Asheville, North Carolina Skiing

A city offering all types of attractions, facilities and amenities could not exclude winter activities. A winter stay draws skiers to the slopes just about 30 minutes away, and even to the highest ski peaks located east of the Mississippi River, with elevations over 5,500 feet and just over an hour from Asheville NC.

Ski activities include relaxing breaks at a quaint coffee house after a day on the slopes, as well as diverse local winter events, including Asheville Ski Club's activities. This club is open to residents and visitors, holding meetings at various locations year-round, sharing information about winter sports and other outdoor activities.

Although, the Asheville North Carolina area stays relatively snow-free for much of the winter season because of its lower elevation, the highest Carolina’s mountain peaks average 60 inches of snow a year. Travel from the city to the mountains is easy because there is little or no snow on the ground.

Daily slope conditions reports are available online during the season, and there are a number of ski, snowboard and snow tubing resorts for area residents and visitors, including the following:

- Sugar Mountain Resort: Skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing. 20 slopes, 5 lifts.
- Appalachian Ski Mountain: Skiing, snowboarding and ice-skating. 9 slopes, 5 lifts.
- Sapphire Valley Ski Resort: Skiing and snowboarding and tubing. 2 slopes, 1 lift, 1 tube lane.
- Scaly Mountain Snow tubing Area: Snow tubing only. 2 slopes, 1 lift.
- Cataloochee Ski Area: Skiing and snowboarding. 10 slopes, 3 lifts, 1 rope tow, 1 magic carpet
- Ski Beech: Skiing, snowboarding, snowtubing and ice-skating. 14 slopes, 9 lifts.
- Wolf Laurel Ski Resort: Skiing, snowboarding and snowtubing 15 slopes, 4 lifts, tubing off site.
- Tube World: Snowtubing only. 6 slopes and 1 children's tube area.
- Hawksnest Winter Resort: Skiing, snowboarding and snowtubing. 12 slopes, 9 tubing lanes, 4 lifts, 1 magic carpet.

The Appalachian Ski Mountain was built in 1962 as a 45,000 square foot base lodge. This resort has an observation deck, slope-view restaurant, three dining rooms, TV room, over 700 lockers, fireplace, game room, nursery, dressing rooms, ATM and many other amenities serving as a premier resort for families and groups in the Blue Ridge region.

The meeting place of skiers of all skills and styles, the resort offers skiing lessons to snowboarders and kids ages 4 to 10. There are also Ice-skating facilities, including an outdoor, fully lighted ice skating arena situated in a beautiful setting overlooking the lodge, slopes, and Blue Ridge Mountains.

Although skating is offered on weather permitting basis from November to March, The Appalachian Ski Mountain Resort offers summer gateways to enjoy the mountains when skiing is not available.

Other ski resorts open their doors the second week of November, although many others wait until around Thanksgiving and until March when the Ski season is over. Nearby Asheville, the Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, is the second oldest ski resort in the Southeast, gearing up for alternative winter sports in the Blue Ridge Mountains area.

Such alternatives include activities such as cross-country skiing, snow skating, snow tubing, and snowshoeing. Although snowboarding is a little harder to pick up, it is easier to excel and is becoming more popular after the addition of cross-country snowboarding at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

The closest Asheville NC skiing resort is Wolf Laurel Slopes, open from December to March and located 28 miles north of downtown Asheville and near Mars Hill. This resort features 2 surface lifts, 15 runs, one double lift, and one quad lift on 54 acres.

Winter activities include skiing, snowboarding, and improved tube run on its snow tubing park, recently redesigned with family fun in mind to ride the tube down, and then ride the "magic carpet" back up to the top of the run.

Another close skiing location is the Cataloochee Ski Area, nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains Valley, featuring 10 runs and 4 lifts and a terrain park for snowboarders. The southern hospitality on the slopes has made Cataloochee a winter tradition for generations of snow-loving families.

Tube World Asheville is located just 8 minutes north of Asheville. Offering the popular wild ride snow tubing for fun and sledding lovers of all ages, this is one of the fastest growing winter activities in the United States because nearly anyone can practice it, although persons under the 42" tall must be accompanied by an adult.

Tube down at thrilling speeds is exciting, and then new sensations hoping on a moving carpet for the ride back to the top. This resort, as many others, has 100% snowmaking and night lighting for the visitors' convenience.

Most Skiing facilities at Asheville and other West North Carolina locations have web cams available online, available year-round to check the upcoming winter season’s progress.