Our second day of vacation at Snowshoe Mountain was another outdoorsy day packed with hiking, swimming and quality family time!
Before bed on Friday night, Ryan and I figured out a hiking game plan for Saturday morning and once everyone was up and ready to move, we drove down to the base of the mountain to park Ryan’s car and set out on the Shavers Lake Trail. Our plan was to hike around the lake and meander along some of the nearby trails before hiking up Snowshoe Mountain back to our townhouse. (We planned to ride the ski lift back down the mountain when Sadie was not with us later in the day to get our car.)
Morning Hike Around Shavers Lake
The weather on Saturday morning was perfect hiking weather and even though it started to warm up quickly, we were loving the low 70-degree temperatures and beautiful mountain and lake views.
Ryan and I always talk about how much we enjoy watching Sadie on our hikes. She epitomizes joy as she sprints all over the place, sniffing everything in her path. It’s fun to watch her just be a dog and love every single second of exploring a new environment.
She’s an outdoorsy girl through and through!
The hike around the lake was flat and easy and one of the off-shoot trails, the Shavers Fork Trail, led us to a beautiful little steam that we walked along for a while before turning back and making our way up Snowshoe Mountain.
The hike up the mountain was no joke and we were huffing and puffing as we made our way to the top. Our hike lasted just shy of two hours which was perfect for hiking with a one-year-old.
Chase did great in the hiking backpack (a peanut butter sandwich, two small toys and a Wubbanub helped!) and crashed hard in the pack ‘n’ play when we made it back to our townhouse.
After sharing a bunch of pictures and videos of our vacation on Snapchat, I received some questions about the hiking backpack we bought for this trip. Ryan ordered the Osprey Poco AG Plus backpack after doing a LOT of research. It took us months to pull the trigger and buy it because it’s not cheap by any means but it is one heck of an awesome backpack.
It’s easy to use (no crazy straps or stressful wraps to figure out) and I feel like the folks at Osprey thought of everything! Ryan and I both wore it during the trip and it was quite comfortable thanks to adjustable straps that allow the weight of the backpack to sit primarily on your hips as opposed to your shoulders.
Chase sat up nice and high in the secure seat and seemed to be perfectly comfortable and happy with his VIP seat during our hiking adventures. If you’d like more details, just let me know and I’ll share more in the comments section of this post, but I’ll just say that we highly recommend it and love all of the pockets, the retractable sun visor, water bottle holders, the mini backpack you can zip on and off the main hiking pack and more. We hope to get a lot more use out of this bad boy!
Lunch + Pool Time
While Chase snoozed away during his morning nap, I walked back in to the village to browse some of the little shops and pick up sandwiches from Old Spruce for lunch. (Ryan thought the restaurant’s name was Old Spice at first glance which made me laugh. Of course we ended up referring to the place as Old Spice for the rest of the weekend.)
Ryan and I ate our sandwiches at the townhouse and shortly after we were done with lunch, Chase was up again, so we lathered up with sunscreen and walked to Split Rock Pools.
(Top: Express / Shorts: O’Neill via Zulily / Bikini: J.Crew / Sunglasses: A random $10 find in Winnipeg earlier this month)
Chase loves splashing, kicking and watching big kids play, so the pool was a hit! As the name implies, Split Rock Pools are actually two pools – and indoor and an outdoor pool – that are connected through a little flap you can swim through which was really neat. I bet it would be even cooler in the winter when guests can swim around outside in the heated pool surrounded by snow!
The indoor pool was our favorite because of the zero-depth entry that allowed Chase to crawl around and splash and be a little more independent. Chase had the best time and Ryan even took him down the two small slides which was a huge hit! He was wide-eyed and lovin’ it!
Spa Visit + Dinner
Once we were done at the pool, we took the ski lift back down the mountain to pick up Ryan’s car where we parked it for our morning hike and made it back to the townhouse with just enough time for Ryan to hightail it back into the village for a massage.
Snowshoe Mountain was kind enough to provide us with his and hers therapeutic massages during our visit and they were heavenly! There’s nothing better than a relaxing massage after hiking and exploring and since I haven’t had a professional massage since a prenatal massage I received when I was pregnant, I felt like I had a lot of knots and kinks to work out.
