New England
Ski Area Mountain Biking and Zip Lines
When the snow melts, ski resorts turn their attention to summer fun.
Sunday River in Maine offers
mountain biking. You can ride downhill on your favorite trails on a
mountain bike. Sunday River Mountain Bike Park first opened in 1991,
one of the first New England ski resorts to do so. They closed in
2003, but when new parent company Boyne USA came and later put in a
$7.5 Chondola to North Peak - the hills were alive again with the
sound of bikers, hikers and now zip liners. The Chondola is open Friday -
Sunday 10am - 4pm in summer for rides.
Sunday River has 30 mountain bike trails, over 25 miles, and truly something for every
ability level of rider. The newest trails, Tango and Crash and Not
Trail - a single track for experts under the Chondie. Beginners can
get in gear on the half mile Easy Tiger. More challenging trails include Grease Monkey, Moose Tack,
Tombstone and the Crater Trail which bikers can enjoy with lift
service back up. Sunday River has also developed a
BMX style track with rhythm sections and table tops.
Zip Liners will enjoy 6 zip lines as long as 300-feet on the ski
trails ski trails of Mixing Bowl, Tourist Trap, Outta Here, and
Thataway.
Sunday River summer tickets for
The Chondola, biking, and zip line are available at the South Ridge
Lodge. Trails and lift service are open Friday - Sunday 10am
- 4pm. Scenic chairlift rides for those on foot are also offered.
Golfers will find top notch 18-hole Championship golf at
Sunday
River Golf Club.
Sugarloaf in Maine also offers
Championship Golf, and
starting in the summer of 2010 zip lines tours. The zip lines
at Sugarloaf and Sunday River will be open in the fall and winter as
well.
Other New England Ski Resorts
with summer activities:
Wildcat and
Bretton Woods in
New Hampshire both offer high-alpine zip line rides, scenic and
exhilarating all at once.
In fact Bretton Woods Canopy Tour is the longest in North America.
Attitash now offers a Mountain Coaster
in the North Conway town of Bartlett.
Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts has a
Mountain Adventure Park with a Kids Zone featuring the new Spider
Web and Rope Adventures as well as a new miniature golf course. For
little kids, the Ponderosa Playground and Bounce House are perfect.
The highlight of Jiminy Peak’s summer park is the Alpine Super Slide
and Mountain Coaster.
Smugglers Notch Resort in Vermont is
a family fun zone in summer, with swimming holes, rope swings, and
water parks galore. Smugglers summer day camps for kids are award
winning in winter and summer too. Camp counselors take you kids
hiking, on nature walks, and on adventure ropes courses.
Gunstock Mountain Resort overlooking
Lake Winnipesaukee is a great summer destination. The ski are
transforms into a hiker and bikers playground. You can mountain bike
or mountain board on Gunstock and neighboring Mount Rowe with
fantastic views of the Presidential Range and Mt Washington.
Gunstock NH has a self-guided nature walk, a handicapped accessible
quarter mile walk amongst wetlands. Gunstock resort also offers
summer visitors horseback trail riding kayak and paddleboat rentals,
mountain bike and mountain board rentals, a skate park, mini golf,
and a climbing wall.
Maine
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New Hampshire
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Vermont
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Rockies
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Sun & Sea Travel
All Stories by Heather Burke
All Photography by Greg Burke
