I had a good time skiing at West Virginia’s Canaan Valley Resort on Sunday, January 5, 2025. I skied from about 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The temperature ranged from the low teens to the high teens while I was there. The wind was light and so were the crowds. A sunny morning gave way to a cloudy afternoon. Storm’s a comin’.

View of the Canaan Valley Ski Area from Rt. 32. Photo by Jim Kenney.

The conditions during my visit were a nice mix of manmade and natural snow. There appeared to be about 6-12” of natural snow in the woods beside the ski slopes, and the entire valley looked wintry. There were only a couple trails open from the summit. The main route down from the top consisted of Upper Canaan Curve to Chute to Valley Vista to Face, but there were a few side trails you could also dabble with like Cutback and Lower Timber Trail.

Parent and child heading down Upper Canaan Curve. Photo by Jim Kenney.

Snow guns were running the whole time I was there, but none were blasting in my face on the main route down. They were blowing on Upper Valley Vista, Upper Timber Trail, and I believe over by Ski Daddler and Weiss Meadows. With the cold and snowy weather predicted for the coming week I expect the open trail count to rise significantly.

Readying Timber Trail. Photo by Jim Kenney.

It was the Sunday after New Year’s Day. I took about 20 rides on the Weiss Quad chair (about 750’ vertical) and only rode with another person once. Even with limited trails open from the top, I was able to log a ton of miles and get a good workout on my first day of skiing this winter.

Valley Vista Trail. Photo by Jim Kenney.

I love the three hour drive from Northern Virginia to Canaan Valley, especially on a Sunday. I had light traffic coming and going via I-66, I-81, US-48, and Rt. 32. The last 20 miles from about Bismarck, WV on US-48 to the ski area had some packed and/or blowing snow on the road surface, but it’s not too hilly and I made good time in both directions.

In the afternoon the snow clouds gathered over the Canaan Valley base area. Photo by Jim Kenney.

Admittedly, the Canaan Valley ski area is somewhat slower than many other local ski areas in getting their slopes covered with manmade snow. So why did I choose to ski there yesterday? Well, age 70+ skis free there and that’s my demographic. Free is good. Also, the place is never crowded. I got a close-in parking spot. I booted-up with plenty of elbow room in the lodge and skied on very low-traffic slopes the whole day with no lines anywhere.

The ski area reported 8 inches of new snow overnight after I left. I expect more terrain opening soon with the skiing only getting better over the next couple of weeks.