Mountain Run

Mountain Run sat at Moreland Gap on the west-facing slope of Massanutten Mountain, three or four miles from Mount Jackson. The skiing was one part of a four-season real estate development on 600 acres surrounded by George Washington National Forest. Virginia Places says the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation planned it and that Taliesin Associated Architects designed the ski lodge condominiums and cabins in 1971; DCSki credits Washington-area investors. DCSki says it opened around 1970 and ran about two seasons, with seven trails in the original account, served by a 900-foot double chairlift, a J-bar and a rope tow.^1,2

Skiers remembered uncrowded days, fan-type snow guns, a pond made by damming a creek, and a ski school led by an Austrian director. The development struggled with terrain, drainage, infrastructure and money, and both the resort and the housing plans were dropped. Trees had been cleared for four planned slopes that were never developed, and a planned expansion onto National Forest land toward Jawbone Gap would have given 800 to 1,000 feet of vertical.^1,2

TodayThe old ski trails have grown back into forest; the lift reportedly stood for years after the area closed.¹