Story Idea

Mountain Resorts – Ski, Board and Waterslide?
Indulge a passion for winter sports in Virginia at four major mountain resorts. Skiing, skating, snow boarding and even water slides make Virginia’s mountains magical for winter. 

Wintergreen Resort
Wintergreen Resort is an 11,000-acre, four-season resort located southwest of Charlottesville in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

The resort boasts the only automated snowmaking system on the East Coast, ensuring snow on Wintergreen’s 25 slopes on 125 skiable acres and five lifts. Skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels enjoy Wintergreen as it features the region's most extensive beginner-to-expert terrain with 14 slopes lighted for night skiing. The snowboard terrain park offers skiers and snowboarders the chance to practice freestyle skills on snow features, jibs and rails.

Try snowtubing in two tubing parks. The Plunge is a 900-foot, 10-lane hill dubbed "the ultimate scream machine," and The Slide is for youngsters and those who want their thrills a bit tamer.  Also, don't miss Wintergreen's Out of Bounds Adventure Center, which can take family bonding to a whole new level with activities including team paintball, a high-flying bungee trampoline, miniature golf, a mechanical bull and a 25-foot climbing tower.

Wintergreen lodging options include rooms in the main lodge, studio condominiums and seven-bedroom mountain homes. Wintergreen’s six restaurants offer elegant to casual dining options including the gourmet Copper Mine, and the casual Edge.

The Homestead:  Experience Winter Luxury at its Best
The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia has been pampering guests since 1766.  Nestled on 15,000 acres of wonder in Virginia’s Allegheny mountains, this luxurious year-round resort offers 483 luxurious rooms including 88 suites reflecting the Georgian style and panoramas of pristine mountain valley. 

The Homestead ski area offers over 45 acres for skiing and snowboarding enjoyment with complete snowmaking capabilities. Ski and snowboard lessons, rental equipment and bunny school programs are available.  Other winter activities include cross-country skiing, snow tubing, snowshoeing, guided snowmobile tours and the region’s only Olympic-sized ice skating rink. 

Visitors can stay warm and cozy at the Mountain Lodge which serves lunch daily and has a deck with a stone outdoor fireplace where guests can watch skiers coming down the slopes.  Other dining options range from the elegant Main Dining Room with continental cuisine to the more intimate 1766 Grille, or the more casual aura of Sam Snead's Tavern. 

After a day on the slopes, guests can soak in the natural hot mineral spring waters of the Jefferson Pools, documented in history books for their restorative powers, like Thomas Jefferson did back in 1818.

Massanutten Resort:  Swoosh and Splash
Massanutten is a four-season vacation resort near Harrisonburg in the Shenandoah Valley.  Accommodations range from hotel rooms in the main lodge to large four-bedroom condominiums with full or partial kitchens, whirlpool tubs, fireplaces and decks. 

Enjoy Massanutten’s 14 trails, which are all lit up for night skiing. Slopes are classified as Beginner - 30 percent, Intermediate - 35 percent and Advanced - 35 percent, spanning 70 skiable acres. Seven ski lifts, including two quad chair lifts to the highest peak, help to keep waiting time in line at a minimum.  Massanutten's Terrain Park for snowboards and skiblades features ever-challenging obstacles throughout the season. Kids and parents love snowtubing at the 12-lane Tube Park.

Massanutten also offers guests a little summer with winter fun with the region’s only indoor water park.  Chill out with eight water slides, an Adventure River, hot tubs, and the Flow Rider: a surfing attraction where 50,000 gallons of water rushes over a trampoline-style mat with a five-foot incline. This constant motion creates the endless, perfect wave. Snowboarders, skate boarders, surfers and body boarders find the Flow Rider to be the perfect combination of all sports. The park also has 80,000 sq.ft. of outdoor fun with mulit-lane mat racers, wave pool, water b-ball hoops and more. 

Bryce Resort:  Perfect for Family Fun
Nestled in the Allegheny Mountains, Bryce Resort is a 400-acre member-owned resort that is open to the public.  Bryce is a great place to bring children and is known as a family friendly ski resort.

Skiing and snowboarding are paramount at Bryce, with eight slopes, two chair lifts and three carpet lifts.  Slopes are classified as Beginner - 34 percent, Intermediate - 33 percent and Advanced - 33 percent. Night skiing is offered and snowtubing at Ridge Runners Park is a great thrill at Bryce Resort and includes a carpeted lift back up to the top.

Bryce also has a well-known Ski School and children's school - the SKIwee Program.  Ski Racing clinics and events happen throughout the season too. 

New This Year
Ski Year-Round – Southern Style in Lynchburg
Winter sports enthusiasts can hit the slopes year-round in Lynchburg at the new Liberty Mountain Snowflex Center.

The snow-free slope on Liberty University’s 5,000 acre mountain is the only one of its kind in North America. Ski, snowboard and snowtube year-round for just $8 a lift ticket. Take advantage of the huge indoor skating rink at Liberty as well.

Virginia has much more to offer for winter sports lovers. These and many more ideas found on www.Virginia.org.

Contact the Virginia tourism public relations staff for more ideas and assistance planning research trips.

Media Contacts

Tamra Talmadge-Anderson
Director of Public Relations
804-545-5573
ttanderson@virginia.org

Richard Lewis
Public Relations Manager
804-545-5574
rlewis@virginia.org