Just 50 years ago, the town of Davis seemed likely to become a ghost town. The story of the West Virginia hamlet read similar to other coal towns in the US: once-rich natural resources were depleted until the land ran dry and no work was to be found. But the region’s natural assets saved Davis once again. Thanks to its high altitude and abundance of snow, Davis went from a coal town to a ghost town to a thriving ski town.
Davis, WV is a small municipality located in the mountainous heart of Tucker County. At 3,520 feet elevation, Davis is the highest incorporated town in the state. It is located along the Blackwater River just outside the northern terminus of Canaan Valley, the highest large valley east of the Mississippi River. Davis is conveniently accessible from the eastern portion of Highway 48 (the section to connect the western portion from Montrose to Davis via Parsons is currently under construction). The highway provides quick and easy access to and from many metropolitan areas - Davis is just 2.5 hours from Washington, D.C., 3 hours from Pittsburgh, PA, and 3.5 hours from Baltimore, MD.
Nestled along the Blackwater River, the town sits on the edge of the massive Monongahela National Forest, located in the biggest high-elevation valley east of the Mississippi River. Perched at 3,100 feet, it’s probably no surprise that this highest town in West Virginia is especially appealing to skiers.
The generous snowfall didn’t go unnoticed-and in the early 1950s, skiers started showing up. The first to arrive were the members of the Ski Club of Washington DC. In February 1951, Ski Club members Hal Leich and Gorman Young embarked on a road trip to discover Canaan Valley skiing for themselves. Leich used the pilot’s reports and studied topographical maps. He pinpointed the high-elevation slopes of Cabin Mountain in Canaan Valley as the likely location he’d spotted from the air. As expected, the pair arrived in Canaan Valley and immediately found a large drift behind a farm house. They asked owners Hobe and Irene Mauzy if they could try skiing their property. The four became close friends and installed a rope-tow on the Mauzy farm. In doing so, they established Driftland, an unofficial ski area for club members.
After a handful of reconnaissance trips, the organization opened a members-only ski area, first called Driftland, and later expanded to become the Cabin Mountain Ski Area. Cabin Mountain Ski Area officially opened in 1954 as the first private ski area south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The area featured two rope-tows that accessed 300 vertical feet and 40 skiable acres. Lift tickets were $1 for members and $1.50 for non-members. The National Ski Patrol established a ski patrol-this marked West Virginia’s first professional ski patrollers. By 1955, the Weiss Knob Ski Area also opened next door. The first commercial ski area situated south of the Mason-Dixon Line, the Weiss Knob Ski Area launched with three rope tows and a lone T-bar lift.
Read also: Wolf Ridge Lodging & Activities
About 15 years later, the Canaan Valley Resort State Park opened its slopes. In 1957, the state of West Virginia made its first land acquisition with an eye toward further developing a ski industry in West Virginia. Sarah Maude Thompson Kaemmerling granted 3,149 acres (12.74 km2) to the state in the 1950s for the formation of a state park with the stipulation that the state make a matching 3,000-acre (12 km2) acquisition. The state would go on to forcefully claim more than 30 properties between 1964 and 1970. It was not until 1971, however, that the Canaan Valley Resort State Park was established centering on the ski slopes at the southern end of the Valley.
Today, there are three ski resorts just minutes from Davis, along with unlimited trail options for off-piste skiers in the patchwork of public lands surrounding town.
Canaan Valley Ski Area.
The Rise and Fall of a Coal Town
Coal, timber, fur, and the railroad are what helped establish Davis and make it prosperous. In 1882, Henry Gassaway Davis selected the region that would soon become the town of Davis. In 1884, his railroad arrived and the town of Davis was established. The town was officially incorporated in 1889, and by the early 1900s, the Davis Coal and Coke Company was among the biggest coal companies on the planet. The town was brimming with tanneries and lumber yards.
Streetlights and homes were electrified by a creekside power plant, and a hodgepodge of hotels and saloons catered to visiting laborers and industrialists. Originally a heavily forested landscape, over the next thirty years, Davis grew through timber, textile, fur and coal mining industries. To work the mines, fell the trees and man the shops and businesses immigrants were solicited, mostly from Eastern Europe. Many embraced the opportunity of “coming to America,” starting a new life, full of promise and escaping the harsh realities of their homeland.
