6 Family Friendly Activities to Try at Massanutten Resort

Whenever we need reset, we plan a visit to the mountains...whether for a day trip or overnight getaway! Massanutten Resort is one of my go-to-spots because it offers daily admission to all its activities; the property isn't just open to resort guests. That means you can visit for the day to enjoy the family adventure park, the ski slopes and ski lift, and you can enjoy the indoor and outdoor water parks!

It's a little under 2 hours from Richmond, making it a very easy trip with little kids. We usually drive through Gordonsville -- we love visiting this cute town to eat at BBQ Exchange or to explore Market at Grelen and Montpelier.

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Where to eat with kids at Massanutten Resort:

1. The Campfire Grill: Every time we visit Massanutten Resort, we end our trip with a visit to Campfire Grill. My kids love their food, and it's really family friendly. It has an outdoor seating space with fire pits and views of the golf course. The menu was very family friendly - I recommend the pizza and the cookie skillet! My children loved being about to walk down the porch to see golf carts, wildlife like deer and groundhogs too.

Reservations are optional. We've never had to wait too long if we arrived before 6pm.

Here are 6 family friendly activities to try during your visit:

1. The Live Events: Massanutten Resort has a bunch of festivals and live concerts. I really like the Fall Festival because it provides us (a family of 4) with an activity for a full day! You can listen to live music, have lunch from a food truck and playyard games with the kids. Massanutten Resort hosts festivals and events throughout the year. Here are some other ones to check out: Snow Moon Fest, Valley Fest, Summer Jam, and Village Festival.

2. Gem Mining: My children loved gem mining, especially sifting the dirt and getting wet. After we picked up our bags from the adventure center, we walked behind the building to the Massanutten Mining Company. There is a gem mining sluice and water pumps through the trough. After you get a sifter, you pour your bag of dirt in it and let the water wash away the dirt. My children were so excited to find the different stones, gems and fossils. Our bag also came with a key so we could identify what we found.

Gem Mining is really close to the summer tubing and adventure park courses, so you can walk between all of these activities.

This costs between $12-$28 per bag. If you purchase the large bag, you could definitely split it between two children.

3. The Indoor Water Park: We ended our weekend with a visit to the massive indoor water park, and it was so much fun! This is a must visit at Massanutten! There is a giant water-powered playhouse, lazy river, tube slides, body slides, and an area just for children 36" and smaller. There is also a snack bar and a floor filled with arcade games.

Online water park tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance. t It costs between $30-$68 dollars per person, and children 2 & under are free . Massanutten offers military discounts and advance purchase discounts. Life jackets are available without a cost, and you need to bring your own towels. We ended up renting a locker, and it was definitely helpful, too. Depending on the ages and heights of your children you may need two adults to enjoy the park - we definitely did. I also like that the water park is open to the public, not just Massanutten Resort guests!

The Frog Pond is a baby pool for children 42 inches and smaller.

This area is the only "baby pool" on property, and it's located in the indoor water park. The pool has a maximum depth of 12 inches, and it has little kid-friendly slides and water spouts.

All children must have a water diaper on, and children 5 and younger must be within arms reach of their grownup. There are no lifeguards in this area.

POV: visiting with kids 4 and younger -- My 4 year old loved the entire water park, and he was tall enough to participate in every area except the tube slides. My husband and him ran around to all the areas for almost 3 hours until they were both exhausted. My 2 year old loved riding in the tube with me on the lazy river, and she really enjoyed the Frog Pond, an area just for babies & toddlers (anyone 36" tall or shorter). Massanutten Meltdown, the playhouse, was a little much for her - she wanted me to go down the slides with her, but you could only go one at a time. Neither of my children tried The Pipeline, but we watched children as young as 5 attempt to boogie board and surf!

*The indoor waterpark is always heated to 84 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. The Outdoor Waterpark: If you visit the water park between Memorial Day and Labor Day, your water park ticket will include access to both the indoor and outdoor water parks.

The outdoor park has three separate water play areas. It has an activity pool thats around 3 feet deep with steps to get in. It has a basketball play area, a swim area, and an obstacle course. You need to be almost 4 feet to complete this easily - my 6 year old was about to do it, but my 4 year old couldn't reach the netting. The activity pool also has a splash park with three small slides for little kids. This is the only "baby play area" in the outdoor pool area.

The next area is the wave pool, also known as White Caps. This pool is zero entry and goes to 6 feet deep. There's plenty of space in the shallow area for little ones to play, and most of the bigger kids and adults go deep to reach the waves.

The last water play section in the outdoor water park is the water slides. It has three, steep water slides. You use a tube to go down them with the option of using a single tube or tandem tube. We only went down using the tandem tubes with children 6 and 4 years old.

It also has a really steep water slide for two people called the Mass Mayhem - we did not try this one. It's definitely for thrill seekers! You can also try the Rockingham Racers - it's a mat slide that starts 40 feet high, and you race 296 feet down to the bottom. This slide is a head first slide, single rider water slide.

Our favorite activities outside are the wave pool and the tube water slides. My 4 year old and 6 year old LOVED the wave pool, and we spent most of our time in this pool.

