Hello! My name is Mario and I'm a Dartmouth '28. I am double majoring in government and economics with a concentration in international relations. I love to spend my free time swimming at the Connecticut River or skiing at the Dartmouth Skiway with friends!
In today's blog, I want to discuss transportation options to/from and around Dartmouth's campus. Even though Dartmouth is known as "the college in the woods," that doesn't mean students don't have access to ample transportation options!
First, the Dartmouth Coachfacilitates transportation in and out of Dartmouth's campus. The Dartmouth Coach bus connects Boston and New York City to Hanover, New Hampshire. Depending on the season (check their schedule here), the Boston service runs to and from Hanover multiple times daily, and the New York service has fewer daily trips. These buses have various pick-up and drop-off stops, ranging from the Upper Valley, Boston's South Station, Boston Logan Airport, and Manhattan. Students flying to Dartmouth for the quarter/academic year often fly into Boston Logan and then take the Dartmouth Coach straight up to Hanover—no stress about getting a ride from Boston Logan Airport to Hanover!
Outside of beginning/end-of-quarter travel, the Dartmouth Coach makes day/weekend trips to Boston and New York City accessible for students. Students oftentimes will find—college sponsored—opportunities to travel to these cities for housing community eventsand course field trips!
When students want to explore within the Upper Valley, public transportation called Advanced Transit is a viable option. Although the surrounding town of Hanover has all of the everyday necessities, Advance Transit provides rides into several towns surrounding Hanover—such as Lebanon, West Lebanon, and White River Junction—where students can shop and explore. I mostly use this free option to travel to West Lebanon—about 20 minutes outside Hanover—to purchase any additional school supplies and personal necessities.
This is an example of one of the locations where Dartmouth students can catch the Advanced Transportation bus. This stop is right outside my dorm too!
Here is a map of several routes of the Advanced Transportation bus system!
Within Hanover, the "Campus Connector" is Dartmouth's campus shuttle that drives throughout campus on a ~20-minute loop. Everything on Dartmouth's campus is within walking distance, but this service can make the journey from end to end of campus a little faster. It also provides access to Dartmouth Health (Dartmouth's teaching hospital where undergraduate students can engage in research/shadowing) and Summit on Juniper (off-campus apartments). Students can even download an app to track the Campus Connectors!
Dartmouth also offers complimentary transportation to the Dartmouth Skiway—Dartmouth's own ski mountain—during the winter quarter to make day ski/snowboarding trips accessible to all students. The schedule changes annually, but this year, the Dartmouth Skiway Shuttle runs twice a day on weekdays and every hour from 8 AM to 4 PM on weekends.
From the Dartmouth Coach, Advanced Transit, Campus Connector, and Skiway Shuttle, Dartmouth works to ensure that transportation to and around Hanover is accessible and straightforward for all students. Thanks to the various options, Dartmouth students can easily travel to different cities in the northeast and explore the Upper Valley!
If you are interested in pursuing medicine after graduating from high school, as I was, you'll be looking at how different universities design their "pre-health" experience. What does that experience look like at Dartmouth College?
