• Skiing and snowboardingskiing image by joseph pankey from Fotolia.com
  
  New Hampshire has 19 ski areas, some of them destination resorts with all the amenities, and others small resorts for beginners. Many of these resorts are within a half-hour drive of each other. The website skinh.com lists these resorts by region from the northernmost to the southernmost areas. Listed under the Merrimack-Monadnock Region, which is nearest to Manchester, are Crotched Mountain, Granite Gorge, McIntyre Ski Area, Pats Peak, and Windblown XC.
  
  

McIntyres Ski School

• The McIntyre Ski Area was established in Manchester in 1971. Since the ski school began providing lessons in 1978, thousands of children and adults have learned to ski and snowboard here. In 1996, owner David "Don" Sarette added a rental/retail shop that's now the place to go for children's equipment with a wide selection of mittens, hats, helmets and socks. Sarette is still active in the operations of McIntyre, which defines itself as family-friendly, stress-free and safe. McIntyre offers skiing and snowboarding programs and services daytime and nighttime, under lights. There is a snack bar, a lodge, 14 trails and five lifts. Several two-hour tubing sessions are scheduled on weekends; they are full most of the time with only 125 tickets sold per session.
  
  McIntyres Ski School
  50 Chalet Court
  Manchester, NH 03104-6011
  603-622-6159
  mcintyreskiarea.com
  
  

Pats Peak Ski Area

• Pats Peak is on its 47th season with the same family owning the resort. This 90-acre ski resort with a 700-foot vertical drop has 22 trails and 10 lifts, all lighted for night skiing. Half of the trails are for novices, seven are for experts and four for intermediates. As of 2010, capital expenditures had totaled $5,000,000 over five years. Improvements include a lift-serviced terrain park; increased snow-making capabilities; expansion of the training center; new rental equipment; and additional parking spaces. Rentals and lessons for skiing, snowboarding and tubing are offered.
  
  Pats Peak Ski Area
  24 Flanders Road
  Henniker, NH 03242
  888-728-7732
  patspeak.com
  
  

Granite Gorge Ski Area

• Granite Gorge, only 20 minutes from Manchester, was conceptualized in the 1950s when former Olympians selected Pinnacle Mountain at Granite Gorge as the ideal gateway mountain in New Hampshire. It was chosen because it is protected from the wind, and thus has the ability to hold snow. The resort has 17 trails, starting with the Monadnock beginner's trail, all the way to the steep Lifeline and Headwall Trails. It has 53 light towers that allow nighttime skiing and other snow sports. Its tubing park, "Tuber For Two," now allows parent-child tandem riding, disallowed in a single tube. Local amenities include a number of nightlife, dining and hotel options.
  
  Granite Gorge Ski Area
  341 Route 9
  Keene/Roxbury, NH 03431
  603-358-5000
  granitegorge.com