Trudging out to your car in the Monday morning freeze, slush in your boots, the sun peeking wanly over the horizon, it’s easy to forget that winter provides incredible opportunities for adrenaline-pumping recreation. While Mid-Atlantic skiing is admittedly a different experience than, say, hitting the slopes in Aspen or Sun Valley, the freedom to schuss down a mountain (regardless of its size) just a few hours later is yet another feather (or pom-pom) in Baltimore’s (ski) hat.

What follows is a list of our favorite ski resorts within a day’s drive of Charm City, encompassing spots in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. So the next time you’re scraping the ice off your windshield and feel a Jerry Lundegaard-in-Fargo-style meltdown coming on, take a deep breath, focus on the weekend, and throw your skis in the car. It’s go time.

Blue Knob All Seasons Resort

1424 Overland Pass, Claysburg, Pa., 814-239-5111
Drive time: 2 hours, 50 minutes

The highest skiable mountain in Pennsylvania’s scenic Allegheny range, Blue Knob offers 34 trails and plenty of long rides for skiers and snowboarders of all abilities, with a vertical drop of 1,072 feet. The resort also gets high marks for its advanced glade trails—aka off-trail and defined woods trails. In addition, the resort boasts a ski school for beginners and advanced skiers and snowboarders alike, as well as a snow tubing park.

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Canaan Valley Resort

230 Main Lodge Rd., Davis, WV, 800-622-4121.
Drive time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

A skiing destination for some 70 years and the site of West Virginia’s first commercial ski development, Canaan Valley Resort receives roughly 180 inches of annual snowfall. Skiers and snowboarders have nearly 50 trails to choose from, but there’s a lot more to do too, including outdoor ice-skating, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. There’s also a 1,200-foot snow tubing park worth tackling, especially with the kids.

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Liberty Mountain Resort

78 Country Club Trail, Carroll Valley, Pa., 717-642-8282.
Drive time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Given its proximity to Baltimore, just over the Frederick County line, Liberty Mountain is a place where generations of local new skiers have made their first downhill run. With an elevation of nearly 1,200 feet and a vertical drop of 600 feet, the nearby resort offers 16 trails and two terrain parks serviced by eight lifts—all lit for night skiing and snowboarding, with full snow-making coverage. Check the Ski and Ride School, too.

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Massanutten Resort

1822 Resort Dr., Massanutten, Va., 540-289-9441.
Drive time: 3 hours, 15 minutes

Built in the Shenandoah Valley more than 50 years ago, Massanutten offers 23 runs and seven lifts spread over 90 skiable acres, with a  peak elevation of nearly 3,000 feet. Freestyle snowboarders and skiers will appreciate one of the best parks around—boasting a dozen rails and jumps—while beginner freestylers can get started in the resort’s “Easy Street” terrain park. The snowmaking infrastructure recently got a boost, too.

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The Omni Homestead

7696 Sam Snead Hwy., Hot Springs, VA, 800-838-1766.
Drive time: 4 hours, 30 minutes

This historic luxury hotel is more renowned for its famous guest list, which includes several presidents, and its legendary golf course—note the address here—than its skiing. That said, the iconic Homestead is an ideal destination for families and novice skiers and snowboarders, with its laid-back, well-sculpted, and gentle terrain. Along with its nine trails over 45 acres, there’s also a snow-tubing park next to the slopes and mini snowmobile track for kids.

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Roundtop Mountain Resort

925 Roundtop Road, Lewisberry, Pa., 717-432-9631.
Drive time: 1 hour, 20 min

As it’s a direct shot up I-83, newbie and intermediate skiers and snowboarders can quickly reach Roundtop’s slopes for a weekend, weekday, or even weeknight getaway. The whole mountain, which includes 21 trails, nine lifts, and snowtubing, is covered by snowmaking equipment. Roundtop is also a part of the Vail Resorts network, meaning a season pass can be purchased that includes skiing at Whitetail, Liberty, and dozens of other resorts.

