It’s beginning to look a lot like ski season at north central West Virginia’s Canaan Valley Resort Ski Area. Encouraged by the wintry weather, the resort has fired up its fleet of snowmaking equipment with the goal of covering the popular multi-lane tubing park in advance of Thanksgiving weekend and building a deep base in time for the Dec. 15 opening of the ski area.
“The forecast is encouraging, and the cold temperatures are allowing us to crank up the snow guns,” said Steve Drumheller, general manager of the popular destination in the Allegheny Mountains. “With the strength of our snowmaking equipment this year and a new strategy for covering the trails and runs in the ski area, our goal is for Canaan Valley to be the coolest spot for skiing in the Southeast.”
To view current conditions, check out the resort’s webcam.
The resort made several major enhancements that doubled its snowmaking capacity in 2016 with the additions of snow guns and compressors, and it added four more “T40” snow guns this year to increase snowmaking another 20 percent. Those efforts paid off last year when the area was able to keep most of its trails open even after early-season cold gave way to warm stretches. The ski area opened Dec. 10, and its signature Gravity run saw its earliest opening ever.
This year the resort has also added a second water line at the tube park to better target snowmaking with the goal of doubling the lanes from four to eight while increasing efficiency and decreasing the need to manually move snow. The resort’s covered outdoor ice skating rink opens Thanksgiving Day and will operate through Sunday, Nov. 26. The 1,200-foot tubing park – the longest in the Mid-Atlantic region – is scheduled to open Friday, Nov. 24 and operate through Sunday, Nov. 26. The tubing park and skating rink will then close and reopen Dec. 16. Two-hour sessions at the tube park are $18 per person. Sessions begin at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Rates are $7 for adults and $5 for children at the ice skating rink. Guests can also rent skates for $3. The ice skate rental inventory was replaced last year.
The Canaan Valley Resort Ski Area will be open every day from Dec. 15, 2017 through March 18, 2018. Single-day lifts tickets for adults will be $52 on weekdays and $68 on weekends. There are also ½-day, two-day, three-day and Value Season (Dec. 15-25, 2017 and March 5-18, 2018) rates available as well as lift ticket/rental equipment combination packages. Skiers who think ahead can save on a season pass now available online. The single season pass is priced at $497 if purchased between now and Nov. 30. After that the season pass reaches the full rate of $550. Children, college students, seniors and West Virginia residents will find additional savings.
Last year, Canaan Valley Resort Ski Area swept the “Best in Snow” awards in the Southeast United States according to Liftopia as the top-ranked ski area in the Beginner Friendly, Most Challenging, Family Friendly, Best Snow Quality, Least Crowded and Best Value categories. For the purposes of the awards, the site indicated the region is comprised of ski areas in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.
