Virginia might not be the first place one thinks of when it comes to winter sports. In fact, it’s true that there aren’t as many skiing resorts here as there are in neighboring states such as North Carolina. And yet, Virginia has some high-quality, amazing skiing areas with lots of excellent, fresh powder for skiing, snow tubing, and snowboarding. Thus, they make up for what they supposedly lack in quantity – and one such skiing region is Massanutten. We had some great options for a ski resort in Massanutten, VA. What’s more, they included all kinds of resorts, ranging from full-service ones with luxurious spas and onsite lodging to family-friendly regions with loads of winter fun.
At the same time, even their base towns ranged from swanky, luxurious destinations to mom-and-pop towns with true southern hospitality in a no-frills setting. Clearly, what these resorts lacked in elevation, they surely made up for with their skiing prowesses and infrastructure. To that end, here’s a comprehensive guide to the many amazing skiing resorts in Massanutten.
Table of contents
Omni Homestead Ski Resort
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Best historic skiing resort. Not many historic resorts can boast about having ski slopes, but this one can. Homestead Ski Slopes at Omni’s Homestead lies in Virginia’s Allegheny Mountains, and what makes this place unique is that it’s not only an alpine skiing destination but also a luxury resort. In fact, this premier all-season luxury skiing resort is Virginia’s oldest and is great for skiing and snowboarding, with more than 45 acres of well-maintained trails for all skill levels. Not only does it have nine downhill skiing runs, but there’s even a snowboarding park for us to be able to show off our tricks. But those aren’t the only things to do here, as winter activities include tubing, snowshoeing, XC skiing, mini-snowmobiling for kids, and even ice skating on an Olympic-sized rink! It’s what made it a great resort for a family skiing holiday for us.
If that wasn’t enough, this Omni skiing destination is also a Rossignol Experience Center, featuring the brand’s award-winning experience skis and other latest ski innovations. This, combined with the presence of the Sepp Kober Ski School, certainly made it a great experience to learn skiing here. The rest of the resort is, well, amazing, with indoor and outdoor pools truly being the standouts here.
The Terrain. With a vertical drop of 700 ft (213 m) and skiing routes of 1.8 mi (2.9 km), the terrain at Omni Homestead is divided into 52% beginner routes, 41% intermediate routes, and 7% expert ones. In fact, the only northwest-facing slope, which is also the main slope, is serviced by all three lifts.
The Town. Omni Homestead is unique as its own base town, but technically, it sits in the town of Hot Springs. There are other accommodation options, restaurants and bars, shops, and even a golf course.
At a glance
- Known for: Ideal family and learn-to-ski area.
- Opening: Mid-December
- Closing: Mid-March
- Elevation: 2,500 ft (760 m)
- Summit: 3,200 ft (980 m)
- Lifts: 3 (1 double chairlift, 2 surface lifts)
- Airport: Richmond International Airport, 170 mi (273.6 km)
Pros
- This is one of the best family-friendly skiing resorts in Virginia.
- There’s amazing accommodation at the resort.
- It’s great for beginners and intermediate skiers.
Cons
- It has just 10% expert runs.
Where to Stay: The Omni Homestead Resort is the only place to stay when skiing at the Homestead slopes, with it also being one of Virginia’s best historic hotels. In fact, the Serenity Garden pool, the indoor pool, and the Allegheny Springs pool are all spring-fed by mountain water. Aside from this, the resort also has modern lodging accommodations, as many as eight restaurants and bars, and even an onsite market. It truly made for a luxury weekend getaway for our family. With an abundance of pools and amorous nooks, it’s also one of the best Romantic Hotels in the Virginia Mountains.
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Wintergreen Resort
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Largest ski resort. In picturesque central Virginia, adjacent to the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway, sits its largest skiing resort, the 11,000-acre-huge, all-season Wintergreen Resort. This sizeable skiing resort offered us the unique advantage of skiing and playing gol – all within a few hours! With 129 acres of skiable terrain, skiing at Wintergreen was the perfect family outing, as the resort even had lessons to get kids started and help them begin falling in love with skiing. Did you know they have night skiing too? Yes!
