5 Cool Ski Towns To Buy A House For $350K Or Less – MarketWatch

If watching Chloe Kim shred it on the slopes at the Winter Olympics has you dreaming of a ski house, we’ve got good news for you. Though ski homes can easily run in the millions in some posh Colorado towns (ahem, Aspen), we’ve identified five cool ski towns where you can buy a house for $350,000 or less (added perk: though they have ticked up a bit, mortgage rates are still near historic lows).

If you’re an advanced skier: Ogden, Utah

The gateway to some of the largest ski resorts in the country — including Snowbasin, Powder Mountain and Nordic Valley — Ogden offers a lot of variety on the slopes. Powder Mountain, which offers the most skiable number of acres (8,464) in the United States, is just over 20 miles to the northeast of the town. Snowbasin Resort, which is 19 miles away by car, boasts 3,000 skiable acres, along with 104 trails. Ogden itself is a bustling city located just 35-minute drive from the Salt Lake City International Airport. First developed during the railroad boom in the late 19^th century, Ogden now offers its visitors art galleries, bars, nightclubs and restaurants, including Tona Sushi and Warrens Craft Burger. For $350,000, you can buy a renovated three-bedroom house on the east side of town with views of the mountains, an outdoor patio and plenty of room to store your skis and snowboards.

Median Home Value: $370,829

Population: 87,321

Cost of living: 3.9% lower than the U.S. average

For the cultured shredder: Taos, New Mexico

Taos is an artist’s retreat renowned for its pueblo-type architecture, as well as the diversity of its natural landscape. Although the town itself is located in the high desert, it is surrounded by the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains (part of the Rocky Mountains), one of which houses Taos Ski Valley, a resort with 110 trails and a summit elevation of 12,481 feet. A stop on the world pro ski tour — this year’s World Pro Ski Tour championships will be held at Taos Ski Valley — the mountain may provide abundant amounts of powder until the end of spring. Although the area features million dollar homes, there are also plenty of smaller cottages and townhomes with views of the desert that sell for less than $350,000. Taos offers more than enough to do when you’re not on the mountain, including visiting the contemporary art collection at the Harwood Museum or the 7,000 pieces of southwest art at the Millicent Rogers Museum, shopping at the Taos Plaza and enjoying elevated, locally sourced cuisine at restaurants like Aceq.

Median Home Value: $363,444

Population: 6,474

Cost of living: 4.3% higher than the U.S. average

If you love small-town Northeast vibes: Conway, New Hampshire

The Cranmore Mountain Resort evolved into a well-known ski resort in the 1930s and now offers on-mountain dining, as well as ski racing, snow tubing, night skiing and classes. Conway itself is a town comprising small villages that boasts a scenic railroad, as well as the New England Ski Museum. It offers hiking trails and waterfalls at locations including Cathedral Ledge State Park, and is also close to the Attitash Mountain Resort, which boasts 68 ski and snowboarding trails, and is located just under eight miles north of the town center. There is plenty of pub fare at places like Delaney’s Hole in the Wall, and dining on the mountain too (the Red Sled Mac and Cheese Bar in the Main Base Lodge at Cranmore is popular). There’s plenty of real estate to be had for less than $350,000, including a wood-sided condominium that epitomizes an aprés ski lodge.

Median Home Value: $370,233

Population: 9,822

Cost of living: 8.1% lower than the U.S. average

If you want to feel like you’re in the Swiss Alps: Londonderry, Vermont

A small town on the southern tip of Vermont, Londonderry is home to Magic Mountain, a ski resort founded in 1962 by the legendary Swiss instructor Hans Thorner. Named after the novel by Thomas Mann, the resort was designed to feel like it is in the Swiss Alps, with narrow, twisting trails and plenty of routes through the forest. If your knees have had enough of downhill, you can try cross country skiing at the nearby Viking Nordic Center, which offers hundreds of acres of cross country trails, as well as a takeout café that specializes in homemade soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Houses in Londonderry can run in the millions of dollars, but condominiums can be bought for less than $350,000. Food options are surprisingly diverse for such a small town, and include restaurants like Revival Kitchen, which serves comfort food, and the Garden Cafe Restaurant and Deli Market, which have plenty of vegan options.

Median Home Value: $328,103

Population: 1,919

Cost of living: 5.8% lower than the U.S. average

Canandaigua, New York

Located in the Finger Lakes region of New York, just 25 miles southeast of Rochester, Canandaigua is home to Bristol Mountain, a resort that has 39 trails spread out over 138 acres of skiable land. Bristol Mountain is also home to a ski school that specializes in training young skiers how to race and navigate moguls. In the winter, enjoy the trails, and in the summer, enjoy swimming and fishing at Canandaigua Lake, or walking the gardens at the Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park. For under $350,000, you can buy a newly constructed two-bedroom home with a covered front porch or a three-bedroom townhouse. Enjoy local produced food, wine, cider and beer at the New York Kitchen, or load up on carbs at Casa De Pasta.

Median Home Value: $273,156

Population: 10,576

Cost of living: 5.9% lower than the U.S. average

Sources: Median home values from Zillow; cost of living from Sperling’s Best Places; population from the Census Bureau

Also see: Ski towns where you can buy a home for $250K or less