Whitetail Ski Resort

Went with a bunch of co-​workers. Had a blast.

Whitetail is a nice ski resort for the beginner or for families. They have easily accessible trails, and all of the easy trails are grouped together making it hard for a novice to put themselves down a trail they may not be ready for.
Since Whitetail is located in a dry county their is no liquor served, and attracts mostly families. This is great because its a very child friendly environment, and honestly I have never seen more children/​families at any other ski area.
This resort may be disappointing if you are an experienced snowboarder because even the «double black diamond» trails or «expert» area of the mountain requiring an special lift to access are nothing to write home about. Also I don’t like how their quantifier of a «black diamond» is just a lot of moguls scaling the entire trail. They do have two nicely sized terrain parks but the «half pipe» is itty bitty.
Food selection here is equivalent to a hospital cafeteria and need some major adjustment. Since they are catering to mostly kids and families I can see how nachos and burgers may be the food of choice, however it was very poor quality and I could not finish my burger.
They do have a Starbucks on site which is nice, and there is ample seating, as well as many picnic areas. Also parking is fairly easy compared to many ski areas I have visited.
All in all I wouldn’t return because I am looking for a different type of experience, but it would be a great place to learn or to spend with your family for a day.

Such a good time! Especially when it’s 60 degrees out. The resort is very nice and big with what looked like six courses. Of course it’s good to warm up first, so went on the bunny slope about 3 times until I got the hang of it (it’s been 2 years since I’ve been snowboarding) After the spraining my butt a few times, I got the hang of it. We then hit up the Green and Blue, so challenging but a lot of fun.
Keep in mind it’s good to come at an earlier time because it does get busy around noon, especially with classes being given. It was a nuisance to be honest, because these trainers kept teaching right in the middle of the course. So with that many people smack in the middle, it caused my to break my butt several times. Also the fact that they had the authority to cut the lift line, so the wait became longer with the class being six or more people at a time. Good thing we only hit the bunny slope a few times.
One negative thing that I noticed was that there were spots of melted snow when we arrived in the morning. It wasn’t a significant amount but definitely noticeable. Even tho the weather was great it did cause for a lot of slush. Other than that though our day was not ruined.
The price range is pretty decent. You have the choice of riding for 4 hours and 8 hours. We paid for the 4 hours, but because we paid for rentals as well, we ended up being able to ride all day. Not really sure how that worked out, my boyfriend was at the counter but I would ask about that bc it was a sweet deal!
We didn’t get to try the cafeteria but I did notice they serve a nice size Ice Cream Cone, definitely will check that out myself next time we come up. Nothing wins me over more than Ice Cream!

5 stars for their Security Team at Whitetail. In the drop off lane, we noticed a puncture flat on our tire. They helped us get to a safe spot to change the tire and proceeded to help us through the entire process. We are thankful for their help and got us into the slopes in less than 45 min. We appreciate the security team and their great attitudes!

Whitetail is convenient to DC and Baltimore, which ensures that this place will always be a popular, insanely crowded, mediocre experience.
It’s hard to beat the 1.5 hour drive from DC, plus for the region, Whitetail’s 935 ft vertical drop is about all that you can ask for. It’s a significantly bigger ski hill than, say, Wisp or Ski Liberty, and Whitetail does have a lift for each skier type (beginner, intermediate, and expert). The resort is pretty good about making and grooming the snow. That pretty much exhausts the list of positives at Whitetail.
The resort is so, so, overcrowded. Everywhere. The lodge is crowded, as it the equipment rental shop. The parking lot? Pretty much a sea of humanity. The lift lines? Yep, always there and full of people. And the ski slopes themselves? Pretty much chaos. At least, this is true at any time that you might be likely to visit (e.g., Friday through Sunday). Every weekend, busloads of students, work outings, and other groups dump eager skiers and snowboarders by the lodge. In addition to the hectic atmosphere, the slopes are particularly zoo-​like. The uphill capacity of this mountain far exceeds the safe capacity of the slopes. On any given slope, expect hordes of skiers and snowboarders to unpredictably zoom past you and in front of you. Beginners or those trying to build up their confidence will find the experience particularly harrowing. The beginner slope on the left, for example, Snowpark, is the only real practical way down from a quad chairlift. So guess what? Everyone who takes up the quad is packed onto the same trail. It’s kind of a madhouse, since it’s crowded and everyone is, understandably, learning how to ski.
The lodge, besides being crowded, serves decidedly mediocre food. And Whitetail is in a dry county, so you can’t get a drink. All of these circumstances add up to a less than awesome ski experience.
If you find yourself free on a Random Tuesday, maybe Whitetail is worth a shot. But if you are looking for a more pleasant skiing experience on the weekend or near a holiday, I’d suggest one of the smaller skiing options that will be less crowded, like Ski Liberty, or going someplace further from the cities, like Wisp, Timberline, or Canaan Valley. You can definitely skip Whitetail.

