Ghent, West Virginia, is a mountain community in southern West Virginia best known for Winterplace Ski Resort. Located on Flat Top Mountain along Interstate 77, the community is an important winter recreation destination and an unusually accessible gateway to the highlands of southern West Virginia.
Ghent is located in southern Raleigh County between Beckley and Princeton, near the headwaters of Glade Creek. U.S. 19 passes through the community, while the West Virginia Turnpike, carrying I-77, provides access at Exit 28.
Winter recreation dominates tourism at Ghent today, though the community’s development is also closely tied to Flat Top Mountain, Flat Top Lake, and transportation routes that have crossed the mountain for generations.
Map of Ghent, West Virginia
Winterplace Ski Resort
Winterplace Ski Resort is located on Flat Top Mountain in Ghent, about five minutes from I-77 at Exit 28. Its proximity to the interstate makes it particularly accessible to winter travelers from West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and other parts of the Southeast.
The resort includes more than 90 skiable acres and 28 slopes, along with two terrain parks. Its base elevation is 2,997 feet, its summit reaches 3,600 feet, and its vertical drop is 603 feet. Panorama, an intermediate trail, is its longest run at approximately 1.25 miles.
Snowmaking covers the ski terrain, allowing Winterplace to supplement natural snowfall when temperatures permit. Trails accommodate beginning through advanced skiers and snowboarders, and much of the terrain is available for night skiing.
Winterplace is particularly well known for introducing visitors to skiing and snowboarding. Lessons and beginner terrain make the mountain accessible to people with little or no experience.
Visitors do not have to ski or snowboard to enjoy the mountain. Winterplace also operates a large snow-tubing park, where carpet lifts carry riders uphill. The resort’s operating season generally extends from early December through mid-March, though opening, closing, and snow conditions depend on the weather.
Skiing at Ghent began before Winterplace
Winterplace was not the first commercial ski development at Ghent.
Bald Knob Ski Slopes opened on Flat Top Mountain in 1958, during the early development of commercial skiing in West Virginia. Beckley businessman John McKay and Hulett C. Smith, who later served as governor of West Virginia, developed the ski area.
The resort included a chairlift and tow ropes, and used or planned to use artificial snow to supplement natural snowfall. Published accounts differ on precisely how long the ski area remained in operation, though the Snow Sports Museum of West Virginia dates its operation from 1958 to 1961.
Its former location, across I-77 from the current ski resort, became locally known as Old Winterplace.
The present Winterplace opened on Huff Knob in 1983 with 16 slopes and subsequently expanded. Together, the two developments give Ghent a skiing history extending back to the early years of the sport’s commercial development in West Virginia.
Flat Top Mountain and the West Virginia Turnpike
Geography and transportation have played unusually important roles in Ghent’s development.
Long before modern highways reached the mountain, the old Giles-Fayette-Kanawha Turnpike crossed the area. The route connected settlements across what was then western Virginia and later West Virginia, passing through the community that developed at Ghent.
A much larger transportation change arrived in 1954 with the opening of the West Virginia Turnpike between Princeton and Beckley. The highway climbed across Flat Top Mountain and dramatically improved travel through southern West Virginia’s rugged terrain.
The Turnpike became part of the Interstate Highway System in 1958. Reconstruction and expansion eventually transformed the largely two-lane original toll road into a four-lane interstate highway, with the final upgrades to Interstate standards completed in 1987.
Today, the West Virginia Turnpike carries I-77 across 88 miles between Charleston and Princeton. At Flat Top Mountain, the highway reaches elevations above 3,400 feet before descending toward Beckley or Princeton.
Exit 28 serves Ghent and is marked Ghent/Flat Top. Ghent also hosts one of the three mainline toll plazas on the West Virginia Turnpike.
The highway’s location is particularly significant for tourism. Travelers can leave a major north-south interstate and reach the slopes of Winterplace within minutes, an unusual degree of accessibility for an Appalachian ski area.
Flat Top Lake
Nearby Flat Top Lake is a private residential and recreational community centered on a roughly 230-acre artificial lake at the headwaters of Glade Creek.
The idea for the lake originated in 1949, when Dr. Robert W. Chambers, his brother George B. Chambers, John Harvey, and Ted Carney conceived the project during a fishing trip to Norris Dam in Tennessee. Later that year, they selected a location on Flat Top Mountain and assembled approximately 2,100 acres for development.
The Flat Top Lake Association formed in 1950, and builders built a dam across Glade Creek. The lake was initially developed largely for fishing. Early visitors camped around the water, but improved highway access helped make the mountain increasingly convenient to Beckley.
Summer cottages were gradually joined by permanent homes, transforming the development into a year-round residential community. The association now owns approximately 2,200 acres surrounding the lake.
Flat Top Lake is private and gated and should not be confused with a public park or recreation area.
History of Ghent
Before skiing, lake development, and interstate travel transformed the area, Ghent was a sparsely settled mountain community surrounded largely by forest and farmland.
