A Day Trip to Liberty Mountain Resort

My husband has been talking about how much fun it would be to go skiing as a family for years, but we’ve always had a reason not to. Our usual reason is that we should wait until the kids get a bit older. Well, now they are a bit older! And we’re heading to Liberty Mountain Resort.

I’m pleased to say our first family ski trip definitely won’t be our last. We love the outdoors and being active and on this single-day trip, we spent over 8 hours outside! I call it that win.

Liberty Mountain Resort

We chose Liberty Mountain Resort in southern Pennsylvania for our first family ski trip. Just north of the Maryland border, it’s only about an hour and a half outside the DC Metro area.

We packed our cooler, our winter gear, and a change of dry clothes and headed out early. Even with stopping to pick up a friend on the way, we were at the resort by 10:00AM. This meant we had a solid 12-hour day to ski! (Spoiler alert: We did not last that long!)

When we exited the parking lot, several helpful employees were ready to direct us. They were also able to scan reloaded lift tickets and season passes. Liberty Mountain Resort really nailed the staffing of these positions. They are definitely the first faces you want guests to see! These employees were friendly, quick to make a joke, and happy to answer all of our questions. They directed us to the correct window for our lift tickets.

We had already purchased the lift tickets online, ensuring there was a spot for us since, due to COVID-19, there is limited capacity on the slopes. We did have to wait in line for quite a while to get them. Luckily our kids didn’t mind waiting, mostly because they were busy playing the giant piles of snow that had been cleared from the walkways. Our only concern was keeping them warm and dry before we got their boots on!

We asked the friendly employee at the window about the wait in line; she said that early morning and lunchtime tend to be the best time to avoid crowds at the lift ticket line.

Like everyone else, we’d arrived between those times! With this in mind, I recommend arriving as early as 7:00AM or waiting until 12:00PM to obtain your lift ticket. It’s what we’ll do next time.

Rental Equipment

Due to COVID-19, locker rentals were not available, nor was changing space. All gear had to be stored in our vehicles. Most of our changing happened there, too! It was a juggle and required a few extra trips to the car during the day, but we made it work.

We were able to purchase our equipment rental when we were assigned our lift tickets and we then split and moved to two different lines to pick up our equipment. If you don’t have a preference, I recommend snowboarding. The cost is the same, but the time we spent in line was very different!

The snowboarders in our party were second in line when they arrived. Even with paperwork and a couple changes in boots, they were in and out in 15 minutes. They were on the slopes by 11:00AM!

In contrast, it took our skiers over an hour and a half in line to get their gear. They weren’t suited up and on the slopes until 12:15PM!

The line for ski equipment did shorten over time. When our snowboarders were finally frustrated enough with their boards, we switched them to skis and waited in it again. By then it was mid-afternoon and this time around, it only took about 15 minutes. This supports our “next time” plan of arriving a bit later, putting us in the rental line later, too.

Learning to Ski and Snowboard

None of our kids had ever been on skis or a snowboard, so we weren’t sure how the day would go. Ski School and Snowboard School were both still being offered, but at staggered times (and fewer of them). We didn’t take advantage of ski school because the friend we’d picked up had agreed to teach them. He’s a former ski and snowboard instructor himself! We are so grateful for his patience and instruction.

Our kids loved every minute they spent on the slopes! They had embraced the idea of falling early on, but they each picked it up quickly and the risk of falls was less of an issue than we expected. Maybe this was due to our semi-private lessons!

All three kids were eager to try new runs. Eventually they all completed the “big” beginners, even our 5-year-old!

We went for hours, only stopping for bathroom breaks and meals.

As you can see, we did ditch our coats for a bit. The highlight of the day was the weather, which happened to be perfect. Reaching into the low 50s with bright sun in the morning, we weren’t cold till the sun went down. By then when the wind hit, we felt the chill!

Other Activities

The usual ice skating rink and outdoor fire were not in service (again, due to COVID-19), but at least the fire wasn’t needed for most of the time!

Some restaurants were also closed, but those that remained open had ample outdoor seating. We found it was full only at meal times.

An unfortunate side effect of not offering locker rentals was that some folks claimed tables by keeping their bags, shoes, clothes, and other belongings at tables that would normally be used for eating. Otherwise, you’d likely find wider availability even at lunchtime!

As the sun went down, the lights came on. The warm white holiday lights were magical! They really added something special.

We were disappointed to see that one of the lifts closed at 5:00PM, especially since it forced all skiers to use the other lifts, increasing the crowding there. Those crowds soon dissipated, though, as many folks headed home for the day.

As I said, we didn’t make it till 10:00PM. At 7:00PM, exhausted (but that good sort of tired), we changed and packed back into our minivan for the drive home. Even with stopping to pick up dinner, we were home and in bed by 10:00PM! Of course, the kids all fell asleep long before our arrival home.

Plan Your Visit

Liberty Mountain Resort
78 Country Club Trail
Fairfield, Pennsylvania 17320
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