Where to Take Kids Tubing, Skiing Near Washington, D.C., and Wilmington
While the Middle Atlantic region may not have the choice of ski mountains you’d have in New England, you’ll find plenty of places for your kids (and you) to enjoy the snow. And even when the surrounding landscapes are not covered in white, tubing parks and ski areas can keep their hills well covered by using state-of-the-art snow-making equipment. Most tubing hills are part of larger ski areas, where your family has the choice of skiing, snowboarding and tubing; some offer full resort facilities with lodging, and all have food services.
Just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Spring Mount, Spring Mountain Adventures is convenient to Wilmington, and along with a tubing hill it has eight ski trails and offers lessons to children as young as 3. About two hours from Wilmington, the Poconos offer more elevation, hence more dependable snow, and Shawnee Mountain is a popular place for skiing. It also has a terrain park for boarders and, at its Pocono Plunge Snow Tubing Park, kids can share tandem tubes for even more squeals and fun.
Cranmore Mountain Resort © Stillman Rogers
Roundtop Mountain Resort, near Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, and about two hours from Washington, D.C., is a small ski area especially beginner-friendly and known for the bargain rates at its tubing hill. Its 14 long tubing lanes are reached by a Magic Carpet lift. The smaller Kiddie Tubing area is reserved for ages 4 and under, with smaller tubes and shorter lanes. Warm up in the Mountain View Lodge and around a giant outdoor fire pit.
Eagle Rock Ski & Golf Resort is more posh, and has 14 slopes lit for night skiing. It also has a 1,000 -oot half-pipe for boarders and free-stylers — a hit with teens. Non-skiing parents can relax in the spa while the kids ski.
The closest ski area to Washington at only a little more than one hour away, Ski Liberty is eight miles from Gettysburg. Its 16 trails and three terrain parks have complete snow-making coverage and, along with children’s ski lessons, there is a child care center, so parents can get in some ski time, too. Boulder Ridge Snow Tubing is part of the resort, with 15 lanes and a lift. An enclosed lodge offers a place for parents to stay warm (and well-fed) while they watch the kids slide. A separate smaller area is for children 4 and under.
About two hours west of Washington, D.C., in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Bryce Mountain Resort has eight slopes accessed by lifts, plus beginners’ learning terrain with carpet lifts. Children ages 5 and younger ski free here with a ticketed adult.