Ryan and I had the same massage therapist (our appointments were an hour apart) and Laura was absolutely fantastic. I cannot recommend her enough! She went out of her way to spend time on my neck (I’ve had on-and-off minor neck pain for almost two months now) and even incorporated hot stones into the deep tissue work she did on my neck. It was so wonderful!
Since my massage ran into Chase’s usual dinnertime, Ryan, Chase and Sadie met met right outside the spa when my appointment was over and we took our cues from Chase and opted to order sandwiches and salads to go from Old Spruce again since Chase was fading fast.
Fortunately we had some more ice cream on hand in the freezer so our Saturday ended on a sweet note!
Sunday
Our vacation wrapped up on Sunday morning after a 3.5 mile hike around Snowshoe Mountain.
We were on the road by 9:30 a.m. and made it home just before 3 p.m. which was prefect! The rest of our Sunday was spent unpacking, cleaning and catching up on work. Even though our vacation was a super short one, it felt so great to get away and I am very grateful to Snowshoe Mountain for inviting us up for the weekend!
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Perfect weekend getaway! All your pics of hiking are beautiful! And that’s so fun Chase loved the slides and water=)
Are you wearing a pants romper in the last few photos??? Would love to know where it is from if you remember! Thanks!
Yes! I bought it from White Plum!
Looks like you guys had a blast and that Chase did pretty good! Traveling or doing anything with a toddler can be challenging,but looks like you guys rocked it! I have to ask, do you have your teeth professionally whitened or do you use anything? They look amazing!?
Thank you! I don’t have them professionally whitened but whenever I feel like they’re looking a little stained, I use Crest two-step 3D white toothpaste and feel like it makes a difference! It’s cheaper than white strips but more expensive than regular toothpaste, so I just use it when I feel like I need it! It’s $12 on Amazon -> http://bit.ly/2bSPeIw
Looks like you had an amazing weekend! How was Chase in the car? I am taking my seven month old on a 7 hour car ride this weekend … am I nuts?! We plan on leaving at her bedtime Friday and driving through the night and hoping she sleeps the whole time – wishful thinking? Tuesday coming home will be another story as we will be leaving in the morning. Any tips? Any special things we should bring? Thanks for you help!!
Honestly, I was DREADING the drive. We took two different tactics… On the way there, we left before Chase’s bedtime. He definitely did not drift off to sleep like we hoped but he did pretty well thanks to TONS of toys, books and food to distract him. Eventually, he got sleepy after the 100th rendition of Brown Bear, Brown Bear. 🙂 I actually think the ride home went smoother… We woke up, went on a hike and played until it was time for Chase’s usual morning nap. Then we put him in his car seat and I sat up front — aka NO distractions — and he played with a toy and fell asleep relatively easily but it was an on-and-off type sleep. He was pretty content though! When he was officially “up” I went to the back seat again and fed him some snacks before we took a break and let him out to move a bit and tackled the rest of the drive. It’s SO hit or miss and dependent on their mood/attitude that day. I wish it was easier to predict how they would do!!
We plan on giving her only her wubbanub and no other toys and hope that she will just drift off to sleep. I have bought a few new toys that sing songs and light up that will be pulled out as needed. haha! Not as easy to just pack up and go like we used to. The packing list has already tripped! Thanks for your help.
That looks like a great hiking pack for a baby! Props to you guys for hiking with the extra weight–quite a workout! Sounds like a great weekend–I could really use a massage!
Looks like you had a great family vacation! Now I want to plan a weekend away. 🙂
I love going to the mountains, it’s so relaxing and beautiful! I may have missed it, but where did you stay? Did you find your townhome on a rental website? We have a dog too and would love to take him with us when we travel 🙂
What a fun vacation! Chase looks so happy up there hiking away!
Thanks for visiting West Virginia. I am in tourism in WV and promote Mercer County, WV. (Princeton, Bluefield and Bramwell)
If you drove 1-77 and went through East River Tunnel, you went through my hometown. We would love for you to stop next time you come by!
http://visitmercercounty.com
I grew up in WV but now live in MA. Loved seeing your pictures of the WV mountains!
What a gorgeous get away. I love that you and Ryan snuck off for some spa time. Chase’s VIP seat was clearly a hit – that grin is ear to ear!
This looks like such a beautiful, relaxing place. LOVE that lake picture. Lakes are my favorite thing ever, like seriously.
Looks like an absolutely beautiful spot for a weekend away. I would have spent plenty of time outside too!