I do most of my skiing at this resort. it has the region’s only high speed quad chairlift which allows for plenty of runs in a short period. the learn to ski and snowboard program has been recognized as one of the nation’s best. at only a little over an hour’s drive from the metro area it’s a great place to go for a day trip. I recommend purchasing an advantage card which reduces lift ticket prices and group ski or board lessons by 40% on each visit. for advanced and expert skiers looking to fine tune their technique the top instructors are stan wilkes, gary kipe, pat McCord, tom riford, mike hicks, jack carney, and dewayne keener.

As far as dmv and local, this place is a favorite. I’ll keep comings, here as long as I’m on the east. When it rains, it sucks. And I always try to get here early because around 1pm, it can get packed.

This is a great place for asking & snowboarding and an easy drive from DC to make in one day. It offers more slopes than Liberty Mountain, which is a little closer to DC. It still costs about $ 125 for a day of snowboarding, but all the resorts charge about the same. The lift queues moved fairly quickly.

Me and my family had an awesome time today at white tail. The instructors were super friendly and very helpful with our lessons. Especially instructor «Dakota». He had a lot of patience with my mother as a first time instructor. We look forward to seeing him and the rest of the staff when we return next year. Thanks guys :)

Really great place to learn how to ski and snowboard! The lessons were cheap! Around $ 100 for beginner snowboard lessons, all day lifts, and equipment rental, including helmet or $ 45 if you are just doing the lesson and already have equipment.
The woman at the counter didn’t understand my request. My bf wanted to get the lesson package and I just wanted the class. She ended up charging me for a lift ticket as well which was unnecessary. My advice is if you’re beginning to learn and you already have equipment, forgo the lift ticket especially if you’re going to be there for the day. Waiting for the class itself took maybe 30 min to an hour and the lesson was around 2. We were told that the day we were there it wasn’t particularly busy so expect longer wait times during good days.
Key things to note —
— Lockers sell out fast, so it is best to keep your stuff in your car and just walk out with your gear.
— Expect a wait when you take lessons
— if you want to take a lesson and want a lift ticket, buy the beginner package with the rental, even if you have the gear. It’s cheaper that way.
— snowboard lift tickets should be cheaper (around 50 for 4 hours but I’m not sure, so double check with the attendant)
— the rental facitility will not hold your boots
Despite the wait, the ok conditions, and the upcharge, I rate the facility 4 stars because I thought for a beginner, the place was excellent. The pricing for lessons were good. They had two magic carpets and a lift for a hill that is upgrade from the bunny slopes to a green. The instructors were good and patient.

Snow tubing was fun. Gets boring after 3 or 4 trips. Depending on number of people there will depend how many times you go in an hour. We paid for an hour, it was packed with people, went 4 times — ehhhh…$ 27 bucks… I don’t think so. Still gets 4 stars because for a first time snow tuber, it was worth it for the experience.

