Liberty Mountain Resort

First time hitting the slopes in 10 years. My lesson was very informative and the instructor was great! All staff were very helpful, including ticket sales and rentals. Only rating 3 stars because of the poor encounter I had with the head instructor/​director of the ski school (he wore a gray jacket). I made the mistake of pointing my pole toward a member in our party and he rudely grabbed the pole and humiliated me in front of many people, loudly yelling «do NOT point your pole in my face!» Shortly after, he reprimanded his instructors for leading their groups off before he gave permission. This man is dealing with the public on a daily basis – he could use a few «lessons» himself in public relations. After all, leadership reflects how staff will behave. He may be the reason I patron Whitetail from now on.

I’ve been to Liberty a handful of times now and it’s definitely one of my favorite places to snowboard around the area. If you live in NoVA, a 1.5 hour commute will get you here. The staff here do a good job at the upkeep of the slopes (grooming, making new snow, etc) and for the most part the majority of their ski lifts are always open. They have slopes for everyone’s skill set ranging from the bunny slopes to the double black diamonds.
On my most recent visit the temperature was 63 degrees. The conditions were decent at 9 AM but as it started warming up the snow became slushy. I was a bit bummed out that I only got a good 4 hour session in before I started falling left and right due to consistency of the snow. However I will say in better winter conditions, Liberty is awesome and is plenty of fun. As far as the food goes, think of amusement park food. It’s average and overpriced so I would recommend that you eat before you get to the ski resort and possibly pack some lunches.
Overall, if you are seeking for a place to go for a one day trip Liberty will not disappoint. Ample amount of slopes, ski lifts and obviously if you are trying to avoid the crowd don’t go on the weekends. Lastly, unlike other ski resorts the roads to this place is pretty simple to get to. There is no need to drive up a steep mountainous road so if you have a RWD car fear not, you will also be able to get here with no issues.

It is a great place for beginner. Not crowded! The best value package has reasonable price.

Good and sunny day, few people good snow, easy from dc. The only thing is so expensive i can sky 2 days on the best european resort with 100 miles of ski trail with the same money i paid for 1 day here

Growing up playing ice hockey, coaches of mine always looked down upon skiing in the winter time in fear of players injuring themselves unnecessarily on the mountains. Therefore, I never had the opportunity to ski when most of my friends were learning.
I’ve always wondered if having played hockey would make the experience easier like I’d so often heard… «You’ve played hockey all your life? You’ll pick this up quick!»
My friend convinced me to get out of DC on Valentine’s Day while my wife was at a bachelorette party weekend away. First time skiiers get boots/​helmet/​poles and a two hour learning session for $ 99, and an offer to try it out again before the season closed for $ 49.
The learning session was in small groups to start (how to properly fall, put on skis, turn, and stop) and then we broke off with teachers down the bunny hill doing larger turns. With the learners pass, you’re allowed on the first two hills, but I was quick to catch on and by the end of the day, my friend took me down some of the steeper blue hills to show me what he’d been doing during the afternoon.
I really enjoyed myself and found Liberty to be great.

I need to get this out from the beginning that most east cost skiing or snowboarding (minus maybe Vermont) is a joke. Mountains are tiny, runs are icy, and you are left constantly scratching your head saying «where are they hidding the powder?», and that’s just the way it is. You accept that, move on, and ride these little icy bumps.
That being said Liberty Mountain has some nice hills that are close to the DMV area. Their ticket prices aren’t too bad compared to what I have seen at some other smaller mountains, and all the lifts are always operating, so lift lines are never very long. They also don’t charge for parking like many other ski resorts.
They are constantly blowing snow to try and accumulate some powder which is a big plus, and if you’re someone who likes to walk on the wild side they have a great terrain park (no half pipe though), which is constantly being remodeled with new rails, table tops, ect. There is also a huge beginners hill, and many beginner friendly trails, as well as many upper level/​expert trails all of which are well marker. Many of the upper level trails are riddled with moguls. If you are a snowboarder the amount of moguls can be exhausting since these are mostly made to take on skis, but skiers love them.
I have to give huge props to the people at the ski shop. I jammed my binding, rendering it unable to open, and had to slip my foot out with a lot of help from my boyfriend. After brining it to the ski shop the employee immediately fixed it for me, and didn’t charge me since it was a simple maneuver. As the day went on though the clip continued to malfunction. I brought it back to the ski shop and after 15 minutes they had put a new clip on for me, and only charged me 10 $ for the clip, and not for labor because he said «they didn’t get it right the first time». How is that for pride in your work!