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Seven Springs Mountain Resort

777 Waterwheel Dr., Seven Springs, Pa., 800-452-2223.
Drive time: 3 hours, 20 minutes

With a diverse collection of 33 trails descending from a 2,994- foot mountain, plus another seven terrain parks, Seven Springs remains one of the most popular resorts in the area. Also, if you don’t ski but want to chill with friends who do on a weekend trip, this is the place. Seven Springs offers live music on weekends, bowling, roller-skating, indoor mini-golf, snowshoe and snowmobile tours, tubing, an indoor pool, fitness center, hot tubs, and loads of dining options.

Snowshoe Mountain Resort

10 Snowshoe Drive, Snowshoe, WV, 877-441-4386
Drive time: 5 hours

With 60-plus trails and glades plus four terrain parks divvied up among three distinct ski areas over more than 240 skiable acres, Snowshoe may be a trek, but it’s worth the drive. With an elevation of 4,848 feet and a vertical drop of 1,500 feet, Snowshoe is one of the area’s largest resorts and it presents some of the best skiing south of Vermont. A genuine destination resort with all the amenities, Snowshoe also offers more than a dozen restaurants and a nightclub.

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Timberline Mountain

254 Four Seasons Dr., Davis, WV, 304-403-2074
Drive time: 3 hours, 40 minutes

There’s a lot to love about tiny Davis, West Virginia, which is re nowned for its mountainbiking, and that includes Timberline, which has seen significant capital investment in recent years. The ski area’s claim to fame is its high elevation—and thus its big amount of annual snow. It also has a 3.12-mile run—plus two double black diamond runs, rare in this region. Overall, it offers 37 trails
across 100 skiable acres.

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Whitetail Resort

13805 Blairs Valley Road, Mercersburg, PA, 717-328-9400
Drive time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

Along with Roundtop and Liberty, Whitetail completes the trio of family-friendly, low-hassle resorts, just over the Pennsylvania line and 90 minutes from the Baltimore Beltway. The top elevation here is 1,800 feet, with a descent which supports 23 trails and two terrain parks—all serviced by 100-percent snowmaking coverage. Recent upgrades include a snow-tubing park, an expanded lodge, and as of 2019, a liquor license.

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Wintergreen Resort

Route 664, Wintergreen, VA, 434-325-2200
Drive time: 3 hours, 40 minutes.

Nestled deep into Virginia’s wine country down the Blue Ridge Parkway, the mountain here has an elevation of 3,515 feet with a vertical drop of 1,003 feet. Wintergreen is a year-round resort with luxury accommodations that offers skiing and snowboarding across 129 skiable acres with five chairlifts—including two high-speed lifts—24 trails and a terrain park continually reshaped for new challenges.

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Wisp Resort

296 Marsh Hill Road, McHenry, MD, 301-859-3159
Drive time: 3 hours.

Located in the Deep Creek Lake area of Garrett County, Wisp is Maryland’s only ski resort, but with a 3,115- foot elevation and 172 skiable acres, it more than holds its own in the region. Twelve  chairlifts and seven surface lifts take skiers and snowboarders to a mix of 33 beginner, intermediate, and advanced trails and three freestyle parks. Plus, there’s tubing, iceskating, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing—something for everyone, in other words—at this year-round resort.

My children are teenagers, which means our time together as a family seems increasingly precious to the adults and increasingly annoying to the kids. Skiing is one of the few activities I can suggest that doesn’t get adolescent eye rolls. We talk and laugh as we ride the lifts together, dare each other to try the toughest slopes, and enjoy the tired, cozy après-ski pleasures of sipping hot cocoa, warming ourselves beside wood-burning fireplaces, and, of course, bragging.

Below are 12 of the best ski resorts within a day’s drive of Baltimore, listed in alphabetical order. Most offer tubing, night skiing, terrain parks, snow making, lessons, equipment rental, evening entertainment, on-site restaurants, and much more. For brevity, only adult full-day lift ticket prices are listed. Holiday rates include vacation weeks and weekends. Restaurants and amenities are representative, not inclusive. Now, go ski!