Pros– it’s closed to where I live. The ride up also isn’t too long. When I went, there is a good amount of powder on the runs. Better park features than Massanutten.
Cons– way over priced. The lift tickets here should only be around $ 30. Not $ 65. Lift lines are super long and set up so that skiers and boarders have to push uphill to the lift. Also there is only 2 main lifts to the top. There is also one lift the half of the park features and the other half, you have to take a main lift that services the beginners and intermediates. That being said, it’s super long just to do that set of jobs and jumps. The employees working the lines didn’t really pay too much attention to the lines either.
If this is the best they have to offer, I’ll just hit up snowshoe.

We came on a rainy night, but that worked out for the better. Because it was rainy my gf got lots of runs in without waiting. She was pleased with the instructor she got. Food choices are limited. I know resorts have a captive audience, but they could at least try.

PROS: A decent mountain that is good for learning and working on your skiing technique. It has a good variety of trails. For the resorts closest to DC/​Baltimore, it is better than Liberty (less crowds) and Roundtop (more vertical & more challenge). The Vertical Drop is about 1,000ft and the lifts will get you back up on the hill quickly. They do have some respectable Black Diamond runs that can provide a good challenge.
CONS: It’s lift lines are super long on the weekends, the trails are crowded with uncontrollable skiers that are putting up yard sales all over the place, and the lift tickets are really high. Really now, it’s not Vermont or Colorado so the lift ticket prices shouldn’t be comparable! There’s way too many clueless idiots that ski/​board to close to to other people on the Beginner trails resulting in accidents.
There are better resorts to go to under 3 hours away such as Blue Knob (100in of annual snow, most advanced terrain in the Mid-​Atlantic, & should be skied after a big storm) in Pennsylvania!
My Blue Knob Resort Review:

I tried to get their advantage card on November 30^th at the lower rate they were offering ($ 84). Unfortunately, their website had a problem and didn’t process my order. Tried again on November 31^st, again had the same problem. Called them today to see if I could purchase the advantage card at the same rate. They were able to pull up my information in their system, including my card information and were able to tell the dates that I had tried to purchase, but they refused to give it to me at the same rate. I had called as well, but nobody picked up at the time I called.

This place is pretty good. I’m an amateur boarder and have lots to learn, so to freshen up, I got the beginner snowboarder pack with lessons for $ 100 that include boarding lessons (that I decided not to go), board, boot, and helmet rentals. It’s a pretty good deal, but only allows you access to the beginner/​bunny slope, which is quite boring after awhile. For $ 8 more, get the intermediate package that includes lifts to all green slopes. Even if you’ve gotten the beginner package, you can upgrade to the next level easily. Just don’t lose the tab that come with your lift ticket. Also, buying the season passport after your package deal for $ 49 extra gives you a free lift ticket pass next time you come, which is pretty awesome.
We mostly stayed on the greens the entire day but my more experienced friends said a lot of their blue slops they hopped on were quite tricky and gave them some challenge. They didn’t even attempt the black diamonds. The weather was supposedly ideal, with big flakes of snow coming down throughout the day, however some of the slopes were iced over pretty badly in spots.
Good place to board and not too crowded. The only gripe is that they tend to rush you off the lifts on top of the hills, which causes a big pill-​up and many to fall. Oh, as others have said, there is no bar, but there were many people that brought their own booze.

Slopes Review Only
Some people say that this is the best place to go in NOVA. I rate this place pretty high because it’s not that far away, and the slopes are pretty good. It gets busy during the day, but empties out when the sun goes down. I took the beginners snowboarding class about 2 years ago, and my instructor was amazing. By the end of the day, I was riding green but still eating a lot of snow.
I like how they have a free snowboard check, and the big fire pit to warm up. The food here is ridic though. It’s like concert prices for food and drinks. I do hate how they have limited locker space though. I like using the electronic lockers where you pay for the entire day, and can open it as many times as you want without having to feed it more quarters. You gotta get there real early if you want to get one of those lockers.
The slopes were maintained and groomed. Staff is super nice and helpful. I’ve mistakenly left jackets and shirts unattended for hours, but they were still there when I went back to look for them. All in all, it might actually be the best place to go to ski/​snowboard in NOVA.

