A center for outlet shops, restaurants, various and unique stores and outdoor adventures, the village of North Conway in New Hampshire is a fun and entertaining stop for anyone who’s traveling through northern New Hampshire’s White Mountain region.

Not only is there a lot of a shopping, but for many people North Conway is the gateway into the White Mountain region. The village is located in what is called the Mount Washington Valley and Mount Washington and the Presidential Range is less than a half an hour away. The rest of the White Mountains including the Franconia Notch area is within a short driving distance. Not only that but in the wintertime, North Conway is home to its own downhill ski area, Cranmore Mountain and other mountains including Black Mountain and Attitash/Bear Peak. Further out are Wildcat Mountain and Bretton Woods and beyond that there’s also Cannon Mountain and Loon Mountain.

So where do I find North Conway?

The village of North Conway is located along Route 16/Route 302 between the villages of Intervale to the north and Conway to the south. Also nearby are the villages of Bartlett and Jackson.

Access to North Conway is either via Route 16 or Route 302. Route 16 runs north to south and provides access to the area from the more southerly Lakes Region of New Hampshire and from the northerly portion of New Hampshire on the other side of the White Mountains (Gorham and Berlin area). Route 302 runs roughly east to west and provides access from Maine to the east and from the Crawford Notch/Twin River area (and nearby I93) to the west.

For a scenic trip to the North Conway area from I93, one can get off before Franconia Notch and take Route 112, the Kancamagus Highway through the White Mountain National Forest to reach Conway. From there you would travel up Route 16/302 to the village of North Conway.

Why should I go to North Conway?

For me when I think of New Hampshire first and foremost in my mind are the White Mountains the recreational opportunities they present but after that, North Conway usually gets in there as a fun place to visit because of the multitude of stores, shops, outlets and restaurants. While it can be a destination by itself, I often see North Conway as part of a tour of the area traveling along the roads of the White Mountains. North Conway is just a natural stop – whether you want to check out some outlet shopping or you want to get something to eat.

There’s just about everything you could imagine in North Conway from small shops selling regional products, technical outdoor gear stores (North Conway is home to the original EMS store), both chain and unique restaurants, outlet shops for just about every major retailer and for those of us who can’t live without it (I know I can), there’s even a Wal Mart tucked away from Main Street.

Not only that, North Conway is a nice place to walk around and enjoy and there are plenty of areas to grab your attention.

Where do I go

To me, there are two main ‘areas’ of the village. The older, downtown core is located to the north side of the village and consists of small shops, restaurants and some hotels packed closely together and creates a very pleasant and accessible downtown main street area. This is also the home of the Conway Scenic Railroad which is located behind the Town Green. The only problem is that during busier times it’s almost impossible to find parking in this area – parallel parking is available along the street along with pull in parking along the Town Green. There’s also limited parking in a few private parking lots but that’s generally just for the business in question.

The downtown area is home to the original EMS outdoor gear store along with International Mountain Equipment, a technical outdoor gear store. Both offer gear rentals and guide services for hikes and climbs in the White Mountains. There are also ski shops, several small stores that have a variety of different themes and a couple of places to get something to eat. For me, when I’m in this area, I always go to EMS and IME to check out the outdoor gear and see if anything is on sale.

As you head south along Route 16/302 the village tends to thin out a bit with a number of hotels, restaurants and outlet shops along the way. There’s also a miniature golf course or two and a few other attractions. You could walk along the roads in this area, but the distances add up and it’s probably easier (at least on days without much traffic) to drive from place to place.

When you reach the southerly end of the village, things pick up again, especially with the number of outlets that are around. It starts roughly with the LL Bean outlet and its associated mall and then continues on through a number of other outlets, an older retail “mall” and reaches it’s greatest density at the Settlers’ Green Outlet Village which is an ever growing collection of outlet shops (many of the outlets that were in the village have actually moved into Settlers’ Green). There are stores like the Gap, Old Navy, Yankee Candle, Brookstone, Farberware and a whole bunch of other stores from big to small. If you want outlet shopping while you’re in North Conway, this is the place to go – it’s easy to park and it’s easy to spend a couple of hours walking from shop to shop.

