Best/safest route from Snowshoe to DC on Monday?
17 posts
11 users
23k+ views
11 users
23k+ views
Hi, I am a newbie here and in need of some advice on how best to get home from Snowshoe to DC. We are planning to leave at 2:30pm to still have at least 3 hours of daylight as we made the terrible mistake of driving up in the dark.
We took the I66 to 81 to 55 to 28 and then 66. I was totally clueless how scary it was at night. It is our first time in WV and I had no idea that the road to resort is so steep, windy, and deserted. It was well plowed though and besides not seeing anyone for miles and not having any cell coverage, it was very passable.
So doing some research I was hoping to hit I81 closer in and take advantage of the highway even if it takes me longer to get home. Could you please tell me if it is worth it to take 84 to 220 to 250 and then jump on I81. Or option 2 would be 84 to 220 to 33 to I81. I am just wondering though if these alternates although hitting the Interstate highway sooner, are even more steep and have tons of turns, or possibly not plowed as well as the original route I took here.
Any advice or help would be appreciated.
We took the I66 to 81 to 55 to 28 and then 66. I was totally clueless how scary it was at night. It is our first time in WV and I had no idea that the road to resort is so steep, windy, and deserted. It was well plowed though and besides not seeing anyone for miles and not having any cell coverage, it was very passable.
So doing some research I was hoping to hit I81 closer in and take advantage of the highway even if it takes me longer to get home. Could you please tell me if it is worth it to take 84 to 220 to 250 and then jump on I81. Or option 2 would be 84 to 220 to 33 to I81. I am just wondering though if these alternates although hitting the Interstate highway sooner, are even more steep and have tons of turns, or possibly not plowed as well as the original route I took here.
Any advice or help would be appreciated.
I don't travel from Snowshoe to DC often (actually never), but Lou does almost every weekend. Here's his advice, just go backwards and you're set:
Road directions from Roosevelt Bridge DC to Snowshoe (220 miles, 4 hours, 15 mins):
I-66 to I-81: 76 miles
I-81 to Exit 296: 4 miles to go on Rte 55
Rte 55 to Wardensville WV: 20 miles.
Rte 55 to Moorefield (Corridor H) and left at Rte 28/55: 24 miles
Rte 28 to Greenbank, 2 miles past Greenbank right at Rte 66: 81 miles
(Note: Pass Moorefield [SPEED TRAP], Petersburg [SPEED TRAP] Cabins, Seneca Rocks, Circleville)
Rte 66 to Redgate Road: 11 miles
Redgate Road to the Village: 4 miles
And here's the thread that this came from.
DC to Snowshoe
Don't mind the redneck ramblings or any banjo references in it.
Also, you'll notice on the last page that RMCVA says that he NEVER travels on 250 in the winter.
I hope this helps. I'm sure people with some more experience will chime it. I hope your time at Snowshoe has been good. I know the conditions have been great up there over the past few days.
Road directions from Roosevelt Bridge DC to Snowshoe (220 miles, 4 hours, 15 mins):
I-66 to I-81: 76 miles
I-81 to Exit 296: 4 miles to go on Rte 55
Rte 55 to Wardensville WV: 20 miles.
Rte 55 to Moorefield (Corridor H) and left at Rte 28/55: 24 miles
Rte 28 to Greenbank, 2 miles past Greenbank right at Rte 66: 81 miles
(Note: Pass Moorefield [SPEED TRAP], Petersburg [SPEED TRAP] Cabins, Seneca Rocks, Circleville)
Rte 66 to Redgate Road: 11 miles
Redgate Road to the Village: 4 miles
And here's the thread that this came from.
DC to Snowshoe
Don't mind the redneck ramblings or any banjo references in it.
Also, you'll notice on the last page that RMCVA says that he NEVER travels on 250 in the winter.
I hope this helps. I'm sure people with some more experience will chime it. I hope your time at Snowshoe has been good. I know the conditions have been great up there over the past few days.