I gave ski Liberty 2 stars only because ta where I started and I learned a good deal of things practicing there over the years however I am in to my 5^th year of snowboarding and have traveled a nice bit and I can honesty say ski Liberty is by far the most expensive for absolutely no reason I have been to snowboarding in Colorado, West Virginia, Quebec and at no point have I came across lift tickets as expensive, the mountains at Liberty are on some days well groomed most of the time full of clumps of ice, board rental folks are pretty useless be sure to check your boat d size needed before going or they might give you one 10 CM to short snowboard instructors are ok depending on when you go some of the younger guys rather show off than to to each class, unless you get a day or two of good steady snow it’s a pretty basic place very good to learn and practice when there is some fresh snow down, advantage card seems more to their advantage you have to pay 119.00 to get an advantage card and a 40% discount each time you come but you would think since you purchased the card it would come with a lift ticket since you just paid almost double the amount of one single ticket but nope you have to then go spend more money to get your lift ticket, pizza is 30.00 for what they call a large in reality it’s about a medium pizza that you buy from the grocery store and put in the oven, I think it’s safe to say this will be my last year ever going to Liberty I refuse to pay twice as much as some very popular resorts with more accumulated natural snow shorter lift lines and cheaper prices.

The skiing part is nice… they do a good job making snow when it’s cold, and the lift attendants are cheerful.
However the area in front of the lodge is disgusting. Lots of smokers and lots of bad language. My shoes got stolen (granted I shouldn’t have left them there). It is very uninviting for families… how is it possible that in 2016 smoking is still allowed?

Never go to pixza place, which they clam gigantic pizza! They really just not tell the truth, plus pizza sucks!

We went to the restaurant here, which is called Eagle and the Owl. The setting & the presentation of the food is excellent.
The beef stroganoff was terrific. The turkey monte cristo wasn’t as good. We’ll be back to try more menu items.

I am extremely disappointed with liberty’s customer service. While I’m sure this winter is a stressor for them due to lack of snow, that doesn’t mean their customer service should suffer.
In early December I bought tickets to their NYE snow tubing event. Last week (right before xmas) I decided to check the website to make sure the event was still occurring. It wasn’t and understandably so, they have no snow). What made me upset was that had I not bothered to check I would have gone all the way up expecting to snow tube. Why would you not have a way of alerting customers your event is canceled? Have a mandatory email or phone number section when people buy tickets to your event. Maybe they expected for me to find out when the refund showed up on my CC? That wouldn’t have worked because I still am waiting on my refund which I’ve called twice about. I know refunds can take awhile no problem. I started to get angry when I called and the desk person had no idea what I was talking about, had to check, and all she could tell me is «they’ve been processed». Maybe give me some more information on your refund policy such as we use an outside company to process them and it could take _​_​_​amount of days. Or an apology about it taking so long and to let them know if it hadn’t been processed by such and such date. Anything to show they care about customers.
I’m just frustrated at the lack of consideration. It’s already going to be a tough season for them, why lose customers over something so simple?

THE PROS: Liberty Mountain is a good resort to learn to ski/​snowboard because of its well-​trained Ski School. They offer a great priced package for first time skiers called the Mountain Passport Card for about $ 45 that includes a first-​timers lesson, a lift ticket to beginner terrain, and ski/​boot/​pole rentals. It’s snowmaking capabilities are good for a region that survives on it when the resort receives an annual snowfall of less than 50in. The restaurants and lodge are nice.
THE CONS: This place is crowded on weekends! I felt like cattle going to the slaughterhouse while waiting in a disparaging line only to arrive on slopes that are jammed with people. I had a difficult time getting relief on the Black Diamond runs as there were crowds of mostly people that should not be skiing on their Advanced/​Expert terrain. 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 yard sales everywhere and people skiing out of control. A lot of people there are jerks and showboats as they blast down the mountain to the lift line and kick up snow on people waiting for the lift (I’ve seen this go wrong and the skier can’t stop in time and barrel into people). The lift ticket cost was high for the experience. More high-​speed quads wouldn’t really help as the mountain is crowded with people as well. The mountain has short trails and has a vertical drop of 650ft. This factors into waiting a long time to get on the lift, then waiting time on the lift as it stalls when people cant get off the lift appropriately, then you ski down most likely icy terrain for a couple minutes on a crowded trail and you wind up back in a long lift line. It’s a bummer of mass proportions!
THE RUN DOWN: After five visits over the last few winters, I’m done with this place. I cant justify the drive and money from DC whereas there are better resorts to go to under 3 hours away such as Canaan Valley Resort (180in of annual snow and a great terrain park) in West Virginia or 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 give this place 5 stars for just a few simple reasons — price, location, and always a good time had here. We live in northern va so it’s an easy hour and half drive to the resort. There are enough options for beginners like my husband and I And if you go on ‘off’ times don’t have to wait in long lines for the lifts. The hotel and restaurant options leave something to be desired — if I was rather g those would give them a 3 on quality. But again we always have so much fun when we come here that those things don’t really matter. Ski liberty also has slopes for tubing which is pretty cool. Can’t wait to take my son here some day!

