Winterplace Review: Our Fun Ski Weekend in West Virginia

Friends! I am so excited to share this Winterplace review with you. Finn and I spent last weekend in the mountains of southern West Virginia enjoying all that Winterplace Ski Resort has to offer and we had the BEST time! Seriously, I have been smiling all week thinking about how much fun we had together and looking back at all the pictures and videos. If you saw me in person this week you were likely forced to watch a video of Finn skiing a green on his own. 🙂

We were invited to visit Winterplace as part of a media trip so huge thanks to the team at Winterplace for an incredible experience.

Before I dive into my full weekend recap and Winterplace review, let me give you the need to know details on Winterplace Ski Resort.

ALL ABOUT WINTERPLACE SKI RESORT

• Winterplace prides itself on being the most accessible and affordable ski resort in the Southeast. It’s located just off Interstate 77 and is the southernmost ski resort in West Virginia. It’s a very quick and easy 3 hour drive from Charlotte and also convenient to cities like Raleigh, Bristol, Charlottesville, Blacksburg, Columbus OH, Pittsburgh.
• The resort boasts 100% snowmaking and over 90 skiable acres with 27 total trails, 10 lifts and a terrain park.
• Winterplace is home to the largest snow tubing park in West Virginia with two carpet lifts and 14 lanes of tubing.
• Winterplace typically opens mid-December and the season lasts into march.
• The resort is very beginner-friendly but also offers plenty of fun for more advanced skiers.

FRIDAY TRAVEL TO WINTERPLACE + CHECKING IN AT THE RESORT AT GLADE SPRINGS 

I picked Finn up from school at 1p on Friday and had the car all packed up to get on the road. We had to run around Charlotte to pick up some ski gear but got on 77 just before 2p. It’s a straight shot up 77 from Charlotte. We especially enjoyed the drive once we got into the mountains around Fancy Gap, Virginia and Finn thought it was so cool to drive through two mountain tunnels once we got into West Virginia.

We arrived at The Resort at Glade Springs around 5p and got checked into our room.

Finn was a fan of the two queen beds and wasted no time getting his stuffies unpacked and settled on “his bed.”

The Resort at Glade Springs is part of a bigger golf/leisure community and the hotel was perfectly comfortable for what we needed for our ski weekend with the bonus of also having restaurants on site, winter activities like holiday lights and ice skating and a leisure center with an indoor pool, gym, basketball court, bowling alley, etc.

I needed to get this kid moving after he sat in the car for four hours so we made a trip to the indoor pool before dinner. I was so impressed by this pool – it was huge with a big zero entry area, lap lanes and a big hot tub.

DINNER AT THE DISH CAFE 

We drove less than 10 minutes off-property for dinner at The Dish Cafe at the recommendation of some local women I was chatting with at the pool. The restaurant is located in a strip mall along a busy highway but the food was delicious and the service was friendly. The Dish is locally owned and focuses on serving wholesome, nutritious food. They offer everything from steaks and seafood to sandwiches and burgers to salads and more. They have lots of gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian/vegan options.

I had the falafel salad with a scoop of homemade hummus and Finn had chicken tenders and fries. We skipped dessert but they had some really delicious-sounding homemade options.

Back in the room, I got everything laid out for our Saturday ski day and we got to bed!

SATURDAY MORNING AT WINTERPLACE 

(my ski bib was less than $30 on Amazon and 10/10 recommend for the price)

We were up bright and early on Saturday to get our ski gear on. We ate a very tasty breakfast at the hotel breakfast bar and then hopped on the complimentary shuttle to Winterplace at 8a.

It was an easy 15 minute drive over to Winterplace. Upon arrival we had a meet and greet with the Winterplace General Manager Josh Faber and marketing manager Kristen Mann. Finn and I were matched up with ski instructor Brooklyn who accompanied us to the rental area to get fitted for skis. It was an easy process and we were in and out of there in under 20 minutes.

Our rental came with skis, boots, poles and helmets.

We spent two hours out on the training hill with Brooklyn. She was incredibly personable and patient. She worked with Finn on a lesson while giving me some refreshers on technique and turns. This was Finn’s third time skiing but first with me.

I have to admit – it was a ROUGH morning out there. Conditions were cold rain and wind. We stuck it out for as long as we could and then headed back to our group meeting spot for lunch.

We were greeted with a delicious spread from The 304 including pimento cheese and pita, potato leek soup, chicken and dumplings and wraps. Everyone was soaking wet from the morning of rain so most of our group opted to shuttle back to The Glade to get warm and dry.

AFTERNOON AT THE GLADE 

We all met up at the leisure center so the kids could swim and adults could hot tub. Finn swam for almost three hours and I had a great time getting to know some of the other people on the trip.