"Best" & "Safe"??? ... pick one! LOL
Yes, as an owner, I'll attest that the above directions are the ONLY way...my last guests got carsick on 250 2 weeks ago (I warned them). I've had 3 wrecks in the past 5 years. Snow, ice, deer, falling rock & mountains don't make for a great mix! And, I'll agree - I quit doing it in the dark years ago. Now, there is a slight deviation around Moorefield & Petersburg on the new part of H, but I don't know it (user lbotta can offer the details on that one) - I usually stop in both. Wait...you said Monday! I was going back Monday also...but watching the current weather...may leave this (Sunday) afternoon (you said "safest"!
Yes, as an owner, I'll attest that the above directions are the ONLY way...my last guests got carsick on 250 2 weeks ago (I warned them). I've had 3 wrecks in the past 5 years. Snow, ice, deer, falling rock & mountains don't make for a great mix! And, I'll agree - I quit doing it in the dark years ago. Now, there is a slight deviation around Moorefield & Petersburg on the new part of H, but I don't know it (user lbotta can offer the details on that one) - I usually stop in both. Wait...you said Monday! I was going back Monday also...but watching the current weather...may leave this (Sunday) afternoon (you said "safest"!
My krazy-detailed directions:
Directions (228 miles/ +/-5 hr from Bethesda, 4.25 hrs record low/10 hrs record high!):
Beltway to 66 through Manassas to Front Royal. Exit #6 has a Wal-Mart, Target, etc. good for supplies if needed.
Take 81 south (left exit) 3 miles to Exit 296 (55W). You'll see the three crosses on the right as you get close.
55W through Wardonsville (25 mph speed trap).
On the west end of Wardonsville bear Left on 55W which turns into a huge highway for 18 miles till you hit Moorefield. It's the 2nd Moorefield exit, at the bottom of a long hill.
Turn left at the light next to the car wash and go on through downtown Moorefield (25mph speedtrap). A Food Lion is on the other end of town behind Hardie's.
55W through Petersburg (25mph speedtrap). Sheetz gas & "go" on the west end of town.
55W through Cabins (45 mph) to Seneca Rocks.
Bear left at Seneca Rocks (you're got about 1 hrs to go) on 28/33 for 11 miles
Right at Judy Gap for 22 miles going through Circleville (35mph) continuing on 28 always toward Green Bank
Straight through the stop sign at the 250 junction for 2 miles
Left at the stop sign at the 92 junction. (Bartow)
A couple of miles after you've gone through Green Bank (note the huge satellite dish on the right) watch for 66W and make that right. There are plenty of Cass/Ski Area signs.
On through Cass (you're very close now, but a good place to take your Dramamine).
After a million switchbacks and climbing look for the Snowshoe sign and make a right climbing steeply up to the Village.
Directions (228 miles/ +/-5 hr from Bethesda, 4.25 hrs record low/10 hrs record high!):
Beltway to 66 through Manassas to Front Royal. Exit #6 has a Wal-Mart, Target, etc. good for supplies if needed.
Take 81 south (left exit) 3 miles to Exit 296 (55W). You'll see the three crosses on the right as you get close.
55W through Wardonsville (25 mph speed trap).
On the west end of Wardonsville bear Left on 55W which turns into a huge highway for 18 miles till you hit Moorefield. It's the 2nd Moorefield exit, at the bottom of a long hill.
Turn left at the light next to the car wash and go on through downtown Moorefield (25mph speedtrap). A Food Lion is on the other end of town behind Hardie's.
55W through Petersburg (25mph speedtrap). Sheetz gas & "go" on the west end of town.
55W through Cabins (45 mph) to Seneca Rocks.
Bear left at Seneca Rocks (you're got about 1 hrs to go) on 28/33 for 11 miles
Right at Judy Gap for 22 miles going through Circleville (35mph) continuing on 28 always toward Green Bank
Straight through the stop sign at the 250 junction for 2 miles
Left at the stop sign at the 92 junction. (Bartow)
A couple of miles after you've gone through Green Bank (note the huge satellite dish on the right) watch for 66W and make that right. There are plenty of Cass/Ski Area signs.
