Austin turns 6 on 2/19 and for his gift this year, I got him (and his siblings) a time slot at Massanutten Ski Resorts – Family Adventure Park – Snowtubing. Austin and his siblings had no idea what we were doing for the weekend. I gave them a few hints the night before but nobody was able to figure it out.
Snowtubing at Massanutten can be purchased 10 days in advanced and I purchased 6 days in advance and they still had openings for the 12:00-1:30 time slot. We chose Massanutten over Wintergreen because I was able to book it on Sunday night vs the Monday of the week for Wintergreen and also for $1 more at Massanutten, we got 20 more minutes of Tubing time. We will however try Wintergreen next time, just to see what the experience is like.
Not expecting it to be a 55+ degree day in the mountains in the middle of February, we all came in snow bibs, ski pants, winter gloves (which I got each of the kids a new pair from Amazon. We were really hot and thankfully we could put our jackets in the tubes.
We arrived right on time for our timeslot. We went inside Will Call to scan our bar code and print off our tickets.
The line to get on the conveyor belt to get to the top of the Tubbing hill had a really long line, eventually we made it to the top where the next long line awaited.
Blake, Ethan, Nick and Austin all went as single riders for their first drop. I connected with Arianna and Isabella. They were a little nervous.
Everyone did great on their first ride. For our next ride, Blake wanted to go with me and Arianna, Isabella and Austin went together.
We finally convinced Ethan and Nick to pair up. We noticed that the tubes go a lot faster when they are linked up.
We discovered the very last lane was the fastest. We knew it was our last run and we all decided to go in that lane. I went with Austin, Blake went with the girls and Ethan and Nick went together. We had to wait for about 20 minutes but we all eventually got our turn.
Takeaways:
- Even with tickets (claiming a limited of number per time slot), it was BUSY!!!
- Because it was so busy, we only got to ride 4 times in 90 minutes.
- All lanes had to be cleared before the next group of riders could go.
- Most people were really nice and accommodating to others. We did have someone that jumped in front of us when we were 2 groups from going and acted like it was perfectly fine.
- It would be nice if they had lanes specific for single riders and double riders.
- Very poor signage
- Ultimately – FUN!
Blake and I talked about taking the kids to the indoor waterpark at the resort but wanted to check it out first to see if it was really worth all the money for the few hours we would be able to play. We parked the car and went inside and had a look. It was extremely busy, Yes I know it was a Saturday but it was so busy that the tubes in the lazy river were all touching and people were crammed into the few pools like sardines. We opted not to pay the $53 a person and decided to utilize the indoor waterpark we have at home for another occasion. It did look fun and it wouldn’t have mattered to the kids that it was busy but I think we made the right call.
We drove to one of the playground areas to have a picnic lunch. The kids played on the playground for about 20 minutes after they ate and while we were cleaning up.
The back up plan for the pool was the Blackrock Summit hike. This is a hike that we have done before as a family and Blake and I did for the first time with Taylor shortly before then. Both occasions was the wrong time to climb the rock scramble due to it being hot and the potential for snakes. (We saw a rattlesnake the first time we hiked it).
We got a new National Park Pass since ours was expired. We utilize the National Park Pass frequently. While on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park we passed a lot of areas that were still covered in ice.
It was also fun to see the mountains. We joke with the kids saying that every time we take them to the mountains it is overcast or raining. Also all the leaves were off the trees, providing clear views from the mountains.
With multiple routes to the summit, this hike is great for all skill levels.
- Quick 0.6 out and back along the Appalachian Trail
- 1.1 mile loop trail (steep if you go clockwise)
- 1.7 mile loop trail – goes along the base of the rocks
We opted for the 1.7 mile loop trail because we were finally going to let the kids climb the rock scramble.
Hike:
- Distance: 1.52 Miles
- Elevation Gain: 361 feet
- Trail Type: Loop
- Summit Elevation: 3092 feet
- Location: Shenandoah National Park – Skyline Drive MP 84.4
We hiked clockwise to pass the base of the rocks. The ascent of the first part of the hike is very steep with no switchbacks. Eventually it does level off. A little bit of the trail still had some snow.
We made it to the base of the rocks and before we could even say anything to the boys they were already beginning their climb of the rock scramble.
Blake, the girls and I got to the bottom shortly after the boys started climbing. Izzy caught right up to Austin, Arianna was a little nervous as she started to climb. Blake and I stayed with her during her climb. After about 15 feet of climbing, she got really nervous and said she wanted to go back down. We encouraged her to continue the climb and that we would be right there with her.
About halfway up we found a Game microphone. It was a neat spot as it was very hard to see. Arianna spotted it. I got a picture of Blake and it looks like he is so small on the rocks.
Arianna made her final push to the top of the rocks and we had her take the lead.
We all made it to the top of the rocks and I told Arianna over and over how proud I was of her for not giving up and pushing though her fear. She was also proud of herself. Isabella was there waiting for her when she got to the top.
The sky and the mountains from the summit were breathtaking. It is too hard to pick a favorite.
We all had a lot of fun climbing the rocks at the summit. We found snow between some of the rocks and the kids kept challenging us to climb to different areas.
The kids were really sad when we told them it was time to leave. Unfortunately Skyline Drive was shutting down at 6pm and we had limited time. We took the Appalachian Trail back to the car to complete our loop. The trail was covered in snow for a lot of the way.
Ethan fell twice and both times I did not have my video camera going.
We were on the fence between 2 restaurants for dinner, The Fishin’ Pig or Rhett’s Bar and Grill. We picked The Fishin’ Pig because we have been there before, the kids love it and the prices are decent. For being 6pm on a Saturday, they only had about a 35 minute wait. This was fine since we didn’t have Taylor with us and we ate lunch around 2. While waiting, I told the kids they could run around and play in the grassy area but had to make sure they were mindful of the other people waiting and to watch for cars. Of course the kids found the one snow pile and played on it the entire time. Since we had their snow clothes, a couple of them wanted to put on their snow boots. The had the best time in the pile of snow.
Dinner as always was delicious with fantastic service. Arianna, Isabella and Austin had mac n cheese and hushpuppies and Ethan and Nick had Chicken Toes and hushpuppies. Ethan now has to order off the adult menu because the kids menu no longer fills him up. Blake had a burger with crap dip and I had a Chicken BBQ mac n cheese skillet. Austin got a piece of cheesecake with chocolate sauce for his birthday desert (complements of the restaurant).
We had such a fun day celebrating Austin’s Birthday. Everyone was exhausted on the way home, even Blake. I ended up driving the last 1.5 hours.
Nic of Time - Travel 