Tips for Visiting the Waterpark with Kids:

Tip 1: You can purchase your tickets in advance on line up to 24 hours prior to your visit. Once you fall into the timeframe of less than 24 hours of your visit, you will need to purchase tickets on location at the water park. Tickets on holidays/holiday weekends can sell out, so grab those tickets as soon as you know you want to visit. We visited during a non-holiday week, so I purchased ours when we arrived.

Tip 2: Water parks are a 1:1 ratio activity for us. With two little kids, a grown up needs to ride with them on all the tube water slides.

Tip 3: You can purchase an observer pass, and it will save you money! This is a great option for older kids who don't necessarily need a grownup swimming with them.

Tip 4: The waterpark opens at 11am daily. If you leave RVA by 8:30/9AM, you will be there right when the park opens. You can easily spend the entire day at the park.

Tip 5: You must be 42" tall to ride all the slides. Measure your children in advance just so you know! All the tube slides have both a solo and tandem tube option too. This is what we use with our children who are under 7 years old.

Tip 6: The outdoor waterpark has full sun. Make sure you wear sunscreen and bring sun gear. I like mine to wear SPF sun shirts - my daughter likes these sun shirts, and my son likes these sun shirts. Here is everything I use to protect my kiddos from the sun.

Tip 7: Life jackets are available free of charge. You don't have to rent them - you can just grab one that fits your child when you arrive. This is very helpful if you have multiple kiddos or younger ones. As soon as you walk outside, you will see the life jackets - they are next to the wave pool (see image below).

Tip 8: Bring easy to slip on shoes. Mine always wear shoes like this. It makes moving from each location of the park easy and the concrete can get hot on summer days.

Tip 9: There are tons of seating options under the sunshade. You will find rockers, chairs and lounges. You do not need to bring your own chairs. They do offer cabanas, but I didn't find this necessary on our trips. If you visit during a holiday weekend, it may be worth it to your family!

Tip 10: The only "baby pool" is in the indoor water park. If your little one wants to play in water, this indoor Frog Pond is around 1 foot deep. The outdoor water park has a splash zone with water slides and a spray park. If your little one wants to play in water, you can use the wave pool. It has a zero entry area, so you can go as deep as you feel comfortable.

Below are pictures of the outdoor play area for little kids.

5. Summer Tubing: This was the first activity my family tried, and we absolutely loved it! My children love slides, and, while we were a little surprised by how fast the tubes go, they loved this thrill! Summer tubing is offered between April and October, and it is set up on two lanes that drop 120 vertical feet over the course of 600 feet.

While you also get to ride a conveyor belt to the top of the hill, this is definitely a workout between pulling your tube and carrying your kids (if you need to). Definitely wear comfy clothes!

It costs $10 for 2 rides or $16 for 4 rides. Children must be 36" or taller to ride. While everyone must ride in his own tube, you can connect your tubes together. My children really enjoyed riding in pairs and as a whole family!

We also had a "day date" on the Scenic Chairlift Ride up to Massanutten Peak. We went while the kids were napping at our condo with GiGi. It was a gorgeous ride, and we saw the beautiful fall foliage and the ski slopes! If you want to bring your kids on this one, I'd recommend this for children 7 and older because it is about a 45 minute ride.

6. Snow Tubing: If you visit Massanutten between December and early March, you can try snow tubing. The snow tubing hill at Massanutten Resort has 16 lanes that are 900 feet in length with a 120 vertical drop! You can slide down solo or link your tube to another person, making it perfect for families or parents with younger children. In order to try tubing at Massanutten Resort, you must be 36 inches or taller.

Snow tubing has a limited number of tickets available each day, and it is very popular! Tickets will sell out! Tickets typically go on sale in December, and Massanutten Resort will add extra tickets throughout the season. These tickets will be added on Wednesday evenings as the snow conditions allow.

Snow tubing is available Monday through Thursday from 4pm to 9pm, Friday and Saturday from 9am to 10pm, and Sundays from 10am to 8pm.

It costs between $30-$68 per person (all ages) for a 90 minute session. Price vary for Monday-Friday tubing sessions (before 5pm).

Click here to get your tickets!

If you are staying overnight, here's where to stay with kids on Massanutten Resort:

We've stayed in Massanutten's newly renovated, two-bedroom Summit condos during a media visit. Each condo in this section has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a family room and balcony. It was more than enough space for all five of us - we brought our Gigi along for the fun! I recommend booking rooms 241-245 because they only have a couple steps to enter. The condos on the other side have 10-20 steps to reach the condo (10 outside +10 inside if you're on a second floor).

With little kids this space was really nice, especially at meal time and rest time. We were able to make breakfast together each morning without worrying where to eat. We were also able to keep our children on their regular sleep schedules. I also liked that basic amenities were in our condo: hair dryer, bath products, dish soap, etc.

Throughout the 6,000 acre property are hiking trails, parks and playgrounds that guests can use free of change. The Fitness and Rec Club has free movies, an arcade, a swimming pool, sand volley ball courts and basketball courts. It also has an ice skating rink in November through the winter months. We saw a lot of teenagers using this space when we were there.

While everything is pretty close together, you need to drive your car to each spot. The entire resort is on a mountain, so it's not great for walking between all of the areas.

Looking for more weekend getaways and day trip ideas?

Check out this post on 6 adventures around Richmond that are perfect for day trips or weekend getaways, and check out this post on A Getaway Weekend in Roanoke, Virginia.