7 things to do with kids in New England this winter

Sledding hills, learn-to-ski days, tubing, children's museums, seal walks, eagle watches, and maple sugaring. The winter list for New England families, all six states.

1. Every state

   Sledding on a real hill

   The cheapest snow day in the region, and often the best. Nearly every town keeps a go-to hill, and the good ones fill up fast after a storm. Bring a sled with runners, not a plastic saucer, and go in the morning before the hill turns to ice ruts.

   • Larz Anderson Park, Brookline, MA
   • Maudslay State Park, Newburyport, MA
   • Gunstock Nordic area hills, Gilford, NH
   • Any town green in Vermont with a slope and no parking meters
   FreeSnow fun
2. Every state

   Skating the Frog Pond and town rinks

   Boston Common's Frog Pond is the classic, with skate rentals and hot chocolate steps away. Providence's downtown rink, Portland's rink on the iceway, and dozens of town-run rinks across the region do the same trick for a few dollars. Rentals are usually available, so nobody has to own skates.

   • Frog Pond, Boston Common, MA
   • BankNewport City Center rink, Providence, RI
   • Rinks in most mid-size towns, walk-ins welcome
   CheapOutdoor
3. All six

   Learn-to-ski and snowboard days

   Every New England state has a small, friendly mountain that teaches kids to ski without the lift lines or the price of the big resorts. January is the sweet spot: beginner packages with rentals and a lesson often cost less than a single lift ticket at Stowe. Start with a half day, quit while they're still smiling.

   • Wachusett Mountain, Princeton, MA
   • Cranmore, North Conway, NH
   • Yawgoo Valley, Exeter, RI
   • Powder Ridge, Middlefield, CT
   • Small VT areas like Cochran's, Richmond, VT
   Snow funA splurge
4. All six

   Snow tubing

   Tubing is the winter activity for kids who are too young for the chairlift. You ride a rope tow up, sit down, and let go. Sessions run a couple of hours, lanes are groomed, and most hills take kids as young as four. Book ahead: weekend slots sell out all season.

   • Nashoba Valley, Westford, MA
   • Gunstock, Gilford, NH
   • Berkshire East, Charlemont, MA
   • Powder Ridge, Middlefield, CT
   • Ricker Hill area hills, Turner, ME
   Snow funKids
5. All six

   Children's museums on the cold days

   The single best answer to a subzero afternoon. New England's children's museums are built for exactly this: climbing structures, water rooms, and nothing you can break. Many offer reciprocal memberships, so one pass gets you into museums in other states too.

   • Boston Children's Museum, MA
   • Children's Museum of New Hampshire, Dover, NH
   • Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT
   • Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine, Portland, ME
   • Providence Children's Museum, RI
   • Stepping Stones, Norwalk, CT
   IndoorWarm-up
6. Coastal RI, ME, MA and river valleys

   Winter wildlife: seals and eagles

   Winter is the season the wildlife shows up. Seals haul out on the rocks from December through March, and the Sachuest Point refuge in Middletown, RI is one of the easiest places to see dozens from shore. Up the Merrimack Valley, bald eagles fish below the dams in January and February, and local Audubon chapters run free viewing days with scopes set up for kids.

   • Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge, Middletown, RI
   • Merrimack River eagle watches, Manchester and Concord, NH
   • Rocky shoreline walks, Portland, ME
   FreeOutdoor
7. VT, NH, MA, ME, CT

   Maple sugaring in late winter

   The winter trip most families forget: sap runs when nights freeze and days thaw, usually late February into March, and sugarhouses open their doors for boils, tastings, and steam you can see from the road. Kids watch sap turn to syrup in about forty minutes of rolling boil and get pancakes as a bribe to behave.

   • Sugarhouses around Brattleboro and St. Johnsbury, VT
   • Parker's Maple Barn, Mason, NH
   • Sugarhouse weekends in the Berkshires, MA
   • Maine and Connecticut maple open houses, early March
   OutdoorFoodLate winter