 Poster: A snowHead
|
hi everyone,
Im a long time lurker but first time poster and hoping that some of you might be able to help me out.
My daughter and I have flights booked into San Francisco on 2nd April and we have 10 days to play with. I would like to aim for a ski resort for 7 of those days (the first week) and then probably relax in SF fro a few days at the end of the holiday. Clearly this is depending on the weather/ski conditions in the Tahoe area!
So, are folk with experience of skiing in the area able to help out with advice about which of the Tahoe ski resorts are likely to be best suited for us please?
Daugher - 6yrs old - has been on skis only once before and I'm likely to be enroling her in ski school for a large proportion of the holiday.
Me - intermediate (mid-lower end) skier however, I'm not looking for a particularly exhausting or challenging holiday (im going to have enough of that with the daughter!) so I would be perfectly happy with easy cruising runs.
Would be nice to have "other" activities for us to do - I see some of the resorts have tubes/sledging/skating. The casinos of the area are not a big draw for me - anything I'm doing has to be child friendly!
We will be hiring a car while there - so with this in mind, is parking at the various resorts/lifts easy and or plentiful if I opted to stay a little out of town? I've had a good read of the various resorts and can compare lift/ski school/hotel prices between them and get an "on paper" feel (I can state right now that the more expensive end of the options are off limits) However I was hoping for some "real" feedback from those who have actually been and have the practical experience of the resorts to draw on.
Thanks,
Stella
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
I would think Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe is good for you. South Lake Tahoe is right on the border of California and Nevada, you can good deal on accommodation ans ski passes at the casinos such as Harrahs. There are shops, restaurants, everything you need.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
April is "value season". So everything will be half price if you ask nicely  (except lift pass, but you may easily get discounts of 20%).
None of the mountains are big enough to a full week of serious skiing. However, most lift tickets goes by 5 of 6 days or 6 of 7 days so you're encouraged to take a day off for a bit of rest.
Still, I would advice splitting the week apart and sample at least 2 mountains. You can get Alpine Meadow/Squaw combo tickets, or Heavenly/Northstar combo. To be honest, the Heavenly/Northstar will be more beginner/intermediate friendly, but will be the most expensive on paper (rack rate). So late in the season, you should look hard to get a great deal at the most expensive resorts, which you might never get the same value next time.
I often stay out of the village to save money and just drive in. But in April, you should be able to get a package IN the village for no more than outside. It's nice to be able to walk to shops and restaruants.
Parking is expected to be provided, so free.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Northstar sounds ideal for your spec. You can probably get accomodation in Truckee or Kings Beach (& April on the Lake might be very nice) very reasonably that time of year if you don't want the whole disneyland resort experience. Kids teaching also very good at Squaw and alpine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Look at Kirkwood. Quite a 'local' resort but great skiing for the family + other things to do. We loved it + it is away from the Casinos of South Lake.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Hi,
It is a while since we have been to Tahoe, so some of this may be a bit out of date but here it is, for what it is worth
"My daughter and I have flights booked into San Francisco on 2nd April and we have 10 days to play with. I would like to aim for a ski resort for 7 of those days (the first week) and then probably relax in SF fro a few days at the end of the holiday. Clearly this is depending on the weather/ski conditions in the Tahoe area!"
I assume you are flying from the UK non stop or via a gateway, either way spend the first night at an hotel near SF airport. That is more relaxing and with the time differential you will be up very early the next day anyway, so pick up the car then and drive up. In good weather it is an easy drive. You have to cross San Francisco (on an Interstate) as the airport is south of the city and you need to go North East(ish). We did it on a Thursday morning and it was not a problem but there will be some rush hour traffic. As regards the car I went for a 4WD, which is useful if it it snows at Tahoe (as it might still well do in April although equally you may get sun for the whole trip). Unless it is a v poor snow year there should still be plenty of snow and low crowds, especially midweek.
We spent time in San Francisco as well, which was great. Take a tip, if you want to go on the boat trip to Alcatraz (well worth doing), book in advance as it tends to get busy, I found.
"So, are folk with experience of skiing in the area able to help out with advice about which of the Tahoe ski resorts are likely to be best suited for us please?
