When we tried to take our first family ski trip last winter, our efforts were thwarted by an ill-timed case of the flu. I stayed home with my sick youngest son and my husband and oldest son headed out on a day trip to Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock, NC. RB totally loved it and has been dying to go skiing again ever since. We decided to tempt fate again this year and plan a weekend ski trip for the whole family.
With two beginners, we wanted a mountain that would be a good place to learn. App was great but with only 4 lifts and 12 runs, we thought we might be a little bored by the second day. Winterplace Ski Resort in West Virginia is a slightly bigger mountain but still a great place to learn to ski so we decided to give it a try.
An easy 3 hour drive from Charlotte, Winterplace is a great option for those wanting to venture beyond the NC ski mountains. Despite its popularity as a weekend destination, I had a hard time figuring out the logistics of our visit. Hotels seemed to be non-existent and there was no central site to find slope-side rentals. A handful were on vrbo or Airbnb and some appeared to be individually listed but it was difficult to understand where things were in relation to the mountain. The lack of a centralized rental resource was extremely frustrating.
With only two days, we really wanted to maximize our skiing time by staying slope side. The nearest hotels were about 12 miles away so we eliminated that as an option. A building of ski in / ski out condos appeared to be our best option. We were going with another family of 4 and the condos offered 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and claimed to sleep 6-8 people.
When I told a co-worker where we were staying, she was unable to stifle her laugh. She said the location was great but they were “tiiiiiiny” and she couldn’t imagine having 4 adults and 4 kids in there.
Well, she wasn’t wrong. It was definitely super small and a stretch to fit 8 people in there. We brought twin air mattresses for two of the boys but there was literally not a space big enough on the floor (in either of the bedrooms or the living room) to put one. One boy slept on the couch and the other on a futon, which worked in our situation but would have been a challenge with younger kids who have to go to bed early.
The third “bedroom” was literally a set of bunk beds crammed in the entryway. The hooks to hang up your skis and gear are about 2 feet from the beds. Mudrooms in ski places are a dumping ground for wet, muddy gear – and 8 people’s gear made it almost impossible to walk through there, let alone sleep in there. Also, it was c.o.l.d. in that room. The tile floor and direct access to the outside made it super chilly. But thankfully the two youngest boys thought it was a grand adventure and we tossed them in there with sleeping bags and lots of blankets and all was fine.
The two bathrooms were also tiny, not just in overall size but in stature. We joked that they looked like the bathrooms that Buddy the Elf used in the North Pole. And the hot water definitely did not last for more than 2-3 people at a time.
And in addition to the small size, the condos were pretty dated. But we weren’t there for luxury accommodations. We were there to ski. And the upside of the location definitely outweighed the downsides of the property itself (at least for a weekend trip – I would not recommend staying there with a large group for longer than that). When we woke up Saturday morning to see snow falling on the trail outside our window, we knew we had made the right choice.
We booked the kids a “Learn to Ski” package, which was an amazing deal. For $99 total we got 3 visits (days) that each included a beginner lift ticket, a group lesson, and equipment rental. 3 full days of skiing, everything included, for only $99! Buying everything separately would have been more than $99 for a single day only. If you see this deal pop up, grab it.
The ski in / ski out location is not super helpful the first morning when you haven’t rented your skis yet. We probably would have rented in Charlotte if not for the package, but it was still worth the time and inconvenience of a Saturday morning rental to save that much money. We drove down to the lodge, got our equipment, sent the kids off on their lesson, and then drove back up to the park the car back at the condo and ski down from there.
On the uphill side of the condo complex, there is a small area off to the side of the trail where you can put your skis on and then head down the hill. It did get busy in this area and was a little tough for the less confident kids to pull out onto the trail (Last Run) when there always seemed to be a line of people coming down the hill. This was also a blue (“more difficult”) trail, which made it even more intimidating for beginners. For an easier way down, you can walk to the downhill side of the condo. From there you can actually get to the top of lift 1 and ski from the start of a green trail (Highland Run) instead of trying to join a blue trail midstream.
The kids really liked their group lesson. They split skiers into groups of 8-10 by age and ability. The lessons start every hour on the weekends and last 90 minutes. They have a special teaching area with 2 Super Carpet Lifts to ease beginners into the sport.
The one downside of the lesson was that the boys did not get to practice getting on and off a chair lift. The instructor told them how to do it but they didn’t get to try it until we picked them up and took them to their first real run. (4 out of 4 boys fell the first time getting off.)
Winterplace has 10 lifts and 27 trails, ranging from easy to advanced. They have snow-making on all of their trails. And they have night skiing! All but one slope is open at night until 10pm.
One thing to note about the “Learn to Ski” package is that your lift ticket is limited to the beginner lifts only (1, 4, 5, 6, and 7). By the second day, the older boys were definitely ready to tackle some of the intermediate trails but had limited options because of their restricted lift tickets.
The Winterplace lodge has a basic food court offering burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches, with a decent seating area indoors and out. There is also an adult-only bar area. We packed lunch, bought some hot chocolate, and sat in the cafeteria. The rental shop is downstairs and we made use of the ski shop to buy some neck warmers and glove liners when the temperature dipped below what we were prepared for. This is certainly a no-frills operation but it gets the job done to warm you up and fill you up.
Overall, we found Winterplace to be a great place for beginner skiers. The lessons provided a strong foundation and the mountain had enough easy trails to give them some variety while still being comfortable. I will admit that the more experienced adults were a little bored of the limited runs by the end of the second day, but for a family skiing weekend, Winterplace is a fantastic option.