That said, Wintergreen is a lot more than just a skiing destination. After skiing, we headed to the terrain park with more than 40 features, including boxes, rails, jumps, and more. The fun didn’t end there as we spent more time in Ridgley’s Fun Park, which has toboggan runs, a small tubing park, and even a friendly roaming bear! There’s even a NASTAR race course to up the ante on fun all the more. That said, the biggest highlight after skiing is the tubing park, which is Virginia’s largest, and we hit speeds as high as 30 mi/h as we zipped down the hill! At the end of the day, we adults headed down the mountain to get in some tee time at the Stoney Creek Golf Course.
“Skiing at Wintergreen was absolute fun, especially since there are so many other winter activities on offer too!”
WOW Travel
The Terrain. This resort boasts 26 trails across 6.2 mi (10 km) of skiing routes, which are divided into 20% beginner slopes and an equal amount of intermediate and expert runs. But what struck us here was the fact that there’s a state-of-the-art snowmaking system here, which is touted to be one of the most sophisticated snowmaking systems in the world.
The Town. The resort has many options for drinking, dining, and accommodation, practically serving as its own base town.
At a glance
- Known for: Being home to the largest tubing park in the state.
- Opening: Mid-end of December
- Closing: March (the date depends on the weather)
- Elevation: 2,512 ft (766 m)
- Summit: 3,515 ft (1,071 m)
- Lifts: 5 (1 double chair, 1 triple chair, 1 quad chair, 2 high-speed six-pack chairs)
- Airport: Richmond International Airport, 120 mi (193 km)
Pros
- There are a lot of accommodation options.
- It boasts a large and diverse terrain.
- It’s an excellent family-friendly resort.
Cons
- It can get quite crowded.
Where to Stay: This gorgeous two-bedroom Wintergreen Resort Mountain Condo, which also boasts one of the best outdoor pools we’ve ever seen, certainly made our Wintergreen stay memorable. The space opened onto a living room with a TV and free Wi-Fi, with a fully-equipped kitchen right to the side. The bedrooms and bathrooms were modern, comfy, and well-equipped, and the fireplace was a blessing after a day on the slopes.
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Bryce Resort
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Best all-season resort. Bryce Resort, which started out as a Shenandoah Valley summer retreat, threw open its ski slopes in the 1960s – and it hasn’t looked back. This popular all-season in Mt. Jackson is excellent for skiing, but it’s not just that. It’s spent decades nurturing its reputation as a family-friendly resort and lives up to it. What’s more, there’s even a great ski school with a team of patient and friendly instructors who had the kids gliding down the slopes safely and in no time.
Besides excellent powder-filled trails, the area has a fantastic, thrilling tubing park with 800-ft-long tubing lanes. We had nonstop fun here with the kids, whose adrenaline and joy knew no bounds. Hence, those who don’t wish to ski also have something absolutely fun to indulge in here. At the base of the hill, there’s even an ice-skating rink as well as the ski and snowboard shop from where we rented out ski gear and equipment. Have your skill levels already improved? You should consider signing up for one of the NASTAR racing teams, which are as relaxed or intense as you want them to be. What makes this skiing resort also unique is the location – while it’s in Virginia, \Washington, D.C., is just two hours away.
The Terrain. 3 mi (5 km) of skiing routes are spread across 8 trails, a 500-ft+ vertical drop, and routes are divided into 40% beginner, 56% intermediate, and 4% expert. All trails except for Hangover and White Lighting even have night skiing!
The Town. The skiing resort has a few good options for staying, albeit most of them are condos. Plus, there are a few options in Mt. Jackson, but the real wealth of hotels lies in Woodstock, half an hour away.
At a glance
- Known for: Year-round family-friendly resort
- Opening: November end – beginning of December
- Closing: Mid-March
- Elevation: 1,250 ft (381 m)
- Summit: 1,750 ft (533 m)
- Lifts: 6 (2 surface lifts, 2 quad lifts, 2 chairlifts)
- Airport: Dulles International Airport, 103 mi (166 km)
Pros
- Its location is excellent.