Daugher - 6yrs old - has been on skis only once before and I'm likely to be enroling her in ski school for a large proportion of the holiday.
Me - intermediate (mid-lower end) skier however, I'm not looking for a particularly exhausting or challenging holiday (im going to have enough of that with the daughter!) so I would be perfectly happy with easy cruising runs."
Northstar would be good, Diamond Peak in Incline Village is small but at your respective levels maybe big enough. Likewise Mount Rose, which I have a soft spot for. Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, although larger, have a lot of terrain and look to cater for all levels (both have some pretty gnarly stuff as well. Personally I didnt think that much of Heavenly but it would have a lot of terrain for you as well.
"Would be nice to have "other" activities for us to do - I see some of the resorts have tubes/sledging/skating. The casinos of the area are not a big draw for me - anything I'm doing has to be child friendly!"
Tahoe is a major outdoor destination, especially for the San Francisco conurbation. Check out, for example, the Squaw Valley website. They have a swimming pool at the top of the gondola. There is loads to do and you will likely get the weather to do it. We enjoyed skiing until early afternoon in April and then playing tennis (leisurely) when we got back to our condo. The casinos (the gambling floor bit anyway) will be a no-no with your daughter because of her age. When we were there with kids they were very strict to keep kids well away from there as it could adversely affect their gambling licence. That apart though the casino hotels are a good place to eat and sleep with kids as they tend to be fairly cheap (especially midweek) as the rooms and food are the loss leaders to get the gamblers in. If you can stay away from the tables and enjoy the cheap room/food you can save some cash.
"We will be hiring a car while there - so with this in mind, is parking at the various resorts/lifts easy and or plentiful if I opted to stay a little out of town? I've had a good read of the various resorts and can compare lift/ski school/hotel prices between them and get an "on paper" feel (I can state right now that the more expensive end of the options are off limits) However I was hoping for some "real" feedback from those who have actually been and have the practical experience of the resorts to draw on."
Parking is free at all ski resorts or you can pay for it if you want to park really close in. The only place we ever paid was at Heavenly. Elsewhere free was good enough....midweek you should certainly be able to get reasonably close in with no problem. When you say "out of town" you may not appreciate the way things are set up there. There are various towns/villages set around the Lake, just as there are various (independent) ski resorts set around the Lake. The ski resorts are not linked (though maybe Squaw and Alpine are now). Choose where you want to stay from the many villages etc and the many properties within them and make your choice based on where you are going to spend most of your time, to cut down on driving . Most obviously, are you going to stay at the North end of the Lake or the South (we always stayed North, in Incline Village. Truckee and Kings Beach, mentioned above, are also at the North end.). Whatever, you definitely need a car and anyone renting you accomodation will be assuming you will be coming in a car and there will be parking with any accomodation unit. This is California and nobody (bar the odd non US tourist) will be walking, least of all to the ski resorts. The only one walkable to in any event would be Heavenly and that would mean staying in South Lake Tahoe, which would not be my idea of fun, (too many casinos etc) but others may have a different view of it
This is a decent site for bargains at the Tahoe resorts
http://www.slidingonthecheap.com/
This is the Caltrans site which explains about chains and when you need them (or a 4 WD). If a storm passes over when you are there and dumps a foot of snow (as could happen) the chain rules will come into effect on at least some roads
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/chcontrl.htm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Squaw is becoming more and more kid friendly and does have a variety of extra activities. In Tahoe terms it is a large mountain, but has extensive beginner and intermediate terrain - wide open runs where you can see where you will end up. And the ski school is excellent, especially if you want private lessons, but the kids group lessons will be pretty quiet in April anyway so your daughter may even get one on one instruction.
The swimming pool at the top of the mountain usually opens mid-March, weather permitting - it's a heated outdoor pool. The skating rink is also at the top of the mountain, and also outdoors, with fantastic views. At the base the resort offers snowtubing, and mini snowmobiles (you have to weigh less than 110lbs), at the SnoVentures beginners area.
