New Hampshire,  Family,  Hiking,  Outdoor Adventures,  Travel

Loon Mountain – Beautiful Views, Gondolas, and Glacial Caves

August 27, 2020 /

Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH is one of our favorite places. It was actually our last trip right before the Covid shut downs. So, when the opportunity arose to visit Loon Mountain this summer, we excitedly hopped in the car and drove up north! The kids were super excited to ride the gondolas, explore some glacial caves, and hike up to the North Peak (and let’s be honest, Dad and I were pretty excited, too)!

**Loon Mountain did provide us with gondola passes in return for this post. Thank you, Loon!!**

Loon Mountain is located in Lincoln, NH, right off Interstate 93, so it’s super easy to get to. It’s up in the gorgeous White Mountains and is part of the White Mountain National Forest; because of this, the views from the mountain are BEAUTIFUL!

Loon Mountain Views

Because of Covid, Loon Mountain has instituted some new policies to keep everyone safe. These include mask wearing in certain areas, hand sanitation stations, and social distancing. There are signs everywhere to encourage appropriate behavior and to tell you where masks are required.

The line area for the Gondola has many signs reflecting Loon’s philosophy of “We’re in this Together,”

and the gondolas also have reminders.

While we love hiking, it is sometimes nice to get a ride up to the summit of a mountain. The Loon Mountain Gondola Skyride provides a fun ride for the kids (and adults) and you get some spectacular views, as well!

Loon Skyride view

Once you get to the summit, there are multiple areas to explore.

Loon Summit Sign

We chose to head off to the glacial caves first, as the kids couldn’t wait to climb through the rocks!

There is a mask requirement for the caves, but it’s clearly noted along with some other policies.

Caves covid policies

There are many stairs going down to and around the caves, so be prepared for a leg work out!

Loon caves stairs

Because of this, the cave area is not stroller friendly; on previous visits, I wore Little Man in the Tula, and that worked perfectly. While I didn’t go into any of the caves while wearing him, we stayed on the walkways around the caves and watched L and Dad as they navigated the rocks.

This time, Little Man was big enough to explore the caves and boy was he excited! We did help him a few times and tried to keep a hand on or near him, but he was generally able to navigate the caves with L. Make sure to check out our video (also embedded at the end of this post) to see more of the cave exploration!

I was excited to explore the caves, as well, and Little Man enjoyed “helping” me.

We did have a backpack with us and Dad carried that through the caves. While he did have to take it off at points, it was manageable; I am not sure the kids could have handled backpacks, though. We were happy to have them just focus on finding their way through the rocks!

After we explored the 10 caves, we headed back up to enjoy the views from the pavilion. Talk about a beautiful background for a wedding ceremony!

Loon Mountain Wedding Pavilion

On our way up, we found a tree with hand sanitizer. The kids thought it was so cool to see a “Hand Sanitizer Tree!!”

Loon hand sanitizer tree

After enjoying the views from the Pavilion, we walked over to the Sunset Trail which leads up to the North Peak.

This is a 0.6 mile hike up a wide, blue square, ski trail. It felt a little steeper than a blue square to me, but I suppose that is because I’m used to skiing down them, not hiking up!

Loon Mountain Sunset Trail

We love hiking up ski trails, especially in these Covid times. The wide trails provide space for the kiddos to spread out and also give plenty of passing room when you come upon other hikers. (You can read about another ski mountain we hiked here.)

After about 25 minutes or so, we came to the North Peak summit and its amazing views! (Check out the video for a full panorama!) On clear days you can see Mt. Washington; it’s the far mountain just covered by clouds in this picture.

Loon Mountain North Peak

The kids explored a bit and we enjoyed a snack on some big flat rocks.

Loon North Peak summit

After a bit, we headed back over to the Loon Summit to find some lunch. I really enjoyed the views heading back down the Sunset Loop.

Sunset Loop views

We had some lunch at the Summit Cafe and enjoyed a yummy salad, a turkey wrap, and hot dogs.

Loon Mountain Summit Cafe

After eating, we climbed up the Observation Tower,

Loon Observation Tower

and saw the North Peak!

North Peak at Loon Mountain

The Observation Tower also has those cool signs that help you identify the mountains at which you are looking.

Loon Mountain views from Observation Tower

We also took a little stroll around the Summit Loop. This a boardwalk that winds around the summit.

Summit Loop - Loon

It has signs talking about the local flora and fauna, so we were able to sneak in a little learning!

There are also look out areas to enjoy the views, yet again! The kiddos love watching the gondolas go by and looking for the one we rode.

After we finished exploring, we headed back down the mountain. From the gondola, we could see some of the mountain biking trails, as well as the modified lift that takes the bikers and their bikes up to the trails.

Loon Mountain Biking

If you couldn’t tell, we absolutely love Loon Mountain. We have been many times and I am sure will visit many more times. It’s a wonderful place, filled with kind and helpful staff in both the summer and the winter. There are many family fun activities and it’s a great place for outdoor adventures.

To see more of our Loon Mountain adventure, check out our video!

Do you think that your family would like Loon Mountain? Let me know in the comments!

I hope that our adventure inspires you to have your own adventure!

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