West Virginia's steep slopes offer snow groomer tours
Snow body boards, sleds, and snowmobiles as well as snow groomer tours await skiers heading to West Virginia. The mountain state's extended ski season, abundance of natural snowfall and easy distance to major metropolitan areas make it the perfect location for skiing in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States.
Snowshoe Mountain Resort offers snow groomer tours, where visitors are taken out onto the slopes in a specialized groomer's heated cab for a guided tour of the trails and history of Snowshoe Mountain. With a visit to the centre of the resort's snowmaking operations, the Snowshoe Compressor House, the tour offers a first-hand experience of snowmaking and trail grooming.
The state's slopes at Snowshoe Mountain, Oglebay Resort, Canaan Valley, Timberline Resort, and Winterplace Resort are more popular year by year. Sled and inner tube runs and rope tows are featured in ski areas and parks state-wide for the less daring types, and each of these resorts allows snowboarding on all slopes and features a variety of stunt terrain in their designated snowboarding parks. These resorts offer a variety of runs from future Olympic champions to less daring beginners. Snow body boards, sleds, and snowmobiles are also available at these ski resorts.
West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest and state parks offer snowy forests and beautiful wilderness areas for snowshoe trekkers, and several resorts and outfitters provide equipment rentals, lessons, and guided tours for those wishing to take advantage of the miles of snow-covered hiking trails.
West Virginia offers visitors the full winter experience from elegant accommodation, nightlife entertainment, and bars and restaurants to out-of-the-way cabins set in woods full of single-track cross-country paths.
Frontier Ski offers a skiing package combined with a stay in Washington to include economy class flights from Heathrow to Washington on United Airlines, 2 nights at the Crowne Plaza in Washington, the hire of an SUV for 5 days and accommodation at Snowshoe Mountain Resort with a four day lift ticket each. The cost is from £1175 per person for a studio at the Silver Creek Lodge for 5 nights or £1315 per person cost in a platinum studio at Soaring Eagle. All taxes are included.
For more information, visit frontier-ski.co.uk.
West Virginia's five major resorts include:
Snowshoe Mountain
Acclaimed as the top ski resort in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, Snowshoe Mountain Resort has nearly 200" of annual snowfall. This resort features nearly 1,800 rooms, from standard rooms to whole-family lodges, and terrain ranging from beginner to expert levels.
Recently Snowshoe Mountain Resort has joined the resort swap program, along with Maryland's Wisp Resort and Pennsylvania's Springs Mountain Resort and Hidden Valley Resort. Season pass holders at any of the resorts receive complimentary or reduced-price lift tickets to any of the other three resorts.
snowshoemountain.com
Oglebay Resort
Located one hour from Pittsburgh, this 1,700-acre resort features a spa, 53 cottages, 72 holes of golf, dining, shopping, gardens, museums, and a zoo in addition to its skiing venue.
oglebay-resort.com
Canaan Valley
Surrounded by 18 miles of trails, Canaan Resort offers lodging in a picturesque location. About an hour west of Petersburg, WV, the resort features a longest run of 6,000 feet and both a 160-room lodge and 23 private cabins.
canaanresort.com
Timberline Resort
Timberline Four Seasons Resort offers 37 trails, 4 lifts, 1,000 feet vertical and some of the best tree skiing you'll find on the east coast. This resort features a longest run of 2 miles and averages 150" of natural snowfall each year.
timberlineresort.com
Winterplace Resort
Winterplace Resort boasts a newly expanded terrain park, in addition to its 27 trails and 16 tubing lanes. With a longest run of 1.25 miles, Winterplace Resort's top elevation reaches 3,600 feet.
winterplace.com