Blue Knob Resort

1424 Overland Pass, Claysburg, PA, 800-458-3403,

Overview: The highest ski mountain in Pennsylvania offers furnished condos with fireplaces and kitchens.

Ski area: With a vertical drop of 1,072 feet and an elevation of 3,174 feet, Blue Knob divides its 34 trails into beginner, intermediate, advanced intermediate, and expert. Five lifts take skiers and boarders to 100 ski-able acres, including glade runs and a terrain park.

Hours: M-W: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Th: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Fr: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Sat: 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Sun: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. 

Cost: A five-hour flex pass is $30 Sun.-Fri., $50 Fri. at 4 p.m. to Sun. at 2 p.m.

Other amenities: Indoor/outdoor pool, hot tubs, and saunas for guests who stay in the condos, ski school, equipment rental, snow tubing, cross-country skiing, Black Bear Inn, and Clubhouse Bar & Grill.

Driving distance: Three hours, 15 minutes.

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Canaan Valley Resort

230 Main Lodge Rd., Davis, WV, 800-622-4121

Overview: With an average of 180 inches of natural snow a year, this is the place to ski, snowboard, ice skate, tube, or try air boarding on an inflatable sled that can be controlled for turns and stops.

Ski area: It has an elevation of 4,280 feet with a vertical drop of 850 feet, 42 trails, three chairlifts, two magic carpets that take tubers to the top of the hill, nightly grooming, and snow making on more than 75 percent of the mountain.

Hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily

Cost: Full-day lift tickets, $65 midweek and non-holidays, $80 weekends and holidays.

Other amenities: Arcade, gift shops, indoor heated pool, whirlpool spa, fitness center, massage services, drop-off child care, sleigh rides, tubing, lessons, and equipment rentals.

Driving distance: Four hours.

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Liberty Mountain Resort

78 Country Club Trail, Carroll Valley, PA, 717-642-8282

Overview: Deals and packages, particularly for new skiers and boarders, plus an easy walk from the hotel to the slopes makes Liberty a great getaway.

Ski area: Elevation is 1,190 feet high with a vertical drop of 600 feet and 100 acres of ski-able terrain. It has 16 trails and three terrain parks, serviced by nine lifts, with complete snow-making coverage.

Hours: M – W: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Th & Fri: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat: 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun: 8 a.m.-8 p.m; Snow tubing is Th & Fri: 4 p.m.-10 p.m.; Sat & Sun: 12 p.m.-8 p.m.

Cost: $76+ midweek; $84+ weekends

Other amenities: Tubing, lessons, equipment rental, child-care center, and restaurants and bars. An exercise room, wireless Internet, and a hot breakfast buffet are included with hotel rates.

Driving distance: One hour, 24 minutes.

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Massanutten Resort

1822 Resort Dr., Massanutten, VA, 540-289-9441.

Overview: There are so many activities and events at the Shenandoah Valley resort, that they have an Entertainment Guide to help you plan your time. The Pirates Program at the Kids’ Club is a popular activity for the little ones.

Ski area: It has a 2,925-foot summit with a vertical drop of 1,110 feet, 70 ski-able acres, two terrain parks, seven lifts, 14 trails, and 100 percent snow-making coverage.

Hours: Fri-Weds: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Tu-Th: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Cost: Lift-ticket prices had not been determined at press time.

Other amenities: Indoor water park, ski and snowboard lessons, equipment rental, tubing, outdoor ice skating, zip line (weather dependent), gift shops and boutiques, restaurants and cafeterias, and child care.

Driving distance: Three hours, 10 minutes.

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The Omni Homestead

7696 Sam Snead Hwy., Hot Springs, VA, 800-838-1766.

Overview: The ski mountain is really just another amenity of the ritzy, historic hotel on the property.

Ski area: Forty-five acres of wide, well-groomed trails define this five-lift, six-trail mountain, with an elevation of 3,100 feet and a vertical drop of 700 feet.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends and holidays.