I try to go to ski liberty every season. I am not the greatest snowboarder, and I won’t sit here pretending I am. However, I am able to go down the mountain without struggling.
The mountains are perfect for me because I am able to determine what i am able to handle. My husband tricked me one time and made me go down the black diamond!!! Omg I was so scared. That mountain is something I don’t ever want to go on again. The black diamond mountain was so steep and that day, the ice was not powder. The ice was very hard and frozen over. So you can image my stress level going down a frozen and steep mountain side. So beware of the black diamond if you are not a good snowboarder like myself. Don’t let anyone talk you into it by saying it is easy… It really is not.

Some woman at the snowboard rental shop got unnecessarily aggravated when she had to adjust the boots on my snowboard after I came back a third time. I don’t know why she got upset or had an attitude when it’s her job to do that and she got it wrong the first few times.
Also, there are no chairs at the café on the first floor. After snowboarding/​skiing, don’t you think it would be nice to sit in a warm setting for a bit, without having to climb up the stairs to where the tables AND chairs are?
Pictures will be included on Unilocal

This place is really expensive in every way — from the rentals to the lift pass to getting a coffee or a snack onsite.
HOWEVER: I only go on Wednesday nights when my $ 40 gets me a lift ticket and equipment rental for five hours (5 PM until close at 10 PM).
The staff are super-​friendly with the exception of one pretty rude employee (large man with a ponytail operating the backside lift at the bottom).
I’m new to skiing and appreciated the diversity of slopes. I have brought four people for lessons — two adults and two kids — and the instructors were very nice and generous with their time.
One other issue I have is with people smoking marijuana, especially on the lift. I believe the owners of the resort should crack down on this because it’s really unpleasant to get caught behind a toker when you’re on a long lift ride. A solution would be to have a sniffer dog on Wednesday nights (college night) and then ban people who get caught.
Some signs also indicating smoking of all kinds is banned on the lift may help (imagine getting a butt in your eye as you go down a mountain and pass under the lift).

I liked this place. It has a really nice park area that you can board and ski in and their slops are decent. I think it’s a perfect place for beginners to learn snowboarding because the slopes are not too steep. There is a black diamond there and it’s not too steep, so it’s worth a try– even though I literally braked all the way down. Hahaha –_-It’s actually really fun and connects right to the park area. The facility looks tidy and clean. There are places where you can sit around a fire and rest. Their lifts are slow, but the lifts don’t get too crowded– even on the weekends, so it’s not horrible and you get a lot of time on the slopes. I’m going back today! :)

Was my first experience snowboarding or actually being anywhere near a ski resort. Me and two guy friends had signed up for snowboarding class via George Mason and were excited to hit the slopes (and hit the slopes I did plenty of times while landing on my butt, pun intended).
Our instructor was great (and hot, woo hoo!) and did not tire of my falling on my butt antics every time we headed downhill. Rentals seemed plenty, even though we had rented ahead of time. The food at the ski lodge was overpriced and the cocoa was just terrible. One thing ski lodges need to get right is hot cocoa, so please do something about it.

Came here on a trip with friends, and was not disappointed. The snow was great, the staff was very pleasant, the whole experience was well worth the trip. The blacks are not too hard (I’m more of a blue person myself) so I would definitely say this is a mountain for those on the intermediate level. The tavern is great — who doesn’t like live music and a few beers when you are on the slopes?

My sister got a deal through her job to go snow tubing here for $ 10. The lodge was really nice, it was very clean and warm which was a plus since it was chilly outside! The snack bar food wasn’t anything to brag about and in my opinion a bit over priced but I expected that anyway. This was my first time tubing so I had no clue what I was in store for. Once I got over my fear it was a lot of fun! The staff was extremely courteous and helpful and safety was definitely a high priority. Overall I would say it was a good family outing and should additional deals be available I’m sure we would go again. It was a good deal for the price we paid but I’m not sure I would be willing to pay more than that to slide down hill 10 times!

