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they’re usually cloaked in blue skies, big bright sun and towering green mountains. Inviting blonde beaches and clear blue waters complete the ensemble, making the finished scene one of the world’s finest spectacles and the envy of chambers of commerce around the globe.
But there’s another side to Lake Tahoe, a flip side that’s equally appealing and every bit as exciting. It’s the wintertime side, where the wardrobe shifts to a million shades of blue and white and the adventure scene migrates from shoreline to skyline.
Top of the food chain among the area’s winter activities is skiing and snowboarding. Skiing is where it all started, even if you stretch your imagination to include John “Snowshoe” Thompson who – between 1856 and 1876 – frequently traversed the Sierra from Sacramento to Genoa with a hefty sack of mail on his back. Aside from carrying the mail, Thompson found time to teach locals how to make skis and use them for both business and pleasure.
Skiing became more mainstream and accessible to the masses in 1938 when a visionary by the name of Walt Disney founded Sugar Bowl (near Donner Lake and the Sierra summit at Interstate-80) and became the first in the Sierra to string chair lifts to the summit. In time, other resorts followed. In 1960, the Sierra ski scene took center stage throughout the world when Squaw Valley USA hosted the Winter Olympics. Today, you’ll find a couple dozen ski and snowboard resorts within an hour of Reno. Among the most popular are Heavenly, Squaw Valley, Northstar-at-Tahoe, Alpine Meadows, Diamond Peak, Kirkwood, Mt. Rose, Sierra-at-Tahoe, and Homewood Mountain Resort and Sugar Bowl.
Few areas are more endowed with the essential ingredients of a winter wonderland than the Reno-Lake Tahoe area. Peaks top out at up to 11,000 feet, slopes range from comfortably subtle to harrowingly vertical, more than 400 inches of snow falls every winter, and a freakishly inordinate amount of sun-splashed days dominate the weather forecasts. And aside from what Mother Nature brings to the party, there’s also that side of the picture that comes compliments of human nature as well. A day on the slopes is rivaled by the double black diamond après action served up by world-class gaming resorts.
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Life on the edge of the rail. Skiers face off against the park at Squaw Valley USA.
photo©Keoki Flagg
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And what’s a winter destination without a couple of carnivals thrown in. Several annual gatherings combine good times, great food, and an abundance of entertainment. One of the area’s most celebrated is the North Lake Tahoe Snow Festival, usually held in early March when snowpacks are near their peaks and signs of cabin fever are quickly remedied by parties, concerts, parades, races, wining, dining and miscellaneous madcaps that make this event a favorite of locals and visitors alike.
For those who prefer their skis on the skinny side, cross-country opportunities branch out at every turn. For starters, you can rent cross-country gear and snowshoes at rental shops throughout the area and simply head for a stretch of woods, mountains and meadows that look inviting. Better yet are those resorts specifically geared to the sport, graced with tracks that go on for mile after mile. At Royal Gorge Cross Country Resort – the nation’s largest of its kind – you can glide or skate your way over more than 300 kilometers of groomed track and 9000 acres of skiable terrain. Along the way you’ll pass four trailside cafes, ten warming huts, four surface ski lifts, and a couple of backwoods lodges that are the stuff of dreams. An evening deep in the woods beneath a dark winter sky is a stunningly unforgettable memory. Another resort catering to cross-country and snowshoe enthusiasts is Clair Tappaan Lodge, just 45 minutes from Reno. The facility was built in 1934 by volunteers and is today owned and operated by the Sierra Club. There’s also Kirkwood Nordic Center south of Lake Tahoe, Spooner Lake Cross-Country Ski Area on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, Sugar Pine Point State Park on its southwest shore, and Northstar-at-Tahoe, as well as the highly-acclaimed Tahoe Donner Ski Area, both a few minutes from Truckee.
You needn’t look far to find other colorful applications for this heaven-sent bliss that finds its way to Reno-Tahoe. A toboggan, disk, or tube – combined with a nice pitch of packed snow – is all it takes to whip up a day of smiles. Among the many winter play parks are favorites like Adventure Peak at Heavenly Lake Tahoe whose tubing and sledding slopes (as well as climbing wall and snowshoeing trails) are accessed by a 2.4-mile breathtaking gondola ride.
Others include the Playland at Boreal Mountain Resort, Granlibakken Ski Area on the west shore, Hansen’s Resort near Heavenly, Incline Village Snow Play Area, Northstar-at-Tahoe, Sierra-at-Tahoe, North Tahoe Regional Park, Kirkwood, Squaw Valley, Soda Springs, Spooner Summit and Soda Springs Winter Resort, with specially bank-turned runs, tow systems, mini snowmobiles and Planet Kids – a snow adventure park made for kids under 10.
Skating fans will find Squaw Valley USA’s arena one of the world’s most stunning, located 8200 feet above sea level and affording views of the spine of the Sierra and beyond. The Resort at Squaw Creek, South Tahoe Ice Arena, Kirkwood Village Ice Rink, and Village at Northstar are other skating favorites.
If you like to operate in four-legged drive, then consider a dogsled ride or horse-drawn sleigh ride. Husky Express, based in Gardnerville, is headed up by 30-year mushing veteran Dotty Dennis. Kids under three are free. Kirkwood, on the high Sierra south of Lake Tahoe, offers Running Creek Sled Dogs, while Sierra Sled Dogs offers daytime adventures and moonlit dogsled rides. For those with Rockwellian images of a horse-drawn ride, there’s Borges Family Sleigh Rides, located near South Lake Tahoe.
If higher horsepower is more to your liking, hop onto a snowmobile and make tracks for the white blue yonder. Snowmobile accessible areas and snowmobile rentals and guide shops dot the region, each offering trips deep into the backwoods of the Sierra.
When you think of the Reno-Tahoe area, it’s easy to visualize the warm hues of summer. But when your mind wanders toward the other side of the calendar, consider how colorful and classic a wintertime getaway to the Sierra can be. It’s an adventure you won’t soon forget.
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