Cost: Lift tickets are $39 on weekdays, $49 on weekends, and $59 on holidays. Resort guests pay $35 on weekdays, $45 on weekends, $55 on holidays.

Other amenities: Ski school, ice-skating rink, an indoor pool fed by warm mineral springs, gift shops, dress-up dinners, a salon, and exercise sessions with personal trainers. You get the idea.

Driving distance: Five hours.

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Roundtop Mountain Resort

925 Roundtop Rd., Lewisberry, PA, 717-432-9631.

Overview: Roundtop is an excellent choice for beginner skiers and snowboarders.

Ski area: Ten lifts take downhill enthusiasts to 16 trails, plus a terrain park with a super pipe and half pipe. Elevation is 1,400 feet with a vertical drop of 600 feet and about 103 ski-able acres.

Hours: Mon-Tues: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Weds.-Fri: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

Cost: An eight-hour lift ticket is $72+ midweek and non-holidays, $79 on weekends and holidays.

Other amenities: Fireside Pub and Grill, sports shop, ski and snowboard schools, and tubing.

Driving distance: One hour, 30 minutes.

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Seven Springs Mountain Resort

777 Waterwheel Dr., Seven Springs, PA, 800-452-2223.

Overview: The resort is a kid-friendly, year-round entertainment center, where even non-skiers will find plenty to do.

Ski area: The mountain, at 2,994 feet, has a vertical drop of 750 feet and 285 acres of ski-able terrain, including through-the-trees glade runs and eight terrain parks. Ten chairlifts and a rope tow take skiers and snowboarders to 33 trails.

Hours: Sun – Weds: 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Thurs-Sat and holidays 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Cost: Midweek all day: $74; Fri-Sun all-day: $95; Holidays all day: $98

Other amenities: Snowshoe and snowmobile tours, tubing, indoor miniature golf, indoor bowling alley, game room, roller-skating rink, late-night snowcat tours with the slope groomers, indoor-outdoor pool, fitness center, hot tubs, and 11 dining options. A sporting clays course is open year-round, weather permitting.

Driving distance: Three hours, 30 minutes.

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Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort

10 Snowshoe Dr., Snowshoe, WV, 304-572-5909.

Overview: Snowshoe is the choice for serious skiers with some of the most challenging slopes in the region.

Ski area: With 57 trails, 251 ski-able acres, an elevation of 4,848 feet and a vertical drop of 1,500 feet, Snowshoe is one of the larger ski mountains in the area. It’s divided into three areas: the Snowshoe Basin, Silver Creek, and Western Territory, with options that include glades skiing and terrain parks, all with 100 percent snow-making coverage.

Hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Snowshoe; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Silver Creek; M-Th: 12-9 p.m., Fri – Sun: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Cost: $70+ midweek, $100+ weekends, and $89 on holidays.

Other amenities: Off-road adventure tours, tubing, snowmobile tours, snowcat tours, an indoor playground with arcade games, a climbing wall, hot tubs, an indoor/outdoor pool, restaurants and food courts, lessons, and equipment rental.

Driving distance: Five hours, 15 minutes.

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Timberline Four Seasons Resort

254 Four Seasons Dr., Davis, WV, 304-403-2074.

Overview: Its claim to fame is its high elevation, which makes it a snow magnet, averaging 200 feet or more a year. The Slopeside Hotel, as you can guess from the name, is within feet of the main lift.

Ski area: It has an elevation of 4,268 feet with a vertical drop of 1,000 feet, four lifts, 37 trails, 100 ski-able acres, and 100 percent snow-making coverage. It also has the longest run in the South—the two-mile-long Salamander.

Hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily

Cost: An eight-hour lift ticket ranges between $55-85.

Other amenities: Lessons, equipment rental, Timbers Pub and Fireside Grille with live music and karaoke, cross-country ski trails, and snowshoeing.

Driving distance: Four hours.

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Whitetail

13805 Blairs Valley Rd., Mercersburg, PA, 717-328-9400.

Overview: This sibling of Roundtop and Liberty is another family-friendly, low-hassle choice, particularly for newbies. Packages for first-timers include equipment rental, lift tickets, and lessons, all for under $100.

