AS LONG aswinter lasts, sodoes winter fun

at Canaan Valley Resortand Blackwater Fallsstate parks near Davis inTucker County.

After a slow start in late2015, the winter seasonbegan in earnest in Januaryand February 2016, with coldweather and lots of naturaland artificially made snowmaking the slopes an invita-tion hard to turn down.

Canaan Valley ResortState Park

No matter your wintersports ability, Canaan ValleyResort State Park has a slopeor an activity for you.

Canaan’s ski area has 47trails and slopes with 30 per-cent beginner runs, 40 per-cent for intermediate skiersand 30 percent for advancedskiers. The longest run, Tim-ber Trail, is 1¼ miles long.Skiers will find a challengingdouble black diamond OldCanaan Curve run and DarkSide of the Moon, a long runthat travels along the easternboundary of the ski area.New this year is the additionof skiing in the eastern partof the mountain between twoblack diamond runs.

Canaan also offers a vari-ety of winter activities suchas cross-country skiing, anice skating rink and the new,popular snow tubing park,fun for ages 4 and older.The tube park offers multi-ple lanes (each 1,200 feet inlength – the longest in theMid-Atlantic) and a magiccarpet to whisk you backto the top. Sessions are twohours in length. The warminghut (complete with fireplace)features a ticket kiosk, con-cessions, restrooms, outdoorfire ring and parking area.Group rates are available.

Located in the highestmountain valley to the eastof the Rocky Mountains, Ca-naan Valley’s average annualsnowfall is more than 180inches – more than most skiareas throughout the region –with breathtaking views. Thesummit elevation of 4,280feet above sea level features91 skiable acres, three lifts –one quad, two triples and amagic carpet – lighted nightskiing on weekends andholidays, a terrain park andski school. A webcam offersa continuous, real-time lookat ski conditions.

Canaan Valley is known forits great beginner and inter-mediate terrain, providing aperfect place for new skiersand boarders to learn. TheCritters Crawl is a dedicatedbeginner instruction trailserviced by its own magiccarpet.

The resort offers numerouslift ticket options, with spe-cial pricing on season passes

for children, juniors, seniors,college students, families andWest Virginia residents.

For complete details onseason pass pricing anddeals, visit the www.canaan-resort.com. To make reserva-tions, call 1-800-622-4121.

Blackwater FallsState Park

One of the newest andmost popular winter at-tractions in the state is thelongest sled run on the EastCoast at Blackwater FallsState Park. The run letssledders race down morethan a quarter-mile of fresh-groomed mountain snow.From the bottom, the newWonder Carpet conveyorsystem whisks sledders —with their sleds — effortless-ly back to the mountaintop,where they can do it all overagain.

New snowmaking equip-ment makes every day a sled-ding day, all season long, andnewly installed lights extendthe fun long into the night onselect dates.

The sled run is openSunday through Thursdayfrom 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. andFriday and Saturday from 9a.m. until 9 p.m. Sledders ofall ages are welcome on therun; however, children 12and younger must be accom-panied by an adult.

Visitors to the sled run cantake a break from sleddingto enjoy refreshments at thepark’s Warming Hut.

Blackwater Falls also offersmore than 10 miles of parktrails that can be enjoyed bybeginning and more-experi-enced cross-country skiers.Many of these are groomedand maintained specificallyfor cross-country skiing. Afull-service cross-country skicenter offers ski lessons andequipment rental.

Blackwater Falls State Parkboasts a 54-room lodge, 39vacation cabins and morethan 10 miles of cross-coun-try skiing trails. The Black-water Falls area enjoys anaverage 150 inches of snow-fall every year. BlackwaterLodge, cabins and restaurantare open year-round and wel-come visitors to enjoy wintersled riding, spring greening,cool summer evenings andautumn foliage.

To plan your next vacation,visit www.blackwaterfalls.com or call 304-259-5216.

Winter fun continues at Canaan ValleyResort and Blackwater Falls state parks

Canaan Valley and Blackwa-ter Falls state parks offer funwinter activities for everyone.

Canaan Valley Resort’s ski area has 47 trails and slopes ratedfor skill levels from beginner to advanced.

Snow-covered trails at Blackwater Falls State Park are perfectfor cross-country skiers.

Blackwater Lodge, cabins and restaurant are open year-round at Blackwater Falls State Park.

Photos courtesy of W.VA. DEPT. OF COMMERCE

Blackwater Falls State Park is a scenic winter wonderland.

Variety of activitiesand scenic beautyawait visitors tothese high-elevationstate parks

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The Canaan Valley Resort summitfeatures 91 skiable acres.

2 February 21, 2016OUTLOOK: Travel & Tourism

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