35JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA EDITION | JULY 2012

:: TRAVEL GUiDE | featured section

Although Snowshoe’s winter season frequently lasts over 130 days, the fun doesn’t end when the snow melts. Snowshoe offers some of the best mountain biking on the east coast, with 100 miles of maintained trails winding through the resort’s 10,000 acres. Trails range in difficulty; some trails follow scenic backcountry roads and old rail trails, while others are hair-raising, advanced singletrack. Races such as the popular 24 Hours of Snowshoe (covered by DCSki in 2002 and 2003) have been held at Snowshoe in the past.

Two mountain biking centers offer trail maps, bike rentals, clothing and equipment sales, and bike tours. When you’re done biking, you can give your bike a wash with supplied hoses.

If mountain biking isn’t your sport, Snowshoe also offers golf, tennis, horseback riding, swimming, hiking, fishing, canoeing, or sightseeing. Snowshoe’s high elevation (nearly 5,000 feet) helps it escape from the

Summer months offer golf, festivals and family activies.

scorching summer heat found in Williamsburg. Not far from Snowshoe, you’ll find other attractions such as the Cass Scenic Railroad and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

The Raven Golf Club (formerly known as Hawthorne Valley Golf Course) is an 18 hole, par 72 Gary Player signature course set into the mountainside. Golf Magazine has declared the course as one of the “top ten new courses you can play in the U.S.”

Snowshoe added new activities several summers ago, including a skate park, a climbing wall, fly fishing, and more. Snowshoe also began offering scenic rides on the Western Express chairlift during weekends. Snowshoe is a bustling resort year-round.