Ski area: Elevation is 1,800 feet with a vertical drop of 935 feet. Nine lifts take skiers and boarders to 23 trails and two terrain parks, with 100 percent snow-making coverage.

Hours: Mon-Weds: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thurs-Sun: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Cost: Eight-hour lift ticket is $76+ midweek

Other amenities: Tubing, child care, ski and snowboard lessons, food court, slope-side Windows Restaurant, and adaptive snow-sports program for children and adults with mental and physical challenges.

Driving distance: Two hours.

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Wintergreen Resort

Rte. 664, Wintergreen, VA, 855-699-1858

Overview: Luxury and outdoor adventure live side by side at the resort, where days of challenging skiing are followed by evenings of spa treatments and excellent food.

Ski area: Elevation is 3,515 feet with a vertical drop of 1,003 feet, and 129 ski-able acres. Five chairlifts bring skiers and snowboarders to 26 runs, plus two terrain parks that are continually reshaped for new challenges.

Hours: Sun-Wed: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Th-Sat: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Cost: Eight-hour lift tickets, $79 midweek; $99 on Fridays, Sundays and non-peak Saturdays; and $109 on Saturdays and holidays

Other amenities: Two snow-tubing parks, ice-skating, a winter zip line, pool and fitness center with year-round outdoor hot tubs and a therapeutic soak pool; Pilates and yoga classes; and Ridgely’s Fun Park, where children younger than 11 can enjoy snow shoes, a gentle tubing slope, and hot chocolate.

Driving distance: Three hours, 49 minutes.

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Wisp Resort

296 Marsh Hill Rd., McHenry, MD. 800-462-9477

Overview: Maryland’s only ski resort is

in a town that is home to Deep Creek Lake and year-round outdoor activities. Stay at the Wisp Resort Hotel or rent a townhouse or condo.

Ski area: Wisp is 3,115 feet at its highest point with a vertical drop of 700 feet and 132 ski-able acres. Seven chairlifts and five surface lifts take skiers and snowboarders to 32 beginner, intermediate, and advanced trails and four freestyle parks.

Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri.-Sat. “First tracks,” for multi-day and season ticket holders, begins at 8 a.m.

Cost: $79 weekdays, $89 weekends and holidays.

Other amenities: Tubing, outdoor ice skating, canopy tour with five zip lines (limited winter operation), cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, a “mountain coaster,” and snowmobile tours.

Driving distance: About three hours, 30 minutes.

Additional fact checking by Reines Maliksi.

Pierre Samuel du Pont, the shrewd scion of prominent Delaware industrialists, was well on his way to growing the family business in 1906 when he wondered whether his impulsive purchase of some country real estate was a boneheaded investment.

“I have recently experienced what I would formerly have diagnosed as an attack of insanity; that is, I have purchased a small farm,” he wrote to a friend after acquiring a modest Quaker farmhouse on a lovely, wooded tract near Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Its aged trees were destined for the sawmill, hence du Pont’s intervention. The plan for this visionary nature-lover’s real estate lark? Spare the forest and renovate the property, making it a place where he could entertain his friends.

Du Pont realized his ambitions—and then some. This time of year, nearly half a million guests visit his now-1,100-acre legacy, Longwood Gardens, to behold the Brandywine Valley’s crown jewel of holiday displays.

Longwood is one of several du Pont estates gracing the pastoral countryside northwest of Wilmington, Delaware, the city where the first du Ponts arrived from France in 1800. As they amassed considerable fortunes, various family members erected country mansions, filled them with fine art and furnishings, and surrounded them with magnificent gardens they often designed themselves. In the 20th century, Brandywine Valley’s first family of industry and philanthropy began bequeathing many of these post-Gilded Age oases for public enjoyment as museums, gardens, and nature preserves.

A land of rolling hills, misty meadows, split-rail fences, and old stone buildings, this corner of southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware draws visitors galore for its seasonal floral and foliage displays, but the landscape and its historic estates also make a compelling winter destination, as so captured by the region’s famous native son, painter Andrew Wyeth.

