Canaan Valley Resort State Park in eastern West Virginia occupies a high mountain valley that includes one of the nation’s largest inland wetland areas and became a major center of four-season recreation. Skiing launched the valley’s modern resort history, beginning with the Cabin Mountain Ski Area in the early 1950s, the first commercial ski operation south of the Mason–Dixon line, followed by Robert Barton’s Weiss Knob venture. State land acquisitions beginning in 1957 led to the park’s establishment in 1971. Golf and lodging soon followed, and the resort grew into a large recreation complex. A deadly 1988 maintenance-building explosion also marks its history.