If you are looking for a home away from home in the West Virginia ski country, look no further than the Black Bear Resort in Canaan Valley. Located about six miles from the Canaan Valley and Timberline ski slopes, the Black Bear Resort is the perfect place to settle in for the weekend or longer. After a day on the nearby slopes, you will be happy to return to your cabin or suite, light a fire in the fireplace, relax in the Jacuzzi, settle down with popcorn prepared in the microwave and watch TV until you give in to sleep while the wind whistles and the snow swirls outside.

Black Bear Resort offers fully furnished pedestal cabins that sleep four to six and an inn with suites that sleep two. The cabins are equipped with everything you need to prepare meals except the food. (That you have to provide yourself. There are grocery stores not far from the resort.) The suites in the inn are spacious and contain a fireplace, microwave, Jacuzzi and cable TV. They even provide a place to store your skis. The atmosphere is cozy and the beds are comfortable.

The resort has a playground for the kids, a tennis court, swimming pool, miniature golf, a fitness trail and a catch-and-release fish pond. The main lodge offers facilities for weddings and reunions. The surrounding land is beautifully landscaped.

People return again and again to Black Bear Resort for its at-home and reasonably priced comfort. According to one West Virginia resident visiting Black Bear with her husband to celebrate their anniversary, Black Bear offers “better amenities at a better price than any other resort around.” 

Although the resort has no restaurant, there are several nearby, including Amelia’s and Big John’s Family Fixin’s. Both family-style restaurants provide good food at reasonable prices. There are also shops that can supply you with everything you need for skiing, and stores that offer art, home furnishings, gifts and more.

The Black Bear Resort area offers numerous year-round outdoor activities, including downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, golfing, canoeing and fishing. The nearby Timberline Four Seasons Resort offers 37 slopes and trails, 1,000 vertical feet of fall line and some of the longest runs in the South. There is also night skiing and weekend entertainment. Canaan Valley Resort offers 39 slopes and trails, an 850-foot vertical drop, a 6,000-foot run and night skiing. There is also a tube park, a terrain park and snowshoeing. A short distance from Black Bear Resort are the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Blackwater Falls State Park and Canaan Valley State Park.

Of course there is always the option of relaxing and reading a good book on the deck of your cabin.

Whatever your choice of activity, Black Bear Resort is the place to call home in all seasons. And if you want to call it home often, you can always purchase one of the cabins so you can visit whenever you want.  

For information on Black Bear Resort, call 1-800-553-BEAR or visit www.blackbearwv.com. For information on skiing at Timberline Four Seasons Resort, call 800-SNOWING or the snow phone at 304-866-4828 or visit www.timberlineresort.com. For information on skiing at Canaan Valley, call 800-622-4121 or visit www.canaanresort.com.