What better antidote to last year’s muted festivities than a dose of spare-no-expense celebration in vallée du Pont? Throughout December, get a glimpse into the region’s one percent, who decorate their homes for a season of aristocratic entertaining.

The valley cradles Brandywine Creek (aka the Brandywine River), which rambles from its southeastern PA headwaters to a rendezvous with the Christina River in Wilmington. A 12-mile national scenic by- way weaves through the area, linking historic du Pont properties and picturesque small towns offering tony shopping and diverse dining in the city’s suburbs and exurbs. One such town is Greenville, which happens to be the home of another prominent Delaware family—the First Family of the United States, Joe and Jill Biden.

Born in Pennsylvania coal country, “Middle-Class Joe” did well for himself politically and financially in the state that he represented in the U.S. Senate for over three decades. His first Greenville residence was once owned by a du Pont, albeit a five-bed- room “fixer-upper” slated for demolition. Biden has since upgraded his residences—in the Nation’s Capital and in Greenville—but not his average-Joe persona. The President and FLOTUS like to frequent beloved sandwich and burger joints around the First State when they’re in town.

A two-hour drive from Baltimore via I-95 and U.S. 1, Longwood Gardens provides a striking jump-off point into the valley’s historic and natural attractions. Other du Pont properties are clustered nearby across the state line in Delaware.

Like the delectable fungus for which Kennett Square is known, Pierre du Pont’s “small farm” mushroomed into a grand horticultural showcase. Today, it’s a wonderland of formal and informal gardens, meadows, woodlands, and a pair of du Pont-designed flourishes—a four-acre, 20-room conservatory, and a five-acre, Italianate fountain garden.

Once the conservatory was completed in 1921, du Pont and his wife, Alice, began hosting Christmas parties there for estate employees and their families. Longwood began celebrating the holiday publicly in 1957, expanding and enhancing “A Longwood Christmas” to the extent that decorating now begins in late summer.

Carpeted in cyclamens, poinsettias, and fragrant paperwhites, the conservatory beckons guests through room after room of twinkling Christmas trees, floral sculptures, and arbors dripping with lighted evergreens. (A drone video offered virtual visitors a tour last year, but it can’t compare to the full sensory experience.) Outside, illuminated trees, glowing orbs, sparkling “snowflakes,” and a tunnel of lights brighten brisk winter evenings as guests warm themselves with hot cocoa around fire pits, now through January 9.

Don’t Miss: The always-imaginatively decorated Music Room and its 18-foot fir tree, the popular Garden Railway featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, and dazzling performances in the Fountain Garden. Locally: Four miles southwest of Longwood sits Kennett Square, whose surrounding farms provide half the nation’s mushrooms. Sample this singular crop at Portabellos, a local favorite. Buy fresh and dried mushrooms, plus mushroom souvenirs, growing kits, and cookbooks at The Mushroom Cap.

Henry Francis du Pont was born at Winterthur and inherited the family’s Delaware estate he so enjoyed exploring as a child. In du Pont’s adulthood, the house and its sprawling grounds became the playground for his twin passions: collecting and gardening. By the time the estate opened publicly in 1951, its owner had expanded Winterthur into a 175-room mansion, filled it with the nation’s finest collection of decorative arts, and personally designed the 1,000 acres of gardens, meadows, and woodlands that delight visitors today. Du Pont and his wife, Ruth, owned three other homes, but Winterthur is where they celebrated the holidays with their daughters and friends. “Yuletide at Winterthur” affords visitors a peek at their glittering lifestyle: polished silver and sparkling crystal; floral arrangements and fine antiques; swagged greenery on the Hollywoodesque staircase; and a towering conservatory Christmas tree.

Visit the estate on Wednesday evenings through January 2 to tour the decorated mansion, listen to live jazz, and toast marshmallows and Champagne. Take a guided tram ride through the winter garden, stopping at the Enchanted Woods, a grove of stately oaks guarding the thatch-roofed Faerie Cottage.

