NRHP Reference # 02000166 | Added to NRHP March 13, 2002 | |
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Location NH 26, Coos County, New Hampshire, 10 mi. E of Colebrook Nearest city Dixville Notch, New Hampshire | ||
The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel is a grand hotel and ski resort located in Dixville Notch in New Hampshire, United States. The hotel covers 11,000 acres (45 km2) and features 95 kilometers of cross-country ski trails, an alpine ski area with 16 trails, five glade areas and a terrain park. There is also a 9-hole golf course and an 18-hole championship course called "Panorama" which was designed by Donald Ross. The Balsams is currently closed for renovations after being purchased by new owners for $2.3 million in December 2011. In 2014, former American Skiing Company head Les Otten joined the Balsams redevelopment effort. Included in Otten's current plan is a massive expansion of the ski area to around 1,000 acres and the addition of multiple lifts, including a year-round gondola to the summit and a lift connection across Route 26 to the hotel complex. The expanded ski area would be quadruple its current size and be one of the largest ski areas in the Northeast. Plans also call for the renovation of the main hotel buildings, the Dix and Hampshire houses, as well as a new hotel wing, and renovations to the golf course clubhouse.
History
Located along the old Coös Trail (now Route 26) through Dixville Notch, it first opened just after the Civil War as the Dix House, a 25-room summer inn established by George Parsons. In 1895, it was purchased by Henry S. Hale, a Philadelphia inventor and industrialist who had been a regular guest. He renamed it The Balsams, and over time enlarged and augmented the facilities. In 1918, Hale completed the Hampshire House, the towering wing which doubled the resort's capacity to 400 guests.
The Ballot Room of The Balsams is where Dixville Notch's presidential primary votes are cast just after midnight on the day of the New Hampshire primaries. These votes cast by Dixville Notch residents are among the first to be cast, counted, and reported nationally.