Do you love to ski but hate putting up with the crowds? Would you like to go down the slope without worrying about running into a bunch of people ? Well you may have found your perfect ski destination in West Virginia's Canaan Valley. This mountain destination is located high in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia, just 3 hours west of Washington DC. Canaan Valley is in the highest valley east of the Colorado Rockies and subsequently gets an average of 150 inches a snow a year making it an ideal skiing destination.
Canaan Valley is host to a number of ski venues . First, there is the West Virginia State Park run Canaan Valley Ski Resort with 39 slopes and trails. The longest trail here has a run of 6000 ft. The highest spot at the resort is 4,280 ft. with a total vertical drop is 850 ft. You can also find snow tubing here as well as an ski rink. For a look at the trails check out the image below.
Canaan Valley Resort Trails
Timberline Resort has 36 trails and slopes. The longest run is 2 miles and is actually the Southeast's longest trail. If cross country skiing is your thing, Timberline offers over 10 miles of trails. You can also find a terrain park here as well.
Timberline Resort Trails
If you are looking for the ultimate in cross country skiing than just head on over to White Grass where you will find over 30 miles of trails ranging in elevation from 3200ft to 4400ft. You can even rent snow shoes here for something a little different. Whitegrass is located between Canaan Resort and Timberline Resort.
White Grass Trails
If one ski resort isn't enough than you may want to consider the SkiTheValley pass where you have the opportunity to ski both Canaan Valley Ski Resort and Timerline Resort for a total of 76 ski slopes, seven lifts and a tubing and terrain park.
Lodging
You can just come for the day but you really need to spend at least two or three days here to really experience the area. You aren't going to find a Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, or Hampton Inn here but what you will find are some of the nicest chalets, cabins and cottages located in beautiful surroundings. Either one of the larger resorts will offer lodging slope side. The resorts will also offer accommodations close by that may even border the Monongahela National Forest or the Wildlife Refuge. There are also a number of local Real Estate Agencies that offer a selection of different accommodations in Canaan Valley or nearby. Bottom line, this is a beautiful area and there is a wide range of accommodations from a large chalet on the slope side to the little cabin on the creek side. You can't find a bad spot in this area. It's all beautiful.
Canaan Valley may not compete with the ski slopes of Colorado, but it is very family oriented, not overly crowded, and is less than a day's drive from all of the Northeast and Mid Atlantic States. So maybe on your next ski outing you may just want to consider this little gem of a ski destination in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.