New England's Top 5 Family-Friendly Snow Tubing Destinations Are More Affordable Than A Winter Ski Trip

A winter getaway with your family should be a fun and relaxing experience, but much of the enjoyment wanes when it's time to look at the prices. While a ski trip is a popular winter activity, costs can quickly rise between equipment, lift tickets, lodging, and actually getting to the destination itself. Some estimates show that an average three-day ski trip can cost over $1,000 per person per day, making it prohibitively expensive for families in particular. However, a winter trip with snow-filled activities doesn't have to break the bank.

For a fun, family-friendly winter adventure, there are tons of snow tubing opportunities across New England. Tubing is considerably more affordable than a ski trip. The five destinations we highlight here provide lots of winter fun for visitors of all ages, each offering unique ways to enjoy the outdoors. They were also selected by combing through online reviews and ranking lists to see how they compared to other destinations across New England. For each location, guests are encouraged to book their sessions well in advance, especially during peak visiting times such as weekends or holidays, as tickets can sell out quickly.

New Hampshire's White Mountains offer plenty of opportunities for sledding and tubing, with five different locations to choose from. One location is the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center near Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern United States. The center is located in Gorham, a town in the heart of the White Mountains, with endless outdoor thrills. 

While this area has tons of fun winter activities, Great Glen Trails is on Visit New England's list of snowtubing locations. Tubing Hill offers a family-friendly snowtubing experience where children of all ages are welcome to join in on the fun. One regular tubing pass gives guests 90-minute access and costs $25 for everyone aged 4 and up. An evening tubing pass is $35. Kids 3 and under are free. During weekends and holidays, the center hosts a fire pit at the top of the Tubing Hill. Guests can recharge after a fun day on the hill and enjoy some s'mores and hot chocolate. 

The Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center is easily accessible from Portland International Jetport in Maine, which is about 2 hours away. There are plenty of lodging options to choose from that offer affordability and close proximity to the center, such as Mount Madison Inn, which is about 15 minutes north. 

A New Hampshire destination in the southern White Mountains that offers a different kind of getaway is Purity Spring Resort. Situated in Madison, a charming small town with incredible trails, this is a great choice for families who want a bit more options for downtime between outdoor adventures. During the winter months, the resort offers tons of activities in its King Pine Ski Area, including a tubing hill. The Pine Meadows Tubing Park is located within the ski area and has a convenient conveyor belt to lift guests to the top of the hill. Tickets for tubing start at $20 for all ages, and sessions are an hour long, giving guests plenty of time to have fun in the snow. The King Pine area is quite popular and well-regarded for its abundance of affordable, family-friendly fun, making it a great option for a winter getaway. 

Purity Spring Resort offers plenty of ways to enjoy the winter season, whether you decide to hit the ice at the Tohko Dome Ice Skating Rink or keep warm with a trip to the hot tub. The resort has 4.3 stars on Tripadvisor, with several guests praising the resort for the friendly staff, picturesque views, and cozy atmosphere.  

Staying at one of the resort's rooms or cottages makes it convenient to enjoy all of the amenities and activities, though it's only about a 20-minute drive to the city of Conway, where you can find an assortment of standard hotel options. The nearest airport with commercial flights is Portland International Jetport, located approximately 50 miles east in Maine.

Stepping out of New Hampshire, this next getaway brings us to its neighboring state of Vermont. Nestled in the picturesque Windham County is the cozy, postcard-worthy village of Grafton. During the winter months, the Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center becomes a haven for adventure lovers and the perfect place for some family-friendly fun in the snow. One of three recommended locations on Visit Vermont's snow tubing list, the center features a 600-foot-long tubing hill, with individual tubing passes priced at $25 for adults and $15 for youth, and a season pass for a family of four is $375. However, access to this hill is complimentary for guests who stay at the Historic Grafton Inn. The center also offers other fun winter activities, such as horse-drawn sleigh rides and snowshoeing (also complimentary for guests). 

The center is praised for the abundance of activities available and the fun, family friendly atmopshere, with 4.6 stars on Tripadvisor. The Grafton Inn is the best option for lodging, since guests get complimentary perks, though the inn can be pricey. There are many affordable options within a 1-hour drive of Grafton Trails. From here, visitors can also check out the town of Springfield, with its scenic rivers and thriving arts scene. The closest airport is Lebanon Municipal, about 50 miles north in New Hampshire. Cape Air serves the airport and connects it with Boston and White Plains.

Heading further south to the state of Massachusetts, you can hit the slopes and breathtaking trails hidden in the town of Westfield. Right at the edge of town is a popular recreational site, the Nashoba Valley Ski Area. It is less than 40 miles west of Boston, making it easily accessible from either Manchester-Boston Regional or Boston Logan International. Listed on Visit Massachusetts' snow tubing locations, this area is so inviting because it is home to the largest tubing park in New England, with up to 18 lanes to choose from and two lifts so you don't have to drag your tube back up the hill. 

Tickets are a bit more expensive here at $49 per person; however, they grant guests 2 hours of family fun and access to the park's lodge, which features amenities like a snack bar (and a full bar for the adults), perfect for refueling in between rides down the hill. All guests must be at least 42 inches tall or at least 6 years old.

Despite some mixed reviews and a 3.5-star rating on Tripadvisor, several guests have raved about the family-friendly tubing. One Google reviewer said, "I had a great day tubing ... Staff was very helpful, and the weather was perfect. [There are] plenty of lanes to choose from going down the hill, and really well accommodated for big crowds." For lodging, there are many options within a half-hour's drive. 

Returning to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway is a popular location for families and adventure lovers. Though the town is considered America's Best Ski Town, the resort features Cranmore's Tubing & Mountain Adventure Park, which offers tons of unique and fun activities for guests of all ages. 

Tickets for the tubing park grant 2 hours of access and are $49 for guests aged 6 and over, while tickets for children aged 3 to 5 are $15. Guests also have a chance to experience Arctic Lights Night Tubing, where you can tube down the hill after dark as colorful LED lights light your path. Visitors praise the fun atmosphere,  activities available for all ages, and friendly, helpful staff. "It's like you have a winter park with everything to have the best time in the snow. The snow tubing was super fun, and I can't get enough [of] it," said one reviewer on Google. The resort has a 4.3-star rating on Tripadvisor.

North Conway has a variety of hotel options, and the closest major airport is in Portland, Maine, approximately 60 miles away.

To identify the best family-friendly sledding destinations in New England, we ensured that each location would allow children and adults to participate in a safe and fun environment together, so families wouldn't have to enjoy their getaway separately. From there, we then searched for reviews across Google, Tripadvisor, and Reddit to identify which destinations consistently received high reviews, particularly from families who have visited. 

To ensure a more accurate assessment, we focused on reviews that were published in or after the year 2020. Additionally, we wanted to make sure that a trip to one of these locations wouldn't break the bank. We focused on highly-rated locations that were located near more affordable lodging options, with most being less than $150 per night. Finally, while selecting the five destinations, we did not want them all to come from the same area if it could be helped, which is why only two of New Hampshire's White Mountain locations were selected, though snow tubing is available at the five locations that make up this area.