Fun for the whole family. We went tubing! $ 20 per person for an hour, $ 23 for 2 hours. (Prices can be more during peak season)
The good:
Convenient parking.
Staff are nice and helpful.
Things to consider:
We came during non peak times (Friday around noon when school was in session) so an hour felt like more than enough since there were virtually no lines.
The bottom line:
Fun for an hour but I think it would be monotonous beyond that.

Military discount for active duty members — make sure to mention it to the cashier!
The greens are even fun at this place.
The blues are really fun & long.
Never have done the blacks myself, but my husband has & he highly enjoys them. He would hang out up there all day if it weren’t for my whimpy butt.
This place is also perfect for someone learning how to ski or snowboard as they have, what seems, like a million instructors. You can pay for a group lesson (cheaper) or an individualized lesson (not as cheap). Or you can purchase packages which can include the lift ticket, rental, & a free lesson.
Although Whitetail does not offer onsite lodging, they do have lodging partners (check out their website). We stayed at the Inns of Whitetail which was located right behind the bunny slopes. Perfect for getting up the next day & jumping on the slopes (if you have a multiple day pass).
There is a Starbucks but they do not accept Starbucks giftcards.
Whitetail also has snowtubing. We went snowtubing there one night & paid $ 25 per person for one hour. It wasn’t busy so 1 hour was plenty! It was a lot of fun, but not something I absolutely need to do again, as I would rather spend most of the time (and money) on the slopes. Don’t get me wrong, if you like snowtubing then you will have a blast at this place. The food they offer at the snowtubing lodge isn’t as good as what they offer up by the slopes — mostly crap. If you decide to eat by the slopes, it’ll cost you a pretty penny, but at least it tastes pretty decent!
Free board/​ski checkins — take advantage!
Also, and this is very important… try to avoid visiting Whitetail on a Holiday. We made the mistake of going this past President’s Day & it was completely packed by 9:15AM. No parking, rentals sold out, & long waits at the lifts. Just a sea of people.
Best experience we have had at Whitetail thus far was hitting the slopes when it was a foggy somewhat rainy day. It felt as if we had the place to ourselves!

Having grown up and lived in DC area pretty much my entire life, I’ve been to Whitetail several times since I started to ski. Being only a 1.5 hour drive, it is one of the closest ski slopes to DC. For a day trip, many people go to either Whitetail or Liberty Ski Resort in Fairfield, PA, which is comparable in distance and time to Whitetail. These two ski resorts are owned by the same company.
If you’re a more experienced skier, I think Whitetail has more variety and has more challenging/​steeper slopes than Liberty. Whitetail also has a better terrain park/​half-​pipe. One area where Liberty has the advantage in is night skiing. Whitetail has no black diamonds open during the night. While most of the best East Coast ski resorts are located in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire, Whitetail is a good option for those just starting out skiing/​snowboarding and it’s a nice option for anyone who only wants to go for one day.
Whitetail is fairly crowded on weekends, especially holiday weekends. The lift lines are insanely ridiculous. I’ve waited half an hour to get on a quad lift this past Presidents Day weekend. If you can, try to go during the weekday for lower prices and shorter lines. I’ve gone on weeknights and there are practically no lines and not too many folks on the slopes. It’s great because you don’t have to worry about bumping into anyone or having to suddenly move out of someone’s way if they fall or change course.
Prices: 4 hour flex — $ 53 (weekday), $ 64 (weekend). 8 hour flex — $ 58 (weekday), $ 69 (weekend). Extended (until 10pm) — $ 65 (weekday), $ 73 (weekend). Ski rental is $ 45 either weekday or weekend. Snowboard rental is $ 50. If you get the all mountain package deal (includes lift ticket, rental, and optional lesson), it’s $ 105. I believe Liberty is more or less the same price, maybe $ 1 – 3 cheaper on the above options.
Another thing to point out: Whitetail is a dry resort and does not serve alcohol. Liberty, on the other hand, has a lounge where you can order alcoholic beverages. Many families prefer Whitetail for this reason.