For the DC/​MD/​VA area is think that Liberty Mountain is a great resort, It’s about an hour and a half drive from Downtown DC. I like it much better than Roundtop Mountain which is equal distance from Washington DC.
If you’re an avid skiier like I am, don’t set your expectations unreasonably high and you’ll avoid disappointment. Remember that this is the mid-​Atlantic region not the Colorado Rockies. The runs are pretty short and the weather conditions don’ t always cooperate but this if a fun place to hit up as a day trip if you love skiing and just need to get out of the city and shred.
Food is obviously overpriced, it’s a ski resort. I don’t understand why people bother writing negative reviews about a ski resort’s cafeteria. People are obsessed with food on Unilocal,Liberty’s top priority is focusing of being a entertaining, safe and sanitary place to ski with family.
There are lots of beginner level skiiers on the mountain so be cautious of others who are learning. I like the 8 hours flex pass option over the 4hr, it’s a better bargain if you’re not skiing with little kids and your familiar enough with skiing/​snowboarding that you know to expect.

Ski Liberty is not for ski bums as much as it is a ski bummer.
Exhibit A — Lousy equipment. I’ve been happily snow-​bunnying my entire life, have still never been cool enough to own my own gear, yet have always had positive rental experiences from coast to coast. That is, until I met Ski Liberty. First, Liberty does not adjust boots to bindings; all bindings are adjusted for Type 1 skiers. While this definitely maximizes efficiency of the rental line, it certainly kicks a hole in quality control. The skis issued to me had undergone pretty hefty damage; a large strip of fiberglass was missing from the side of one ski, making for a dangerous trip if you don’t know what you’re doing. After a rickety run, I brought the damaged skis back into the rental shop where they were simply put back on the rack for the next patron. No inspection. No apology. No bueno.
Exhibit B — Priced for PA’s elite. Did I seriously just pay they same amount to ski at Liberty as I did at Breckenridge on a holiday weekend?! Yup, sure did. What’s up with that? If I’m going to plunk down the dinero to go skiing, I want to ski on snow (or at least fake snow), not a pile of money.
Exhibit C — Terrain and location. Proximity to DC does not, I repeat does NOT, equate into a worthwhile ski experience. Who cares if something is close to DC if mostly stinks? Plus, Ski Liberty is pretty tiny. (Upon interview, Derek Zoolander exclaimed, «What is this, a ski hill for ANTS?») Obviously you can’t compare it to the West, but even when doing a side-​by-​side with other comparable hills in comparable locations Liberty still falls in the back of the pack.

For the area is think this place is great. Living in DC, it only took me 1.5 hours to arrive. Parking was a breeze. Lift tickets are reasonably priced and it is not too crowded.
The first lift at the bottom is the most crowded. Get in the singles line and u fly through. Once on top, the back side of the mountain is not bad at all. The snow was great for a small east coast mountain.
Obviously, you can’t compare this to the west, but for anyone in DC, this is the closest and best spot. Don’t even waist your time driving all the way to Wisp.
My only pet peeve is the food, way too overpriced for poor quality. But that is what you get, they have a monopoly on the food, so not really much anyone can do about it.

I’ve gone 8 times now. For a place that’s relatively easy to get to from DC, it’s pretty good. A nice variety of trails and some great snowmaking capability. It gets crowded weekends after about 11:00, and really crowded on holidays. If you don’t have someone to stake out a table first thing in the morning, finding a place to sit in the lodge is a challenge. Their prices are pretty steep, so buy discounted tickets before you go if you can. Rental equipment is pretty good. They require ID to rent, so have one on hand and be ready to walk kids through the rental. Food is very expensive. Staff has been friendly 99% of the time. Parking is far away and a tough walk in ski boots. Recommend you drop as many people as you can at the entrance before going to park.
From DC, Whitetail is a little further but offers a better experience.

3.5
First trip of the season and I was not rusty at all! Anyways this place is great for a day trip if you live near DC and surrounding areas. We live on the East Coast so expect east coast snow and terrain. This mountain has a good mix of easy to advanced trails but don’t expect runs to last longer than a few minutes. The lines only seem to get long on the weekends with big groups so watch out for that, try going during the week. Only complaint: 4 hr flex is 60 $ where the 8 hr option is 65 $! Seriously? I didn’t know 5 $ would be worth 4 hours more! Need to make the 4 hour lift ticket cheaper please, but I’m sure it’s like that in other mountains too…*rant over*
Go shred some gnar! As they put it