My 4 year old has skiied the last two years (at Wintergreen), and now manages to ski down to the "bunny" lift while holding my hand.

We're looking to take a day trip this winter, and wanted to know which close resort has the best beginners area? Liberty/Roundtop/Whitetail? Never been to them, but they seem the closest.
I'm in Fairfax/Chantilly, by the way.

From a photographer's stand-point-of-view:
Timberline has very successfully managed to produce a 2, 3, 4 and 6 year old skiers - with the big smiles we like to see on kids faces.
The bunny hill is like 3 hills in one... the center stage, the uncrowded skiers' left, and of course, the tiny tree run perfect for little ones.
I'd say it's worth the extra few minutes of driving...

I've never been to Round Top, but out of the other two, it's Whitetail by a LOOOOONG shot. I love skiing at Liberty because it's close, but the beginnner stuff at WT is much better, and far more interesting. If you're talking just the bunny hill, it may not make much of a difference, but on the off-chance you're ready for something just a tiny bit more challenging, WT will serve you better, IMHO.

You might consider Massanutten. My daughter started skiing at Mnut at age 4. Went to the ski school for a day each trip for a few years. We go the week before Christmas, then a few weekends. Then did a clinic now and them once she was age 7. By then she was skiing the black runs at the top and we also went elsewhere every now and then. Last season at age 9 she was skiing bumps on blues at Alta, her second time out west. Massanutten is her favorite within driving distance (4 hours from Raleigh).

Mnut have expanded the learning area a lot in the past few years. Plus both beginner lifts are conveyor loading now. Added the second this season. A friend who was in Charlottesville found Mnut much better for her 9yo than Wintergreen for day trips. Having a small mountain is an advantage for little ones in my opinion.

Thanks for the info....

Well according to Google maps, Massanutten, Whitetail, and Liberty are about 2 hours from Fairfax (give or take 10 minutes). Since it's a day-trip, I'd like to keep the drive as short as possible. I'll save CV & TL for an overnight trip sometime.

So now I'm trying to decide which will be the best experience. I'm looking for the least crowded and most wide open beginners area. Here's my analisys of the trail maps - you guys feel free to comment, thanks:

- Massanuten: Southern Comfort/Lift 4 looks like the dumping ground for all the other runs. So that leaves Lift 3 and Geronimo/Nutten-to-it. I assume all the beginners will be there, so it may be crowded.

- Whitetail: The Lift Off Quad and U-Me Double look like they serve a large beginners area, while spreading it all out a bit. If we get adventurous enough we could head up EZ Rider for a longer run.

- Liberty: First Class Quad and Dipsy Quad look good, but might get too flat; hard to tell.

I think Whitetail seems like the best option. Aside from the slopes, any other reasons to choose one over the other? We have our own skiis.
They all have tubing for some extra fun, and Liberty has a kiddie tube hill. I can't tell if Whitetail has a kiddie tube hill.

Thanks!

I can really only speak for Whitetail, but your read is correct. It's gotten much better the last few years after they opened the Sidewinder trail from the top of EZ. That's a true green run (perhaps unlike Snow Park, the trail under the lift - more a green/blue) and it has moved more beginners off the 'bunny' slopes between Lift Off and U-Me. They also added the 'Super Magic Carpet' which is great for beginners. End result - less crowded on U Me and Lift Off.

As for a kiddie tubing hill, they advertise one, but it's perhaps 5 feet vertical.

Hope that helps!

I can only compare Mnut to Wintergreen and the WV, NC areas. You are correct that Southern Comfort gets crowded. So depends on whether you only intend to ski with your son or put him in ski school. Although it's too late for this weekend for Slopesliders (9:00-2:30). I'm sure they are completely booked.

Somewhere I have a picture of the ski school area. There are two magic carpets, so the little kids have an area completely to themselves while the adult clinic people use the other. After 2:00, the public is allowed to use the magic carpets. Once beginners are ready for the lift, both beginner lifts have conveyor loading. At 4, my daughter was on the lift (without conveyor) on her first afternoon. Her instructor had 4 never-evers to teach and did a great job. I've been happy with every instructor she's had over the years.

Nutten-to-it is never crowded. Most newbies don't noticed it's there. It used to be the small terrain park before they redid Geronimo and replace the old double chair with a new quad with conveyor loading.

Because Mnut is a timeshare resort, there are very few folks on the snow before 11:00. Usually clearing out by 3:30 because the beginners are tired.

I'll look for my pics from last year tonight. Driving up to Mnut this afternoon.

Forgot to ask, midweek or weekend?

The tubing at Mnut allows pretty little kids to be in their own tube linked to an adult. I think it's a height requirement.

Huh??? I've been going there for years and have never seen this. Where is it hiding?

Vic's boosterism on behalf of Timberline seems to get a little over the top sometimes.

I've taught friends and family at each of these resorts over the years. Although I usually ski WV, my preference for a beginner or first timer is Liberty. They have a very wide and flat slope making it very easy just starting out. They also have a magic carpet and the lifts on those trails run very slow. The folks I've helped all preferred Liberty. However, once they got the hang of it, they were ready to ski the other resorts.

Good luck.

For a 4 year old I think it depends on the overall structure of their kids program. Things other than skiing and ski lesson are important too. Back in the late 70s/early 80s I took my kids to Roundtop where they had a great 4 hr. ski + lesson + playtime program. The kids had both indoor play and outdoor play in a kid friendly professionally run program, and, the cost was quite reasonable. I tried all the local areas and nobody else had a similar thing in those days. 2 pretty good, well damn good, adult skiers came out of that program if I do say so myself.

Edited to say I have no idea if they still have this program, or what other areas are doing today.

Massanutten learning area. Two magic carpets. Right next to the ski lodge. Can view from some tables by the window.

View from bottom of learning area (on the way to the tubing area). Run in the background is Geronimo, served by new quad with conveyor loading as of 2009-2010 season.





View from the stairs outside the lodge.

One more pic of the Massanutten learning area.