The most exciting consideration this season is the partnership with Alpine Meadows - the resorts are now owned by the same company so the lift tickets are valid at both resorts. it's not yet possible to ski from one resort to the other, but there is a shuttle bus service, which runs every 15/20 minutes, and it takes @ 13 minutes from base to base making it a viable option to ski both resorts in one day, or to stay at Squaw's base.
April is getting towards the end of the season as regards cost, so you should be able to find some good deals - there's a variety of cheaper motels around the lake, especially towards the state line on the North Shore. It is also possible to stay in Reno and drive up every morning, or take the resort shuttles from the casinos - kids are allowed to stay in the casinos, just not play on any of the adult games, most of the gambling floors are at street level and you walk through them to get to the restaurants.
When renting a car get a 4WD, if it has M&S tires on it will pass chain control in California, but you need to carry chains anyway. The roads generally close before you have to use chains on a 4WD - if it get that bad you don't want to be driving anyway. However, a 4WD can be useful since the roads tend to get a little slippery with early morning fog from the lake or the Truckee River.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| StellaRew wrote: |
Would be nice to have "other" activities for us to do - I see some of the resorts have tubes/sledging/skating. The casinos of the area are not a big draw for me - anything I'm doing has to be child friendly!
We will be hiring a car while there - so with this in mind, is parking at the various resorts/lifts easy and or plentiful if I opted to stay a little out of town? I've had a good read of the various resorts and can compare lift/ski school/hotel prices between them and get an "on paper" feel (I can state right now that the more expensive end of the options are off limits) However I was hoping for some "real" feedback from those who have actually been and have the practical experience of the resorts to draw on.
Thanks,
Stella |
There's some good advice from others here on the various resorts. As regards other activities, one thing not mentioned is that from South Lake Tahoe you can do a 2 hour boat trip on the Lake, see Emerald Bay Cruise. Another trip you can do as a break from skiing is to visit nearby Virginia City, an old silver mining town.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
+1 For the Emerald Bay cruise...alternatively, you can drive around the lake and walk down to the house set on Emerald Bay- a bit of an uphill climb coming back, but not too bad and with luck your daughter will enjoy seeing the geese down there.
For places to stay, try South Lake Tahoe or Incline Village or Truckee here http://www.lodging247.com/hotel-search/
I like Kirkwood as a ski area and they were expanding the base village when I was last there in 2005, but thought they had the least access to non-skiing activities, at least back then. They do have a higher base and a nice snowfall record, which may come in handy as it is a lean year in Tahoe so far.
I like Heavenly a lot for your level of skiing, but your daughter will be limited where she can go as the various beginner terrain is not connected by beginner runs- the best base for her there is near the top of the gondola that runs from Stateline. This area also offers some tubing, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thanks everyone for your replies...certainly helpful  I shall now turn my attention to the finer detail of the planning!
Happy skiing
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
I learnt to ski at Northstar when i was little and loved it, definitely recommend it! good for all level skiers! also i love Alpine meadows, Heavenly, Sierra Navada, Kirkwood etc etc.
Honestly I think the majority of the resorts are excellent but would especially recommend Northstar's ski school.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
I learnt to ski at Northstar when i was little and loved it, definitely recommend it! good for all level skiers! also i love Alpine meadows, Heavenly, Sierra Navada, Kirkwood etc etc.
Honestly I think the majority of the resorts are excellent but would especially recommend Northstar's ski school.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I will in Tahoe at the same time with my wife and son. we have skied there many times ( since he was 3). I would recommend stopping around the North of the lake eg TahoeCity as there are more choices of resorts ftom there. I agree with the tips mentioned above.
1.Stop the first night in SF, then drive up
2. Hire a 4x4 - not all suv's as the american call them are - check when you pick up
3. check the web sites slidingonthecheap.com and snowbomb.com for ways to get discounts - tickets etc
My favourite resorts when my son was younger to suite both of us ( him in ski school) were - North Star, Alpine Meadows, Diamond Peak, Mount Rose, Homewood and Sugar bowl.
If you have any other questions PM me.
Have a good time and perhaps see you there
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Apart from flying to Reno or driving, is there any public transport going to South Lake Tahoe from San Francisco?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