Traffic and Parking

Oh dear…here’s the biggest problem with North Conway, especially on holiday weekends. The traffic can be a nightmare with jams that can extend for miles to the north and south on Route 16/302 from the village area. It can literally take hours at its worst to drive through the entire village.

Thankfully there’s a newer bypass road that has been constructed that lets you bypass parts of town and then come back into town in the areas that you want to go to. That said, the traffic can still be pretty bad. Not only that, besides the Settlers’ Green area, parking can be at a premium on those busy weekends, making it especially hard to park and explore the northern downtown area of North Conway.

Nearby Attractions

This is the Mount Washington Valley and the White Mountain Region, so within an hour’s drive of North Conway, there are a whole lot of different choices both in the summer and the winter.

First and foremost the White Mountain National Forest basically surrounds the area offering various hiking and climbing opportunities. There are trails for all levels of abilities from ambles along streams to technical climbs up cliff faces.

For more structured outdoor in the winter Cranmore Mountain offers downhill skiing literally on village’s doorstep. There’s also Black Mountain in Jefferson to the north, Attitash/Bear Peak to the north in Bartlett, Wildcat Mountain in Pinkham Notch, Bretton Woods just to the north of Crawford Notch, Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch and Loon Mountain at the other end of the Kancamagus Highway. The village of Jackson which hosts Black Mountain is also home to groomed cross-country ski trails.

Pinkham Notch, home to the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Pinkham Notch Camp is to the north on Route 16 while Crawford Notch is to the west on Route 302. Both offer hiking, sightseeing and climbing opportunities. Pinkham Notch is also host to the Mount Washington Auto Road’s entrance, where you can drive to the top of the northeast in your own car. Just to the north of Crawford Notch you can also catch a ride on the Cog Railroad, which also takes you to the top of Mount Washington.

Heritage New Hampshire and Story Land are both located at the northern intersection of Route 16 and 302 in Glenn, NH. Heritage is an exploration of New Hampshire’s history and Story Land is a children’s theme park based on various children’s stories.

Basically, there’s a lot to do within a short drive of North Conway. For me, I usually stick to the outdoor stuff, but I have enjoyed skiing at the various mountains and in the summer coming down the alpine slide at Attitash. I also love exploring the notches where, which are where I’ve had some of my most memorable climbs and hikes.

Experiences

When I was small and lived in New York, a trip to New Hampshire always had to include a trip to North Conway. Perhaps it was the outlet shopping gene my Mom passed on to me or perhaps it was because my Father would hate to go – but I couldn’t get enough of this small town. My favorite stop was always at EMS, which was the one store my Dad would relent to shopping at.

When I went to college in northern Vermont, North Conway became much more of a day trip destination, only being about 2 hours away so I was there a lot more often, or at least passing through on my way to other places. It got a bit old hat and after a while I found myself stopping less and trying to avoid the town when I could so I wouldn’t be stuck in traffic.

However after moving away (first to Maine and now Massachusetts) I find trips up to the North Conway fun again. While it might be because I’m no longer a poor college student, I think it’s more that once again I enjoy the occasional visit to take in the various shops and outlets. Plus who can pass up the clearance racks at EMS and IME?

I don’t stay in North Conway too often – mostly because it’s generally busy on most weekends and we have family that live to the north so we don’t need to, but a trip there for half the day is almost required for our occasional visits to the family up there. We usually spend one day hiking and then spend the other half of the weekend going to North Conway and spending time with the family.

While nothing is too unique in North Conway (you’re likely to the find the outlets at any other outlet mall), it’s nice that there’s no sales tax in New Hampshire and when taken as a whole, I think North Conway is a fun and entertaining place to visit and shop. Not only that, but the scenic beauty of the surrounding area can’t be missed.

Final Thoughts

Try to avoid visiting on the busiest holiday weekends and I’m sure you will enjoy your visit to the village of North Conway. It has a nice mix of shopping, dining and lodging opportunities and is nestled in the heart of the White Mountain country with an almost unlimited number of nearby attractions, both natural and manmade.


Nearby Attractions

White Mountain National Forest / Mount Washington State Park / Wildcat Mountain / The Flume Gorge / Mount Washington Auto Road / Mount Washington Cog Railway / Cannon Mountain


Recommended: Yes

Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime