Best Snow Tubing Near DC for Families

Even young kids can get in on the fun at Heritage Hills Resort! Photo courtesy of Avalanche Express Snow Tubing at Heritage Hills Resort
Even young kids can get in on the fun at Heritage Hills Resort! Photo courtesy of Avalanche Express Snow Tubing at Heritage Hills Resort
12/24/23 - By Meredith Kiryakov

Snow tubing is the perfect way to have wintry family fun. Unlike skiing or snowboarding, there’s no skill required for snow tubing, so it’s the perfect introduction to winter sports for kids. Even toddlers can tube at some locations!

Here are 12 great places to go snow tubing near DC with kids, all within a roughly three-hour drive. Most of these snow tubing spots are part of larger resorts that offer skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and/or other winter sports.

If your family can't get enough of the snow after tubing, there are plenty more ways to have wintry adventures. Just check out our Winter Activities Guide for DC Kids, which includes our lists of fun outdoor ice skating rinks near DC and the best ski resorts in the US for family vacations. Stay warm!

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Best Places to Go Snow Tubing Near DC in Virginia

1. Massanutten Resort — Massanutten

Driving distance from DC: About 2.5 hours
Age and/or height requirement: 36 inches

The snow tubing hill at this popular family resort features up to 16 lanes that are 900 feet long and offer a drop of 120 vertical feet. Two conveyor lifts help get visitors back up the hill. When conditions are right, friends can link up and ride down together. Massanutten also offers Northern Lights Tubing, where guests can tube after dark to the glow of neon lights and pumping music. The resort offers plenty of other fun activities, too—read all about them in our review of Massanutten Resort.

RELATED: Best Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks in DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia for Kids and Families

 
Wintergreen Resort is home to the largest snow-tubing park in Virginia.

2. Wintergreen Resort — Wintergreen

Driving distance from DC: About 3 hours
Age and/or height requirement: 42 Inches

The Plunge at Wintergreen Resort, where tubers can reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, is the largest in Virginia. It is recommended for children ages 6 and up. Only one person is allowed per tube, but riders may hook their tubes together depending on conditions. Tickets must be purchased online in advance.

3. Bryce Resort — Basye

Driving distance from DC: A little over 3 hours
Age and/or height requirement: 4 years old and 36 Inches

Bryce Resort has three 800-foot tubing lanes where visitors can tube for 90 minutes per session. Children must be able to get in and out of the tube quickly to ride. A conveyer belt takes guests back to the top of the hill after each run. Tickets must be reserved online in advance, and tubers can add ice skating to their tickets for a discount.

4. The Omni Homestead Resort — Hot Springs

Driving distance from DC: A little over 3.5 hours
Age and/or height requirement: 5 years old and 42 Inches

The Penguin Slides Tubing Park at Omni Homestead Resort is open Thursday through Sunday from 10am-12pm and 1-4pm. Slide down the hill and ride the Penguin Express conveyor back up again. Advance reservations are required and are good for one hour of tubing. Kids can also ice skate and ride mini snowmobiles.

Best Places to Go Snow Tubing Near DC in Pennsylvania

5. Liberty Mountain Resort — Carroll Valley

Driving distance from DC: About 90 minutes
Age and/or height requirement: 42 inches

Visitors can purchase a two-hour snow tubing session for the resort's Bubly Tube Park. The best part? Each ticket comes with unlimited hot chocolate! Snow tubing at Liberty Mountain is available Thursdays through Sundays.

6. Whitetail Resort — Mercersburg

Driving distance from DC: About 1 hour and 45 minutes
Age and/or height requirement: 42 inches

Two-hour snow tubing sessions are available on Whitetail Resort’s large tubing run. There's also the option to purchase tickets that come with unlimited hot chocolate to warm you up! Tubing tickets must be purchased online in advance.

7. Heritage Hills Resort — York

Driving distance from DC: Under 2 hours
Age and/or height requirement: None

The Avalanche Xpress tubing hill at Heritage Hills Resort has several tubing lanes open seven days a week. Everyone must be in their own tube and able to get in and out by themselves, but parents can hold onto younger kids' tubes and ride down together. Daredevils can take a high-speed ride down the resort's ice slides—the longest ones in the world! Ice skating is available, too.

8. Roundtop Mountain Resort — Lewisberry

Driving distance from DC: About 2 hours
Age and/or height requirement: 42 inches

Roundtop offers two-hour tubing sessions on Wednesdays through Sundays. Once tubers go down the hill, a magic carpet lift takes them back to the top. Tickets must be purchased online in advance, and you can add unlimited hot chocolate to your ticket for only $5 extra.

9. Blue Knob All Seasons Resort — Claysburg

Driving distance from DC: About 3 hours
Age and/or height requirement: 5 years old

Blue Knob offers three snow tubing sessions on Saturdays and Sundays: 10am-12pm, 12:30-2:30pm, and 3-5pm. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and children ages 5-9 must be supervised by an adult at all times and able to ride in a tube by themselves.

More Great Places to Go Snow Tubing Near DC

10. Harpers Ferry Snow Tubing — Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Driving distance from DC: Under 90 minutes
Age and/or height requirement: 36 inches for regular snow tubing; no restrictions for kiddy slope

This park featuring a dozen tubing lanes is the closest place to go snow tubing near DC. It also claims to have the longest tubing slope on the east coast, at nearly three football fields long. Guests can enjoy 1.5 hours of tubing, with a Magic Carpet conveyor to bring them back up the hill. Kids 36 to 42 inches must ride tandem with a guardian, while those under 36 inches can enjoy the 50-foot kiddy tubing slope. In the evenings, families can enjoy Downhill Disco: Night Time Snow Tubing featuring music and multicolor LED disco lights.

RELATED: 50 Snow Day Boredom Busters for Kids: Fun Indoor Activities

 

Snow tubing at Wisp Resort is fun for the whole family.

11. Wisp Resort — McHenry, Maryland

Driving distance from DC: About 3 hours
Age and/or height requirement: 4 years old and 42 Inches

There are 12 tubing chutes—each 750 feet long—at Wisp Resort, plus two conveyor carpets to carry tubers back up the mountain. Tickets must be purchased online in advance. Four-hour sessions are available on Wednesdays and Thursdays, while Fridays, Saturdays, and holidays are limited to two hours. Add on a ride (or three) on Wisp's mountain coaster for a discounted price!

12. Canaan Valley Resort — Davis, West Virginia

Driving distance from DC: About 3 hours
Age and/or height requirement: 4 years old and 42 Inches

At 1,200 feet long, the tube runs at Canaan Valley Resort are some of the longest in the region. Luckily, there’s a magic carpet lift to carry visitors back up after each tubing run. Tubing is available seven days a week, and passes for two-hour sessions should be purchased online.

All photos courtesy of the resorts

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