Finn and I had an early dinner at the Bunkers restaurant on property. We crushed a platter of fries to start.

And then I had a chicken caesar and Finn had a cheese pizza. We were back in our room before 7 and Finn watched a movie while I worked for a bit.

AN EPIC SUNDAY SNOW DAY AT WINTERPLACE

Sunday was the BEST DAY!!!!!!! We awoke to snow flurries (yay for no rain!) and they went on all day. It’s crazy how much colder rain is than snow. While we had to bundle to protect ourselves from the snow/wind, we weren’t wet like we were the day before. And the snow felt so festive and fun!

We slept a little later on Sunday and then I got us all packed up and the car loaded. We had another good buffet breakfast at the hotel and then I drove us to Winterplace. Finn was signed up for SkiWee in the morning. It is designed for kids ages five to 12. Priced at $130 per session, each program includes an area ticket, ski or snowboard equipment rental, helmet and on-snow instruction from Winterplace instructors.

While Finn was in SkiWee I was able to get out and really explore all that Winterplace has to offer. I stuck to the blues and had a blast out there. Even though it was a weekend, I honestly didn’t feel that the slopes were overcrowded and other skiers/boarders were very respectful and kind.

I was pleased with how easily skiing came back to me and it most definitely won’t be another 15 years until I’m back on skis again. I’m already scheming ways to get one more ski trip in this winter.

Finn was all smiles when I picked him up from SkiWee and begging to head straight to the lifts for “Finn and mommy skiing.” I assured him we’d get right to it as soon as we got warmed up and had lunch.

Another ridiculously amazing meal from The 304 – creamy grits, pot roast and parmesan roasted brussel sprouts. Finn had chicken tenders and fries from the Winterplace food court if anyone was wondering. Haha.

We set out to ski together around 1p. I was a little nervous about taking Finn on the lifts but I’m very happy to report that we did not suspend lift operations one single time due to falling. YAY US! One of the truly lovely things about Winterplace is how beginner and family-friendly it is.

Skiing with Finn was a very special and fun experience but it was also insanely physical for me. He was able to get down easy greens like a rockstar but struggled a bit on big turns and steeper hills. There was a lot of getting our skis crossed trying to help him up and awkward positions.

I’d do it over and over again a million times for the sweetness of his enthusiasm and joy. I was so proud of his determination. We did five trips of the following and it took us about two hours:

• Ride lift 4
• Ski down Country Roads – this was an extremely doable run for Finn. The only issue is that there’s a small uphill from the lift to the run and he just couldn’t do it with skis. I had to take his skis off when we exited the lift and then chisel the ice off his boots with my poles once we got to the trailhead to get his skis back on.
• Country Roads to Easy Street (training hill)
• Easy Street to No Problem – No Problem was the steepest green Finn did but he figured out a strategy to break it up and had varying levels of success staying on his feet 🙂
• Back to lift 4!

Here’s a trail map!

Finn wanted to do 25 rounds of the circuit I described above but I informed him that we would be there all night and still had to get in some tubing and drive home to Charlotte.

We made our way over to the tubing area and what an experience that was! I absolutely could not believe how fast you went on the tubes! It was a fun time!

We wrapped up tubing around 5p and made our way to the car. We stripped our ski bibs and boots off for the drive and arrived home right around 8p. Such an easy trip!

You guys, I honestly cannot say enough great things about our weekend at Winterplace. You truly can’t beat it for how accessible it is and we will definitely be returning for a fun weekend trip from Charlotte.

A FEW FINAL THINGS

• Winterplace Family Festival Weekend – Winterplace will host its 2nd Annual Family Festival on Saturday, January 21 through Sunday, January 22. Families can enjoy exciting events for all ages including a Mini and Big Air freestyle competition at the resort’s new Heaven Holler Terrain Park, family ski race, snowtubing costume contest, Yeti scavenger hunt, face painting and even a chance to dress up and take a ski lesson with a variety of history’s most beloved characters. Additionally, guests can enjoy live entertainment at the Snowdrift lounge and a variety of food truck options all weekend long.
• Winterplace has a full calendar of events taking place all season long – from food truck Saturdays and Apres-Ski parties at the Snowdrift lounge to Throwdown Thursdays and Rail Jam fun at Heaven Holler Terrain Park. For more information on Family Festival and a full calendar click here.

And that’s a wrap on my Winterplace review. Please, please, please let me know if you have any questions!

QUESTIONS

Do you ski or snowboard?

Have you been with your kids? Do they ski or snowboard? 

Have you done a trip in the Southeast? 

Favorite ski trip destination (budget and splurge)?