Don’t Miss: The conservatory’s stunning 15-foot tree composed of dried flowers, live performances of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens’ great-great-grandson (Dec. 8-9), and an 18-room dollhouse filled with Lilliputian antiques and holiday decor. Locally: Centreville, Delaware, a way-stop on historic Kennett Pike, lies less than two miles from Winterthur. Grab breakfast all day at the Centreville Café before visiting the du Pont mansion-turned-museum. Decorate your own castle with contemporary and antique finds from shops like Adorn Goods, The Beehive, and Found.

Alfred I. du Pont, Samuel’s great-great grandson, loved showering his beloved second wife, Alicia, with gifts. The grandest was Nemours Estate, the opulent Wilmington mansion into which the newlyweds moved in 1910. Named for the du Pont ancestral home in France, the then-3,000-acre estate was everything Alicia adored: a Delaware chateau designed in the style of Louis XVI with formal gardens and a reflecting pool modeled after Versailles. The couple furnished Nemours with dazzling chandeliers, rare oriental rugs, and an impressive collection of original paintings. The du Ponts decorated for the holidays with equal opulence, inviting family, friends, and estate employees to celebrate with them.

Today, “Holidays at Nemours” welcomes the public to a Francophiles’ fantasy Christmas: marble mantels draped in garlands of flowers, greenery, and many of the du Ponts’ original Christmas decorations, including a rare, late 19th-century German crèche. On December Saturdays prior to Christmas, the estate extends its hours into the evening.

Don’t Miss: Ornaments hand-decorated by patients at the Nemours Children’s Hospital, which occupies part of the estate’s grounds, hand-blown glass on the mansion’s trees, and twin elk statues guarding the grounds.

For the last stop on your tour, visit the oldest of the family’s American estates, located just west of Nemours. Built in 1802 for Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, a gunpowder manufacturer, Eleutherian Mills perches on a hill overlooking the company’s first gunpowder yard on the banks of Brandywine Creek. The estate housed not only five generations of the du Pont family, but the first DuPont Company headquarters.

Today, they’re part of the larger Hagley Museum and Library, a Smithsonian affiliate, dedicated to the study of American business, technology, and innovation. The 235-acre museum complex includes restored mills, a workers’ village, and du Pont’s preserved Georgian-style home and gardens, where E.I. practiced botany. In early September, severe flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida extensively damaged the mill yard and lower half of the property, but the house, gardens, and library reopened shortly afterward. That means guests will be able to enjoy “Home for the Holidays,” with a celebratory family theme. Six of the residence’s 12 rooms will be dressed festively, much as its owners would have done in the 1920s when E.I.’s preservation-minded great-granddaughter, Louise, and her yachtsman husband, Frank Crowninshield, lived there.

Don’t Miss: Home-sweet-homes crafted by local families for Hagley’s annual gingerbread house competition through January 2, plus December twilight tours, a rare opportunity to see the festively decorated, softly lit Eleutherian Mills at its finest. Locally: The Hagley Museum and Nemours both sit on the eastern outskirts of Greenville, a popular shopping and dining destination for locals, including the First Family. The Bidens frequent Janssen’s gourmet grocery, where they breakfast with the grandkids, and PureBread Deli, whose savory house sandwiches are named for dog breeds. Pizza by Elizabeth’s, another local favorite, plays delicious name games, too, titling pies for celebrity Elizabeths (Taylor, Queen) and Bettys (Davis, Boop). Shoppers can satisfy holiday needs with artisan-made jewelry and clothing at Bloom, and fanciful gift wrap and cards from Whimsy.

On the banks of Brandywine Creek near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, sits the Brandywine River Museum of Art, the pet project of a latter-day member of this illustrious family. Best known for its collection of art by the revered Wyeth family, the museum is noted also for popular holiday displays, including the O-gauge Brandywine model railroad and an atrium-tall evergreen festooned with “critter” ornaments handmade from natural materials. Closed due to Hurricane Ida flooding, the museum and its holiday plans remained in limbo at press time.