On through Cass (you're very close now, but a good place to take your Dramamine).
After a million switchbacks and climbing look for the Snowshoe sign and make a right climbing steeply up to the Village.
David and Snowbuck have both posted the easiest way. And, you got the key point; don't drive at night.
If crossing the mtn. from SS too Cass should not be passable due to snow and ice, I believe the safest/easiest alternative would be to go NE to Elkins on 219 staying on the west side of the Allegheny Front then take 33 from Elkins to Harman, then 33/55 S to Seneca Rocks. That will put you back on the above route. These are major routes for WV and carry truck traffic so they will be kept open in all but the worst conditions. However it can be a very scary thing to meet one of those 18 wheelers coming at you on a narrow steep section of one of those roads at night. Timber trucks and coal trucks are the worst.
If crossing the mtn. from SS too Cass should not be passable due to snow and ice, I believe the safest/easiest alternative would be to go NE to Elkins on 219 staying on the west side of the Allegheny Front then take 33 from Elkins to Harman, then 33/55 S to Seneca Rocks. That will put you back on the above route. These are major routes for WV and carry truck traffic so they will be kept open in all but the worst conditions. However it can be a very scary thing to meet one of those 18 wheelers coming at you on a narrow steep section of one of those roads at night. Timber trucks and coal trucks are the worst.
When you think of Hwy 250, also think that this used to be the famous old Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, one of the first trans-Appalachian roads, surveyed by Thomas Jefferson himself. Part of the reason why it goes everywhere is because of old Indian treaties. Part because of the forbidding terrain. As a matter of fact, if you go West past Staunton, about 30 miles and just close to McDowell, a series of switchbacks (that makes the drive from Cass to Snowshoe a piece of cake) takes you up 1,500 feet to the site of the Confederate Batteries and a 2,000' sheer drop into the valley below. This site was so forbidding that Stonewall Jackson placed the 12th GA regiment there with several batteries and a much larger Union force couldn't get up the mountain, with battles lasting from 7 May 1862 for an entire week. Still, the mountain was impregnable. The Union lost so many people that it gave Jackson his momentum to go up North to Confederate victories in Front Royal and Winchester just two weeks later.
Other than to see the monument and to admire the tremendous beauty of the place, Hwy 250 is a no-no for me, especially in the Winter. You'll be driving at 20-25 MPH for hours on end. Then there's the next mountain pass before Monterey, and then another between Monterey and West Virginia line.
The other part of the history of this highway is that it was the entrance to what Jefferson called the "Bath Circuit". As a matter of fact, just South of Monterey VA, the county is called Bath County. Reason for it is because there are so may warm and hot springs that in a time where tuberculosis was endemic to the population, the many natural springs in the area used to be the destination of the upper classes of Virginia society looking for the water's curative powers. As a result, you still have The Homestead with its hot springs at... well, Hot Springs, VA, the Jefferson Baths in Warm Springs VA, ten miles to the North and still with the original octagonal building designed by Jefferson himself; Healing Springs VA, four miles South of Hot Springs; Minehaha Springs WV, no longer open to the public, and several others that have been forgotten...
Other than to see the monument and to admire the tremendous beauty of the place, Hwy 250 is a no-no for me, especially in the Winter. You'll be driving at 20-25 MPH for hours on end. Then there's the next mountain pass before Monterey, and then another between Monterey and West Virginia line.
The other part of the history of this highway is that it was the entrance to what Jefferson called the "Bath Circuit". As a matter of fact, just South of Monterey VA, the county is called Bath County. Reason for it is because there are so may warm and hot springs that in a time where tuberculosis was endemic to the population, the many natural springs in the area used to be the destination of the upper classes of Virginia society looking for the water's curative powers. As a result, you still have The Homestead with its hot springs at... well, Hot Springs, VA, the Jefferson Baths in Warm Springs VA, ten miles to the North and still with the original octagonal building designed by Jefferson himself; Healing Springs VA, four miles South of Hot Springs; Minehaha Springs WV, no longer open to the public, and several others that have been forgotten...
