To many people, Washington DC is a place filled with hot air, so it is hard to imagine that the locals enjoy sports like skiing in the winter. Washington happily is close to several ski mountains that allow weekend trips without great difficulty. I learned to ski at Ski Liberty just outside Gettysburg, PA. The mountains around DC are great for learning to ski on ice. (It has been hard for me to ski in the Rockies because the snow there is typically powder!) If you are used to skiing out west, be prepared for a different experience around DC!
Ski Liberty outside Gettysburg is probably the closest ski mountain to the Washington DC area. It is definitely small - with just 100 acres, but it is a very easy day trip. The vertical drop is 620 feet. The mountain has 5 quad chairs and 3 surface lifts. There are 16 trails and 35% beginner runs, 25% expert and 40% intermediate. Just as an FYI, there is a nice little lodge at the bottom of the hill which is a good place for carpooling moms to hang out and wait for the ski teams to finish practicing. Ski Liberty is part of the Vail EPIC PASS program. Imagine - you can warm up at Ski Liberty and then ski the back bowls at Vail or the Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek!
Wisp Resort in Western Maryland offers beginner skiers wide trails as well as lots of soft, natural snow, which makes it easier to control speed and turns. Conveniently, there’s a large hotel and parking lot right next to the slopes. The ski school has three lifts that are basically conveyor belts running up the mountain, so there’s no loading and unloading onto chairs. A separate learning area with two more conveyor-belt lifts is set aside for children ages 3 through 14. Once a skier has progressed off the bunny slope, the mountain, at only 700 feet high, includes several long beginner runs, such as Wisp Trail and Possum, plus a variety of relaxing intermediate slopes. 296 Marsh Hill Rd., McHenry, Md.; 301-859-3159.
Whitetail Resort in Pennsylvania is the perfect location for a quick day trip to the slopes. It’s the tallest and largest of the resorts within a two-hour drive, with a vertical drop of 935 feet and 23 trails, all of which are lit for night skiing. With a high-speed lift serving most of the intermediate trails on the front face, a proficient skier or snow-boarder can get in ten runs an hour on an uncrowded weekday. Experts can play on three advanced runs on the back side of the mountain, also with a dedicated lift. Yet another lift is set aside for the terrain park and halfpipe. Beginners will like the long, serpentine Sidewinder trail, which features a consistent pitch all along its length, and a learn-to-ski area where newbies can hone their skills without the stress of experienced skiers zooming by. 13805 Blairs Valley Rd., Mercersburg, Pa
Elk Mountain near Union Dale, PA is primarily intermediate and expert terrain on 27 slopes. There’s no spa, no tubing hill, no high-speed lift. There’s not even on-site lodging. Instead Elk Mountain offers 1,000 vertical feet and 27 slopes, including 11 advanced trails. And unlike most resorts that pad that trail number by naming every interconnecting run or dividing a trail into upper and lower portions, many of the slopes at Elk go from the very top all the way to the bottom. For those who love skiing fast, there’s little need to worry about ice: Elk has ranked among the best-groomed mountains in Ski magazine’s annual reader survey. Elk’s spruce-lined runs are the closest things to skiing in New England—without having to fly or make a daylong drive. Nearby lodging is available. 344 Elk Mountain Rd., Union Dale, Pa.; 570-679-4400.
Snowshoe is the largest resort in the Mid-Atlantic, with 56 trails and a vertical drop of 1,500 feet. The resort has an array of high-speed lifts, terrain parks, and an average annual snowfall of 180 inches. Even if you are not a skier there is lots to do at Snowshoe. The mountaintop village includes shops, restaurants and bars, a spa, a large indoor playground and arcade, an indoor/outdoor swimming center, and a variety of hotel rooms and condos within easy walking distance of the slopes. With snow-tubing, horse-drawn sleigh rides, snowmobile tours, snow buggies, and Sno-Cat rides, skiers and non-skiers can enjoy a great winter vacation. 10 Snowshoe Dr., Snowshoe, W. Va.; 877-441-4386.
Seven Springs is great for freestyle skiing and snowboarding. The terrain parks were rated number one on the East Coast by a 2015 readers’ poll in Ski magazine. The southwestern Pennsylvania mountain has a smaller halfpipe, an Olympic-size halfpipe, and seven terrain parks. The beginner park includes small rollers for first-time air hogs. Each park then offers progressively harder jumps and features, such as rails, boxes, and tabletops. Pirates Riglet Park is designed especially for ages four through seven and includes instruction programs. Adult private lessons as well as rentals of freestyle twin-tipped skis and snowboards are available. 777 Waterwheel Dr., Seven Springs, Pa.; 800-452-2223.
White Grass in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, will remind you of the bygone days of skiing—before the proliferation of snow-making. The center maintains about 30 miles of groomed cross-country ski trails that meander through the forest. Along the way, skiers will find a dozen shelters, some with wood-burning stoves. The center offers lessons in cross-country skiing, telemark skiing (essentially, cross- country skiing downhill using deep knee bends to carve turns), and uphill skiing. More than 35 miles of backcountry trails are available for telemark skiing. White Grass also offers ski and snowshoe rentals and sales, a gear trade-in program for growing kids, and a fabulous cafe with live music on weekends and vegetarian options. Canaan Valley is also a great family place for downhill skiing. 643 Weiss Knob Ski Rd., Davis, W. Va.; 304-866-4114.
The Homestead in Hot Springs VA is a great weekend trip for the whole family. The Homestead offers a comfortable and uncrowded area that is ideal for beginners. At the moment there are 4 runs and 2 lifts open. The Homestead is not a place you go for the exceptional skiing but rather for the gracious dining and overall experience, including the spa and hot springs.
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