- The trails are great for beginners and intermediate skiers.
- It’s a family-friendly resort.
Cons
- It doesn’t have many advanced runs.
Where to Stay: We stayed at the Stony Court at Bryce Mountain by Capital Vacations, which has great ski-in/ski-out access. Not only did the resort have an indoor pool and a seasonal outdoor one, but it also offered superb mountain views and even a sauna where we could relax and unwind after a long day on the slopes. The units were no less comfy and came with modern bathrooms, fully equipped kitchens, and plush bedrooms. Wrapping up the features are the fitness center, free parking, and even convenience stores.
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Massanutten Ski Resort
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Best overall. Sitting at the top of the list is the best skiing destination in all of Virginia, Massanutten Ski Resort, which offers all-season fun. In the winter, the resort is famed for its skiing with 70 acres of skiable terrain and is itself sprawled across a whopping 6,000 acres. For something different and unique, we tried the park at night, where the crazy neon lights and music make for a crazy skiing experience.
What makes it popular with families is that apart from skiing, it offers a whole lot of other winter activities, including snow tubing and snowboarding. In fact, we loved its enthralling terrain park, which contains elements for snowbladers, skiers, and snowboarders. The Massanutten Family Adventure Park ws all the better, with zip-lining, a climbing wall, besides 16 tubing lanes. If that weren’t enough, the region also has nearly 5,000 sq. ft. of ice skating, accommodating up to as many as 130 skaters!
The Terrain. Massantutten Ski Resort has 14 runs spread across skiing routes 5 mi long (8 km), with the skill breakdown being 30% beginner runs, 35% intermediate ones, and an equal percentage of expert runs, which is 35%. The skiing resort has even carved out a few new runs for intermediate and expert skiers.
The Town. The base lodge is spectacular, complete with huge floor-to-ceiling windows and a 5,000 sq. ft.-huge patio deck. While the resort serves as a base town with lots of staying, drinking, and dining options, Elkton, 7 mi (11 km) away, is also great.
At a glance
- Known for: All-season resort with a wonderful base, night skiing, and 100% snowmaking
- Opening: Mid-December
- Closing: Beginning of March
- Elevation: 1,750 ft (533 m)
- Summit: 2,925 ft (891 m)
- Lifts: 7 (4 chairlifts, 3 magic carpets)
- Airport: Richmond International Airport, 115 mi (185 km)
Pros
- It has great runs for all ability levels.
- It has a ton of accommodation options.
- This is a four-season resort.
Cons
- It could get crowded at times.
Where to Stay: Ski-to-door access doesn’t get any better than staying at the Massanutten Resort by Tripforth, a 4-star resort where the units feature everything from cable TVs and seating areas to modern bathrooms, bedrooms, and coffee machines. In fact, our suites even had fully equipped kitchens where we could whip up meals on the fly. Even then, convenience stores and restaurants are nearby, with free parking and free Wi-Fi.
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Our Verdict!
All skiing resorts in Massanutten are amazing, but we’ve developed a specialized list to help you choose – or prioritize where you want to visit first!
- Best historic skiing resort: Omni Homestead Ski Resort
- Largest ski resort: Wintergreen Resort
- Best all-season resort: Bryce Resort
- Best overall: Massanutten Ski Resort
What is the largest ski resort in Virginia?
With 27 slopes and 11,000 acres of skiable terrain, Wintergreen Resort is Virginia’s largest ski resort.
You should also check out the best ski resorts in Upstate New York and the best ski resorts in the Poconos.
How many ski resorts does Virginia have?
Virginia has four ski resorts, namely Wintergreen, Omni Homestead, Bryce, and Massanutten ski resort.
Is it expensive to ski in Virginia?
No, in fact, lift tickets here have some of the best deals, with every resort featuring weekend deals. That said, the Omni Homestead Ski Resort has fantastic deals on up to three-day lift tickets.