Sounds like such a fun trip! Love the outdoors, but it’s so nice that you can walk everywhere, too! There are so few vacation spots where you can get everything in one place.
We ended up getting married in Vail because we had a lot of family come to town with little ones. It was so wonderful to be able to enjoy time without needing transportation to get everywhere!
Looks like you’ll need to keep doing hikes with Chase, too. At least from the pictures, it looks like he’s having SUCH a great time!
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
I love it when vacation combines exercise and fun! My husband and I thinking/dreaming up our first family vacations once this little one comes. That backpack looks great, thanks for sharing the details!
LOVE that pants romper! Couldn’t find on White Plum. Do you happen to have the link? Thanks!
These pictures are so pretty and it sounds like you guys had a fun and relaxing family vacation. It seems like this came at the perfect time with some of the stress you endured lately, so I hope you feel rejuvenated and relaxed.
My husband & I keep talking about investing in one of those backpacks. Our new neighborhood has so many hiking trails & we usually brave them with our stroller but a backpack would be so much easier! But they are so expensive & our daughter is already 1 so we feel like her time in it may be short lived, but I’ve had friends tell me that their kids rode in the backpack until they were 3!
I love family hikes – I always feel like it’s such a sweet bonding experience. 🙂
We have the same backpack, a slightly older version since my son is almost 3 and we STILL love it. You will get a lot of use out of it! He’s almost outgrown it and this was probably our last year using it but it still looks new and we’ve probably done 20 hikes with it. He now hikes about half the distance of our hikes.
What a beautiful vacation!
Any issues with the hip straps digging in on the backpack? I have heard mixed reviews on this new model. We’re pulling the trigger on one this weekend.
Those views are amazing!
This looks like so much fun!! We just did a little family trip (me, my husband, and our crazy coonhound that looks just like Sadie) to Blowing Rock in NC and it was so nice to just unplug and go hiking and relax for a weekend.
Chase is so adorable! Sadie too 🙂
Looks like you guys had a great vacation! Random question: Where did you get that double-stranded headband in the pool pic? 🙂 Thanks!
OMG Chase in that hiking backpack is so cute it hurts! So adorable! And you know, it’s a great investment, considering how outdoorsy you guys are. You can always sell it when Chase outgrows it!
Love love loved this recap, so happy! Looks gorgeous up there. I love how cute the town looks too, looks like a fun place to explore. I’d love to go! Bookmarking it. 🙂
Thanks for the excellent recap, as always! 🙂
So fun!!! Looked like a BLAST! So was this a paid trip?? Like did they invite you up there and ask you to blog about it?
The weather looks perfect, and this looks like such a blast!!!
->https://poweredbysass.com/2016/08/30/halfway-through-my-20s-my-25th-birthday-recap/
I love those indoor-outdoor pools! My grandparents used to take me to a lodge with one in the dead of winter and it’s definitely cool to have snow falling but be totally warm 🙂
So glad you had a wonderful trip!
This looks like a great place to go and the perfect family vacation. I love that you were able to hike and swim and play with Chase and Sadie. It sounds like exactly what me and my husband would like to do with our little girl.
I am SO not an outdoorsy girl, much to the dismay of all my girl scout leaders and very nature-oriented family BUT your recaps of this beautiful place has me wanting to book a trip now! It looks heavenly and you all look so happy. I’m so glad your family of 4 got to take this vacation, especially with emotionally charged couple of weeks you’ve had. So pretty!
I love your comment about watching Sadie explore. My parents have a mountain house in Franklin, NC and they ALWAYS tell us about their dog Abbey’s explorations in the forest on their daily walks. My husband and I made fun of them for their constant stories and excitement, until we visited with out dog and got to watch Calli roam freely around the mountains. (I do have to admit, both the dogs wear track-able Garmin collars so that we can see where they are, as they often disappear down a bowl into the woods and will be gone for 5-10 minutes.) It’s amazing how much joy I get from simply watching my dog be a dog!
It looks beautiful there! Where did you get your romper? I LOVE it !!
White Plum! It’s currently on clearance!
Ah, such stunning weather! The mountains look exquisite!
Hey! I’m looking into going for a quick getaway next week to snowshoe, and we want to bring our dog. I was wondering where you stayed and how dog friendly the area was? Are dogs allowed up in the town and anywhere on the mountain? Thanks for any advice!