A local history published in 1979, History of Shady Spring District, describes the area around 1850 as largely covered in virgin timber, with hunting grounds and scattered clearings used for farming and cattle. It identifies the Lilly family among the early settlers. Ghent is in the southernmost Shady Spring district.
Elijah Lilly, born in 1808, settled on a farm near Flat Top in the area that became Ghent. He was among the justices of the peace appointed when Raleigh County was established in 1850.
The same local history records other members of the Lilly family as early residents and describes Thomas E. Lilly as donating land for the Tom Lilly Cemetery and a community school.
The Shrewsbury family later became closely associated with Ghent’s post office and the community’s development along the Giles-Fayette-Kanawha Turnpike.
How did Ghent get its name?
The origin of the name Ghent is uncertain because published accounts conflict.
One commonly repeated explanation associates the name with the Treaty of Ghent, the agreement signed in Belgium in 1814 that ended the War of 1812. West Virginia place-name references have helped perpetuate that explanation.
However, History of Shady Spring District preserves a different local tradition. According to the 1979 history, Lewis Cyrus Shrewsbury came from North Carolina and established a post office near the headwaters of Glade Creek along the Giles-Fayette-Kanawha Turnpike. When asked to name the community, the account says Shrewsbury handed a map to his five-year-old son, Lewis Evert Shrewsbury. The boy pointed to Ghent, and they adopted the name.
The story cannot presently be established as fact. The local history itself contains an apparent chronological conflict, listing Lewis Shrewsbury as postmaster in 1885 and 1908 while dating the naming episode to about 1903.
The competing accounts leave the community’s name origin unresolved.
Lodging and dining at Ghent
Lodging around Ghent reflects its development as both a highway and winter recreation destination. Accommodations include vacation rentals and condominiums around Winterplace, with additional hotels and lodging available in Beckley to the north and Princeton to the south.
Restaurants, convenience stores, and other traveler services are concentrated along U.S. 19 and near the I-77 interchange. Visitors planning a ski trip should check individual businesses and Winterplace for current seasonal hours.
See also: Hotels near Ghent
Attractions near Ghent
Ghent’s central location in southern West Virginia puts several major outdoor recreation areas within easy driving distance.
Beckley and the southern reaches of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve lie to the north. You can reach Grandview, Little Beaver State Park, and other New River Gorge attractions through the Beckley area.
Camp Creek State Park and Forest and Princeton are south of Ghent. Pipestem Resort State Park, Bluestone Lake, Bluestone State Park, and the Bluestone National Scenic River are also within the surrounding region.
Common questions about Ghent and Winterplace
Where is Ghent, West Virginia?
Ghent is located on Flat Top Mountain in southern Raleigh County between Beckley and Princeton. U.S. 19 and Interstate 77 serve it.
What is Ghent, West Virginia, known for?
Ghent is best known as the home of Winterplace Ski Resort. The community is also associated with Flat Top Lake and the West Virginia Turnpike.
Is Winterplace Ski Resort in Ghent?
Yes. Winterplace is located in Ghent on Flat Top Mountain.
What interstate runs through Ghent?
Interstate 77 passes through Ghent as part of the West Virginia Turnpike, the major north-south highway between Charleston and Princeton.
Which I-77 exit serves Ghent and Winterplace?
Exit 28, marked Ghent/Flat Top, serves the community. Winterplace is approximately five minutes from the interstate.
Is I-77 at Ghent a toll road?
Yes. I-77 follows the West Virginia Turnpike through Ghent. One of the Turnpike’s three mainline toll plazas is located there.
How high is Winterplace Ski Resort?
Winterplace has a base elevation of 2,997 feet and a summit elevation of 3,600 feet, with a vertical drop of 603 feet.
Does Winterplace make snow?
Yes. Winterplace has snowmaking coverage across its ski terrain, allowing the resort to make snow when weather conditions permit.
Does Winterplace offer snow tubing?
Yes. Winterplace operates a snow-tubing park in addition to its skiing and snowboarding terrain.
When is Winterplace open for skiing?
The ski season generally runs from early December through mid-March, though dates vary based on weather and snowmaking conditions.
Is Flat Top Lake open to the public?
No. Flat Top Lake is a private, gated residential and recreational community.
How did Ghent get its name?
Its origin remains uncertain. One account connects the name with the Treaty of Ghent, while a 1979 local history records a tradition that a young Lewis Evert Shrewsbury selected the name Ghent from a map when his father was asked to name the community. The available evidence does not conclusively establish either explanation.
Lodging near Ghent, West Virginia
Location
Ghent is located approximately 15 miles south of Beckley, West Virginia, and 20 miles north of Princeton, West Virginia. Highway US-19 and the I-77 expressway meet at Ghent.
Regional Information
Ghent is located in the New River Gorge Region in southern West Virginia, on the border of the Bluestone Region.