Ask the general public to name an alpine skiing “Mecca” — described as a location where people, who share a common interest, yearn to go — even those who don’t ski can come up with at least Aspen or Vail, if not Killington and Sun Valley.

The top New England ski towns are the topic of annual debate, but which are the top towns for cross country skiing? Some of the favorite New England towns and areas to go on a cross country (XC) ski vacation include Stowe and Woodstock in Vermont, the Mt. Washington Valley in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Bethel in Maine. Here are more details from XCSkiResorts.com about XC skiing at these fabulous New England ski towns:

Canmore Nordic Center hosts race on machine made snow. (Canmore Nordic)

As the days become colder and winter approaches the ski season beckons, but about 40 cross country (XC) ski areas are no longer waiting for the snow to fly to begin their ski season because they’ve invested in snowmaking, just like their alpine ski area cousins.