Read also: Ultimate Guide to Brighton Skiing
But the town’s heyday was short-lived. In less than four decades, the region’s trees had been felled, the coal had been extracted, and the furry creatures had been decimated. By the 1920s the old growth trees had mostly been removed and the beaver, mink and muskrat had been trapped to near extinction. The railroad stopped ferrying passengers in 1942, and a few years later, the town’s lumber yards and tanneries were abandoned too.
Population was peaking and by 1960 only 898 citizens remained. Many of those who remained had been instrumental in the boom years and had made a place for themselves in the community. As a result, foreign family names are common throughout the region.
By 1950 the last factory had been officially torn down and the town’s population has remained under 1,000 people since. The tannery hung by a thread until the mid 1970s before closing its doors and the railroad stayed on track until the 1980s hauling coal and freight, though it hadn’t carried passengers since the 1940s.
The 2000 Census listed Davis with a population of just 624, its lowest since the late 1800s. The town had dwindled to a shell of its former self and lay dormant with no economic engine. The 2010s saw an influx of new arrivals and a renaissance for rural living began to breathe new life into Davis. The transition from the timber days to the post-industrial economy was on, and Davis shifted from an industrial boomtown to a charming outdoor lover’s haven. With a resurgence of people moving back and optimism for the future, new businesses and new opportunities began to spring up.
Davis Today
Davis is currently best known for its world-class outdoor recreation opportunities and outstanding access to pristine and wild public lands: These include the Little Canaan Wildlife Management Area, Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley state parks, the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and a large portion of the Monongahela National Forest. Davis lies in the heart of a celebrated system of rugged mountain biking and hiking trails. It is but a short drive to some of the country’s best whitewater kayaking and rafting streams and rivers, and just ten miles from three unique downhill and cross-country ski resorts in Canaan Valley.
Read also: In-Depth Sundance Snowboarding
Davis has become home to a thriving scene of local businesses, artisans, eateries, and breweries. It is a hub for skiers, hikers, bikers, hunters, art lovers, and beer lovers. Davis has recently been popping up at the top of tourism and outdoor recreation “best-of” lists, proving it to be a town to watch as Appalachian tourism continues to grow.
Thanks to the region’s topography-nearby mountains, the Allegheny Plateau, and the eastern Continental Divide-the region is inundated with heaps of snow. In Davis, snowfall averages about 150 inches a year, but loftier spots along the valley’s rim can get dumped with more than 14 feet of snowfall. The combination of fresh powder, westerly-facing slopes, and abundant wilderness have turned Davis into one of the East Coast’s premier ski towns.
Ski Area Trail Map.
Skiing in Davis
Today you’ll find numerous ski resorts, cabin-like restaurants, and homey hotels. Nearby neighbors in DC, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky may already know the secret of the best skiing in Appalachia within reasonable driving distance. For the rest of us, here’s a complete guide to skiing in Davis, as well as what to do after.
Timberline Mountain
For the downhill aficionados, there are two options outside town. Slightly further north, Timberline Mountain has two terrain parks and 40 trails-including an epic two-mile-long run called Salamander, the longest in the Mid-Atlantic. Timberline opened in January 1987, ultimately featuring 36 trails and 91 skiable acres. Three chairlifts took skiers to various spots on the large knob. The tallest reached 4,268 feet and offers Canaan Valley’s largest vertical drop of 1,100 feet. After sunset, the resort offers night skiing in both terrain parks and on a half dozen illuminated slopes from Thursday to Sunday nights.
Rebranded as Timberline Mountain, the new owners and their team didn’t skip a beat. They tore down the rusted lifts by the spring of 2020. In their place rose two brand-new lifts, including a six-person high-speed detachable lift-the first of its kind in West Virginia. The Timberline Mountain team also invested heavily in upgrading the aging snowmaking system.
Canaan Valley Resort Ski Area
Now the oldest resort in Canaan Valley, the Canaan Valley Resort Ski Area tops out at 4,820 feet, offering 47 runs etched into the flanks of Weiss Knob, with about 850 feet of vertical. Canaan Valley Resort opened for skiing in 1971, on the original site of Weiss Knob Ski Area. It offers 47 ski trails, one terrain park, and a snow tubing area.
