there any areas with bad road access are consistently highly rated? __________ Joshua Segal

tedede Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Nov 15, 2004 Posts: 806 Location:Amherst, NH	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 4:11 PM GMT The roads to greater North Conway area are really no bargain. If the Kanc is closed you've got Crawford Notch or the lovely route 16. Getting to Mount Sunapee isn't that great either. I'm very surprised Cranmore was beat out by Pats and Black. Pats does have the easy access to Concord, and every time I've been there for a race they've had good or very good conditions. I've never skied at Black, but I probably should give it a try. If we're talking great mountains with lousy access, Sugarloaf has to take the cake.

shpride Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jan 10, 2006 Posts: 323 Location:Flatlands, MA	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 4:12 PM GMT I would say Sunapee is a pain to get to off 93. It feels like it takes forever to get there once you get off the exit. It probably is the same amount of time that it takes to get to Crotched once you get off Route 3.

photogf128 Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Apr 10, 2004 Posts: 2605 Location:MRV Vermont	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 4:32 PM GMT For Sunapee I can see that the access off 93 is a pain. Personally I would continue on 93 get on 89 then the ski area is 15 minutes from the New London exit off of 89. As far as Heniker(Pats Peak) is concerned from Manchester, Boston and southern Maine getting off the wierd left side exit off of 89, it's then a straight shot south to PP which in my view is pretty easy. __________ facebook.com/profile.php?id=1454198707#!/pages/American-Photoart-Gallery/90884206988

shpride Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jan 10, 2006 Posts: 323 Location:Flatlands, MA	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 5:16 PM GMT Quote: For Sunapee I can see that the access off 93 is a pain. Personally I would continue on 93 get on 89 then the ski area is 15 minutes from the New London exit off of 89. As far as Heniker(Pats Peak) is concerned from Manchester, Boston and southern Maine getting off the wierd left side exit off of 89, it's then a straight shot south to PP which in my view is pretty easy. I actually meant to say 89. It always feels like it's a lot more than 15 minutes though. At least for me (from south of Boston) I think Mt. Sunapee is a long way for what you get there. I would rather commute the same amount of time (or less) and get to Cannon or Mt. Snow.

newpylong Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Nov 05, 2003 Posts: 1466 Location:Billerica, MA Enfield, NH	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 7:24 PM GMT Edited: Jul 13, 2012 - 7:28 PM GMT Quote: [quote]For Sunapee I can see that the access off 93 is a pain. Personally I would continue on 93 get on 89 then the ski area is 15 minutes from the New London exit off of 89. As far as Heniker(Pats Peak) is concerned from Manchester, Boston and southern Maine getting off the wierd left side exit off of 89, it's then a straight shot south to PP which in my view is pretty easy. I actually meant to say 89. It always feels like it's a lot more than 15 minutes though. At least for me (from south of Boston) I think Mt. Sunapee is a long way for what you get there. I would rather commute the same amount of time (or less) and get to Cannon or Mt. Snow. [/quote] I agree with ya there, never seen the pull that Sunapee has on people from Eastern MA at all. Probably compared to other places, at just under 2 hours no traffic it is pretty easy to get to.

joshua segal Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jul 12, 2004 Posts: 5942 Location:NH	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 8:23 PM GMT I disagree about Sunapee. Its access from I-89 is similar to Waterville's access from I-93 (unless you hate that one too . I don't go to Pinkham Notch really often. From Nashua/Manchester, the best way is probably through Meredith and that's not good road, but coming out of Boston up the Spaulding seems pretty decent. And while your observation on the Loaf (Saddleback too) is correct, you probably identified why neither has been particularly profitable! __________ Joshua Segal

sugarloaf Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Mar 05, 2004 Posts: 477 Location:Coventry, Connecticut	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 9:49 PM GMT Edited: Jul 13, 2012 - 9:50 PM GMT I recall that the access road to Ragged Mt isn't that great, but I could be wrong.

riverc0il Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jan 05, 2002 Posts: 3185 Location:Ashland, NH	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 10:31 PM GMT Are you defining roads by quality of road, traffic, or length of time spent on secondary roads as opposed to right off a highway or main drag? Bad roads could mean any of these things. Cranmore on a busy weekend sucks for traffic. Attitash and Wildcat both have the West Side Road option. But any Route 16 area coming from MA sucks. Route 16 is a horrible road for driving. Lights, lots of cops, limited passing, 50 MPH limit with town slow downs, and then you get to North Conway. Pavement rolls great but the drive still sucks. Ragged and Dartmouth aren't great but aren't terrible either for road quality but they are both off the Interstate a bit and require secondary road travel. Loon is right off the highway but feels longer because of traffic in Lincoln. Waterville is significantly off the highway, 20 minutes or so with heavy cop travel and low speed limits. Pat's has excellent access, IMO. Really ideal for that sized mountain. Excellent quality road to Balsams on Route 3 but slow going and long travel time. Here is an example in which quality of road is better than quality of the drive. Best resort for worst roads? Saddleback. Route 16 to Erol is among the worst winter roads in the northeast. Going Route 2 and up through Mexico is better but pretty bad (though the recent repave in the mountains is great!). Essentially, I think there is a difference between quality of the roads and quality of the drive. I'd rather drive over a few bumps than deal with traffic, slow speeds, town slow downs, etc. Also, look at Vermont. Lots of long access drives off the highways. Smuggs and Jay do just fine, Stowe, MRG, and Bush are a good drive in. Burke is closer than many others to a highway but struggles. Up in Maine, Loaf and River do just fine despite extensive non-highway driving. __________ TheSnowWay.com

joshua segal Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jul 12, 2004 Posts: 5942 Location:NH	Posted: Jul 13, 2012 - 11:39 PM GMT OK! It's been hard to get anything going this summer on Snow Journal, so when Steve (a.k.a. riverc0il) asks, "Are you defining roads by quality of road, traffic, or length of time spent on secondary roads as opposed to right off a highway or main drag?" - the simple answer is, I hadn't thought about that when I offered the initial hypothesis. I suspect that I was considering percentage of travel on secondary roads. I think that the Wilderness is a special case, because its success is totally related to the historic Balsams Hotel. So far, the most out-of-the-way worst highway access list that is a "popular area" is Sugarloaf! Other nominees? __________ Joshua Segal

riverc0il Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jan 05, 2002 Posts: 3185 Location:Ashland, NH	Posted: Jul 14, 2012 - 12:44 AM GMT That's what I am here for, to question the nature of the question. __________ TheSnowWay.com

jb66 Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jun 24, 2004 Posts: 1585 Location:	Posted: Jul 15, 2012 - 11:44 AM GMT Another vote for Sugarloaf here, as far as road surface and other factors.

loafasaur Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Aug 14, 2002 Posts: 699 Location:East of the Kennebec	Posted: Jul 15, 2012 - 1:01 PM GMT Now waitaminnet. Saddleback's at least 15 minutes farther from the World than the Loaf, and that's if you drive like a skier. And then there's getting there from The Other Maine. My preferred route includes a shortcut in Anson. Wear your helmet in the car for the frost heaves. The flashing moose warning signs on Rte. 4 are cool, though. __________ loafasaur

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