Cannon Mountain

Cannon Mountain's summit reaches 4,081 feet, dropping 2,180 vertical feet to a base at 1,900 feet across 97 runs spread over 285 acres within Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire. Terrain splits 53 per cent intermediate and 33 per cent advanced, with no expert-rated runs and 14 per cent beginner terrain, and average annual snowfall of roughly 130 inches. The resort carries Indy Pass affiliation. Eleven lifts, including one aerial tram and three quad chairs, serve the mountain alongside one double chair, three triple chairs, one surface lift and two t-bars.

Cannon Mountain operates as a state-owned ski area, one of just two such resorts in New Hampshire, and is home to the state's only aerial tramway, a genuinely historic piece of engineering that remains central to the mountain's identity. Its challenging, largely intermediate-and-advanced terrain has earned Cannon a reputation among serious Northeast skiers as one of the region's more demanding mountains.

The concept for an aerial tramway at Cannon originated in 1933, when Alexander Bright of the Franconia Ski Club proposed the idea after experiencing similar systems in Europe. In June 1937, the New Hampshire legislature passed a bill authorising a 250,000 US dollar bond issue to finance the tramway's construction, an engineering feat completed almost entirely by hand, involving 32 carloads of cement, 232 tons of steel and four miles of cable. On 28 June 1938, North America's first aerial tramway was dedicated at Cannon, quickly becoming a major tourist attraction that carried 163,000 passengers in its first year alone.

Cannon has remained under New Hampshire state ownership throughout its history, distinguishing it from the majority of the region's privately operated resorts. Adult daily tickets run from 79 to 99 US dollars, with a discounted rate available for New Hampshire residents.