Canaan Valley Resort State Park features a 160 room lodge, plus 23 cabins & cottages, and 34 campsites. The park also provides hiking trails, bike trails, ski area, and an 18 hole championship-level golf course designed by Geoffrey Cornish.
White Grass Ski Touring Center
It’s easy to get off-piste on the trails around Davis too. For starters, the White Grass Ski Touring Center offers about 30 miles of marked trails and strategically-situated warming huts, nestled between Bald Knob and Cabin Mountain. Accessible from both Timberline Mountain and the Canaan Valley Resort Ski Area, the trail network at White Grass also connects to 45 miles of backcountry trails in the adjacent Dolly Sods Wilderness, a high-elevation slice of the Monongahela National Forest.
The White Grass Ski Touring Center rents both backcountry skis and skating skis, along with standard cross-country skis and snowshoes, and offers monthly Full Moon Ski Tours and Snowshoe Discovery Tours led by local naturalists. For beginners, when the golf course at Canaan Valley Resort State Park is covered under a blanket of snow, the resort rents cross-country skis and opens the hibernating course to all. Seasoned cross-cross skiers can also kick-and-glide to the 25 mile trail system traversing the adjacent Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
White Grass Ski Touring Center opened for the winter 1981-1982 season. With no lifts or rope-tows, White Grass was-and still is-all about human-powered recreation on Cabin Mountain’s extreme terrain. The resort features more than 50 kilometers of trails over a sprawling section of Cabin Mountain. It’s not uncommon for adventurous skiers to buy a one-way lift ticket at Canaan. They ski from Weiss Knob to Bald Knob then drop down into the tangled network of cross-country trails and cap off the day with a meal at the White Grass Cafe.
One particularly unique aspect of Canaan Valley skiing culture is the proliferation of Telemark skiing, an elegant style of skiing that combines elements of Nordic and Alpine skiing, where the skier’s heel isn’t locked into the ski. Chip Chase and his merry band of freeheelers brought Telemark skiing to Canaan Valley.
The Best Place To Ski & Snowboard in West Virginia | Ski Resort Review
Snow Sports Museum of West Virginia
In February 2018, Canaan skiers John Lutz and Kim Williams established the Snow Sports Museum of West Virginia (SSMWV) just over Canaan Mountain in the adventure town of Davis.
Despite the establishment, growth, and competition of ski resorts in Canaan Valley, over the decades not much has changed in this relatively rural and undeveloped area.
Après-Ski in Davis
After a day in the snow, there are plenty of places to thaw out in Davis.
Sirianni's Cafe.
Where to Eat
- Sirianni’s Cafe: Tuck into crowd-pleasing pizzas at Sirianni’s Cafe, a mainstay in Davis for more than 30 years.
- Hellbender Burritos: Or grab a table at Hellbender Burritos, where the hearty burritos are infused with Appalachian-inspired flavors and fillings like pulled pork and buffalo chicken.
- Milo’s Café & Restaurant: Get hearty food all day at Milo’s Café & Restaurant, from country breakfast to hearty burgers.
- Ish Kitchen: Whereas Ish Kitchen offers cuisine from around the world, ranging from curries to papas bravas.
- Highland Market: Favor a moveable feast instead? Grab gourmet, locally-sourced snacks, sandwiches, and prepared meals like made-from-scratch pasta from the Highland Market.
Where to Drink
- Stumptown Ales: After dinner, recharge with libations at Stumptown Ales. The brewery pours everything from sessionable blondes to hearty stouts.
- The Billy Motel: The stylishly retro motor lodge offers rooms with spacious parlors for storing skis and boots. There’s even an onsite watering hole with internationally-inspired plates and craft cocktails-and for motel guests, the first drink is on the house.
Where to Stay
- Bright Morning Inn: Built in 1896, the Bright Morning Inn was once a bustling bunkhouse for loggers. Renovated in 2021, the inn offers rooms along the main drag in Davis, and the farm-to-table eatery Milo’s Café & Restaurant is housed on the first floor.
- The Billy Motel: Also in Davis, The Billy Motel touts itself as ‘Hillbilly Fabulous’ (think the Rosebud Motel from Schitt’s Creek).
- Canaan Valley Resort: Outside town, the Canaan Valley Resort offers a 160-room lodge, along with dog-friendly cottages and cabins.