Canaan Valley itself is the highest valley of its size east of the Mississippi River, sitting at about 3,200 feet. The flat bottom is bizarrely flat for the eastern United States - more like a high western valley than typical Appalachian terrain. That flatness, combined with the cold, holds water unusually well. The park contains the second-largest inland wetland area in the United States. Bog plant communities and sphagnum mats more typical of boreal Canada thrive here. The climate is harsh enough that summers stay cool and winters bring substantial snow. The combination of high-elevation wetland, cold microclimate, and accessible slopes turned the valley into the foundation of West Virginia outdoor recreation.

Sarah Maude Thompson Kaemmerling granted 3,149 acres to the state in the 1950s for the formation of a state park. In 1957, the state made its first land acquisition specifically with an eye toward developing a ski industry in West Virginia. The Cabin Mountain Ski Area continued operating into the 1960s before closing in 1962. A second private operation on Weiss Knob, opened in 1955, kept going until 1970, when its operator went out of business in anticipation of the new state-operated facility. Canaan Valley Resort State Park opened for skiing in 1971, on the Weiss Knob site, with state investment that private capital had not been willing to commit. The park has been successful enough that several private ski operations have since opened nearby and elsewhere in West Virginia, including Timberline next door.

Canaan Valley Resort offers 47 ski trails, a terrain park, and a snow tubing area. A chairlift and magic carpet serve the beginner area on the right side of the mountain. Beyond that beginner terrain and the single green trail running from summit to base, the rest of the mountain is marked blue (more difficult) or black (most difficult). The slopes, however, generally descend at similar pitches regardless of their formal difficulty rating - a quirk of how the trails were laid out on the mountain. The vertical drop is 850 feet. The resort also offers golf, mountain biking, hiking, and lodge accommodations through warmer months. The state ownership has kept prices lower than the privately-run resorts and given the park a particular role in introducing West Virginia families to skiing across generations.

On Sunday, February 14, 1988 - Valentine's Day - a midday explosion and fire in a maintenance building at Canaan Valley Resort killed three men. They had been attending an air compressor for the snowmaking system. The building also contained several drums of chemicals. The blast and fire were severe enough that investigators had difficulty quickly determining the cause. The three deaths were a hard loss for the resort and the small community around it. Snowmaking systems at ski resorts involve high-pressure air and water and various chemicals, and accidents had happened at other facilities over the years, but this one stood out for its severity. The resort continued operating after the incident. The men's names are remembered locally.

Canaan Valley today sits within a cluster of protected lands. The Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1994, protects much of the high-elevation wetland complex around the resort. White Grass Ski Touring Center, just up the road, operates one of the largest cross-country ski areas in the Mid-Atlantic. Blackwater Falls State Park sits a few miles to the north. The combination - state park resort, national wildlife refuge, cross-country touring center, and adjacent canyons and waterfalls - makes the valley one of the most concentrated outdoor recreation areas in the eastern United States. Most visitors come for the skiing in winter. They often come back for everything else.