Boulder Caves and Beautiful Views Atop Loon Mountain

In theory, summer should be here soon. So, despite the cold, ice, rain, and clouds, we have started to plan our summer adventures.  Two years ago we spent some time up at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH and I think L has asked to go back about 500 times! Thus, Loon is on our shortlist this year.

Many of the ski mountains now have summer activities and Loon is one of them.  We took advantage of the gondola and all of the activities at the summit while we were there. There are also zip lines, an adventure park, a climbing wall, and more, that you can check out here.  As our kiddos were only 4 and 4 months at the time, we didn’t take advantage of those activities, however, we are looking forward to when we can!

The gondola ride up to the summit is an adventure in itself for little ones!  The ride isn’t too long and there are some nice views along the way.  Up at the summit, you are greeted by this big sign showing your elevation and all of the ski trails.

If you head off to the left of the sign, there is a path to some awesome glacial caves! These were so cool, we came a back up another day to do them again!

Dad got cave duty, as I was wearing little man.  There is a walkway along the caves, so I could meander around and wait for them at the cave exits; it was fun to hear L’s excited little voice through the rocks!

There were some nice views while I waited! There are quite a few stairs on the walkway, so it’s definitely not stroller friendly, but it’s wide so it’s very baby-wearing friendly!

Also to the left of the sign is a playground and a small amphitheater perfect for weddings and photo ops!

To the right of the big sign is a fire tower with amazing views.  There are even signs at the top that show you what mountains you are seeing.

Past the fire tower is a little restaurant, the Summit Cafe, that serves sandwiches, snacks, and drinks.  There is a big patio outside of it overlooking the mountains where you can enjoy your food.  That patio connects to a walkway that leads you around the fire tower and through the woods.  Of course, there are more amazing vistas along the way!

Here’s a look at the gondolas from that path.

As you can tell, Loon is clearly one of our favorite places.  Our summit adventures were not whole day affairs, though I am sure if you added some of the other offered activities, you could easily spend an entire day there.  Be aware that the caves get a little muddy after rain.  L survived the first trip through with minimal mud stains, however, the second time through was the day after some rain and she did not come out nearly as clean (but I think it was just as much fun for her!).   You also get unlimited trips up and down the gondola on your day of purchase, so if your kiddos love the ride, you can make multiple trips up and down the mountain!

I hope that your family enjoys this adventure as much as ours did!