Wintergreen Resort

The 11,000-acre Wintergreen Resort on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains has the largest tubing park in the state and twice been named by the readers of the Washington Post online. With 129 slide-able acres and 26 ski and snowboard slopes and trails, two terrain parks with obstacles, a Snow Sports School, and a snow park for young kids, it's an all-ages, all-skill levels place to play.

Wintergreen is proud to be the only ski area on the East Coast to use an automated snow making system across its entire terrain. The computerized system uses some 40,000 linear feet of pipeline and more than 400 snow guns. The result: snow all of the time, snow everywhere.

Twenty-three percent of Wintergreen's snowy terrain is considered suitable for beginners, while 35 percent is for intermediate and 42 percent for advanced and expert sliders. Among its slopes are Cliffhanger, a double-black-diamond expert hill, and Outer Limits, a new 2,000-foot single-black-diamond. Eagles Swoop and Tyro are intermediate slopes. Upper & Lower Dobie are suitable for beginners.

The tubing park, officially called the Plunge but nicknamed the "scream machine," is more than three football fields long, and daredevils take it at speeds of nearly 30 miles per hour.  The 30-second trip down the 900-foot Zip is even faster, reaching 40 mph. A conveyor lift takes tubes and tubers back both hills. Wintergreen is open for night skiing Tuesday through Sunday nights.

Wintergreen's seven lifts can take as many as 11,200 skiers up the mountain every hour. Of its five chairlifts, two are high-speed with a six-passenger capacity. Two surface conveyor lifts are employed in the beginner areas.

Folks who prefer sliding on a flat surface can head to the brand new Shamokin Ice Skating Rink outside on the Blue Ridge Terrace. The 45 x 90 foot rink can hold up to 60 skaters at a time. A 150-ton “chiller” keeps the ice icy when the weather is not. The park is available for skating parties, birthday parties, broomball events, etc.

Wintergreen's two terrain parks are places to practice freestyle skills on snow features, jibs and rails. The parks also host events and competitions with fancy names like Freestyle Rail Jams, the Blue Ridge Doublecross and the Glass & Powder Slopestyle.

Also new to Wintergreen is Ridgely's Fun Park, a place where kids 3 and up can play out of the way of skiers and boarders. Parents can help kids make snowmen or throw snowballs, sled, ride a carousel in a mini-tube, explore tunnels and try out bear paw snowshoes. Hot chocolate and s'mores are sold in the park tee-pee, and the park mascot, Ridgely the Bear makes appearances.

Wintergreen rents skis, snowboards, boots and poles. Rentals may be made on an individual basis, but season-long rental passes are sold as well.

Wintergreen's Winter at The Treehouse is the place for ski and snowboard instruction for kids 4-12. The resort offers instruction to adults as well, based on the American Teaching System, guaranteeing beginners the ability to turn (important) and stop (very important!) by the end of the first lesson.

Rippers is an all-day ski session for kids 4-12 beginner to advanced beginner that includes four hours of actual instruction plus equipment, lunch, snacks and hot chocolate. Mountain Explorers teaches both skiing and snowboarding to kids 7-14 in half and full-day sessions, providing snacks and hot chocolate, and lunch to all-day participants. Mountain Explorers Pro instructs more advanced skiers and boarders ages 6-14 over five consecutive Saturdays or Sundays. The Treehouse also provides childcare for children 2 ½ to 12.

For the littlest ones, the Snow Play program for kids 3 and up offers childcare and an hour's worth of snow play. Mountain Mornings is a five-week program for pre-schoolers 3-6 with two hours of lesson time. Private lessons are also offered for parents and children together, so Mom and Dad can learn how to teach the youngsters.

Wintergreen Adaptive Skiing (WAS) is a non-profit organization that teaches kids and adults with physical disabilities to ski and snowboard. Lessons are available all day long.

As a member of the Southern Alpine Race Association (SARA), Massanutten offers team competition in skiing and snowboarding for kids on the intermediate through advanced levels. Meets are held every weekend throughout the season from late December to early March at a different resort throughout the region, and at Massanutten itself, with each resort fielding a team. The Race Competition Squad is for skiers ages 7-19 who are competent on advanced terrain. The Ski Development Squad is for ages 7-16 who can compete on intermediate through advanced terrain. The Freestyle Squad is for snowboarders ages 7-16 and competes on advanced terrain, and the Snowboard Development Squad is for boarders ages 7-16 and competes on intermediate terrain.

More Than Sports

With an elevation of 4,000 feet, cool mountain temperatures year 'round, and plenty of snow in the winter, Wintergreen is the perfect spot for a vacation home. Wintergreen's 300 lodgings are not times shares, but are individually owned. They range from three-bedroom villa-style condominiums to nine-bedroom stand-alone homes. All are fully furnished and equipped and most have a fireplace, and a balcony or deck. Homes may be bought and sold through Wintergreen Resort Premier Properties. Unbuilt lots are available as well.

Wintergreen in the winter isn't just a gorgeous place to play in the snow; it's a place to relax before and after. Its tantalizing restaurants include Devil's Grill, The Copper Mine Bistro, The Edge, and Stoney Creek Bar and Grill, and serve everything from traditional breakfasts, burgers and pizzas, to tapas and upscale American cuisine. Its Music at the Edge series features a different band every weekend. And it's a shopper's paradise nestled in a natural paradise, with an Aquatics & Fitness Shop, a Nature Foundation Shoppe, the Wintergarden Spa Shop, and several “pro” shops with sporting goods.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     With eight meeting rooms comprising 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including the 8,160 square foot Skyline Pavilion and the 3,854 square foot Commonwealth Ballroom, Wintergreen can accommodate parties and conferences, celebrations and reunions. And with its exquisite mountain vistas, it's a popular place for weddings. The resort offers special wedding menus, as well as help with flower arrangements, photography, music, accommodations . . . everything but the guest list!