Snowshoe-CSI today.
Nice straight tire tracks downhill, swerving just a bit into a blasted out snowbank!! Tracks coming UP the back way were more wormlike - squigglie, leading to one of 4 stuck cars. Seriously...they could not get UP the backside today! I helped stop (LOL LOL ... right) traffic so they could do their best to work a U-turn (actually a 5-point turn) and attempt the front entrance. Don't know how that worked out.
P.S. - loved the National Geographic post...actually quite informative.
Nice straight tire tracks downhill, swerving just a bit into a blasted out snowbank!! Tracks coming UP the back way were more wormlike - squigglie, leading to one of 4 stuck cars. Seriously...they could not get UP the backside today! I helped stop (LOL LOL ... right) traffic so they could do their best to work a U-turn (actually a 5-point turn) and attempt the front entrance. Don't know how that worked out.
P.S. - loved the National Geographic post...actually quite informative.
One more... Hwy 219 was the main Western Virginia (remember that there was no West Virginia back then) highway going North and South. How many folks are aware that what's now the Hwy 219 entrance to Snowshoe and all the way up to Valley Head, including much of what is today Silver Creek, was the site of Robert E. Lee's headquarters in 1861?
So since i bumped this thread a few times, i thought I would update it. I made the drive today from NoVa, went 66, 81, 55, 28, 66... This drive really wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sure, there are a few BIG inclines, but really the switchbacks really were not that bad. Yeah, the roads were not snowy really, and I took it nice and slow the last 9miles or so from Cass, at like 30-35, but it really wasnt bad at all. So for those that were reading this and got a little scared of the drive, its no big deal.
Very cool history lesson lbotta!
I agree 81, 55, 28, 66, then the SECOND entrance to Snowshoe is the best, safest route.
I agree 81, 55, 28, 66, then the SECOND entrance to Snowshoe is the best, safest route.
Originally Posted By: REL1203
... but it really wasnt bad at all. So for those that were reading this and got a little scared of the drive, its no big deal.
Tell that to the cars in the ditches (or worse), or the guests that one year ended up staying in Seneca Rocks as they couldn't get any further. Or anyone attempting it after dark and hit the fog (or a deer or a fallen rock) where you can't see the hood of the car, or when it's snowing, or, or. Be afraid, be very afraid. Yes, on a nice hot August afternoon, it's almost doable! LOL LOL
I've never had a problem getting to Snowshoe - or Canaan, for that matter, driving about 20 times a year for the last 20 years. For both places, a 4WD or Subaru is the minimum equipment I would have. Even then, I also have chains and have used them once getting to Snowshoe, and once again coming down the mountain. For Canaan, the drive by Mt Storm is often... well, stormy and foggy.
However, I can't understand how anyone in a regular, rear-wheel drive sedan, would attempt to get up there in the middle of the Winter. Kinda nuts...
However, I can't understand how anyone in a regular, rear-wheel drive sedan, would attempt to get up there in the middle of the Winter. Kinda nuts...
Is there a preferred route coming from the South? Got a friend coming from NC for this weekend. He'll be coming in later than me so I figured I might be able to provide any tips before he gets too far along.
Watch out when reading above posts; some are 4 years old!!
Is 33 much better than 250? Ive gone via Corridor H and 55/28 the past few times and would like to try something else unless it's significantly worse.
Yea sorry for updating an old post. Apparently my search abilities arent as good as I thought.
I know it was mentioned in another more recent thread... but if you go past the moorfield exit about 10 miles and get on 5 (I think) you bypass all the talked about speed traps. The route actually has signs from corridor H all the way to the resort.
With that being said that sheetz is a nice gas and coffee stop. Below is the recent thread
http://www.dcski.com/forum/82746
