West Virginia Backroads – Winter 2010
West Virginia – Winter 2010
Welcome to winter in West Virginia! While there are several ski resorts in West Virginia, offthetrails wanted to find a small and affordable one. We did in Winterplace! It’s in Ghent, about 20 miles south of Beckley. Winterplace has 28 ski trails. There are 11 easy trails, 11 intermediate, 4 difficult and terrain park trails. Skis and snowboards are available to rent, as are bib overalls and helmets. Lessons are offered for adults and children in both skiing and snowboarding, and there is even a young children’s program. MaryJo rented the skis and boots, with a lift ticket and took a lesson, for a total of $65. The instructor was very competent and personable. The snow base when we were there was nearly 120 inches. We had a great time! A “magic carpet” takes novice skiers to the top of the beginning slope. There is also tubing, which opened at 1:00 when we were there. Rental is $14 for 2 hours, or $12.50 if purchased with the lift ticket. Winterplace has a snack bar featuring sandwiches, salads, and wraps along with soft drinks and beer. There are several hotels in Beckley, and many restaurants, making it a good place to stay. Tamarack is there, an economic development for the state. It has a cafeteria with food made by Greenbriar trained chefs. Excellent! West Virginia crafts are sold: wines, furniture, jellies, afghans, quilts, and so on. Books, DVDs and music highlighting West Virginia are also for sale. We had a great time! There is plenty to do to make this a winter week end getaway!