Ski Resorts in Lake Tahoe

Writing by on Saturday, 6 of February , 2010 at 1:04 am

I’ve been skiing at Lake Tahoe Resorts since 2002 and have developed some favorites. I’m an intermediate to advanced skier and stay pretty much on groomed runs and far away from powder. Based on my experience, I’m writing reviews on the resorts I’ve been to.

  • Northstar
  • My new favorite – I’ve been here 3 times now and enjoyed every time I was here. Excellent conditions and relatively easy runs for intermediate skiers throughout the mountain. If you’re an expert, you will probably find this way too easy. But for me, Northstar is perfect! Only thing is that after park, you have to take the shuttle to the village and if you’re with beginners might have to take the Gondola instead of the Chair Lift to the School area. Nice village for non-skiing buddies to hang out.

  • Sugarbowl
  • Another fantastic resort for intermediate and advanced skiers. I’ve been here 12 times and enjoyed every time I was here. This has a wider variety of nice groomed blue and black runs that’ll never disappoint. Driving from the SF Bay Area, it’s one of the closest “real” ski resorts in the North Lake Tahoe area.

  • Kirkwood
  • What can I say? I had season passes for 3 years. Another great resort for beginners to expert skiers. Also, Costco sells Kirkwood 2 pack tickets which is good. It’s in the South Tahoe area and probably the closes to SF Bay Area. Season passes used to be sold for $299 – unbeatable! I have the map of Kirkwood memorized so always love coming here.

  • Heavenly
  • HUGE Resort, Excellent runs for all types of skiers. Awesome Night Life since it’s close to the casinos in the South Lake Tahoe area. A little pricey but then if you’re staying at the Casinos its very close. I’ve been here couple of times.

  • Squaw Valley
  • Another HUGE Resort and has proudly hosted the Winter Olympics. I’ve been here 5 times but that’s because I was with Bay Area Ski Bus and got a good deal. Pricey but lot of good ski terrain.

  • Diamond Peak
  • Close to Reno, Costco sells Tickets and Good for Beginners to Intermediate. Relatively small and cheaper than the “real” resorts.

  • Boreal
  • Closest to Bay Area, Small resort but offers Night skiing. Good for Beginners.

  • Alpine Meadows
  • I don’t know but I had a bad experience the one time I was here – Crowded, long lines. Snow was powdery and had bumps all over. I had a bad day, but given that it’s a “real” ski resort its probably worth the price.

OnTheSnow.Com also has a poll based comparison.

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Category: Sports

Shivdev Kalambi's Blog

Shivdev Kalambi is a Software Development Manager, previously a Principal Software Engineer at ArcSight/HP. With over 16 years' experience in software development, he's worked on several technologies and played different roles and contributed to all phases of projects. Non-tech activies include Ping-pong, Rock Climbing and Yoga at PG, Golf, Skiing, Swimming & a beer enthusiast.