Yawgoo Valley, RI

Yes, believe it or not, New England's little ocean state has a ski area! However, shortly upon arriving, I began to seriously question my quest to ski EVERY ski resort in New England. Yawgoo is so tiny, narrow and small - 5 runs - that I only needed to make 2 turns to get down the slopes. The rest of the time was spent going straight down to pick up speed.

I met Hub, the 80 year old chairlift operator who was featured in a Hartford Courant article on Yawgoo a few weeks prior. He was busy banging the chairlift seats with a ski pole to knock off the snow. The far right trail is named after him, Hub's Folly.

Although the runs are incredibly short at Yawgoo and often busy with beginners testing their new skills, the day I went was a quiet, beautiful sunny day in late February with the birds merrily chirping. It felt like I was gliding through the woods on a homemade trail back home. Not that it was poorly groomed, only that it was uncrowded and peaceful. My reservations about skiing EVERY ski resort faded away.

Before you leave, make sure you check out the lodge with it's incredibly big, beautiful stone fireplace.