The Lake Tahoe area, which straddles the northern California and Nevada border, includes the highest concentration of ski areas in one U.S. location. Fourteen alpine ski areas offer a variety of terrain for skiers of all abilities. The Royal Gorge Nordic resort provides cross-country skiers with a vast network of trails.
Fundamentals
Lake Tahoe, the largest mountain lake in North America, sits amid the Sierra Nevada mountains just an hour from Reno, Nevada, or an easy drive from Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay areas of California. Most resorts are concentrated on the north or south end of the lake.
Squaw Valley USA, Alpine Meadows, Heavenly, Kirkwood, Northstar-at-Tahoe, Sierra-at-Tahoe and Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe attract most of the visits with a combined 125 lifts serving 535 groomed trails and 21 terrain parks in more than 17,500 acres, according to the Ski Lake Tahoe website.
Ski season in the Lake Tahoe area generally runs from November through May when an average of 420 inches of snow falls.
Major North Lake Resorts
Squaw Valley, the region's largest resort, boasts 34 lifts serving 170 trails equally divided among "beginner," "intermediate" and "advanced," according to the Ski Lake Tahoe website. Northstar-at-Tahoe has 19 lifts serving 92 trails, with 87 percent of them designated "intermediate" or "advanced." Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, a smaller resort favored by locals and Reno-area residents, includes eight lifts serving 60 trails, half of them rated "advanced."
Major South Lake Resorts
Kirkwood offers 65 trails, half of them designated "intermediate," and 12 lifts. Half of Sierra-at-Tahoe's 46 trails are rated "intermediate." Heavenly, the southern area's largest resort, includes 30 lifts serving 95 trails, most rated "intermediate," according to Ski Lake Tahoe.
Other Resorts
Smaller and lesser-known resorts offering more intimate or relaxed ski experiences in the Lake Tahoe area include Boreal Mountain Resort, Diamond Peak, Donner Ski Ranch, Homewood Mountain Resort, Soda Springs Winter Resort, Sugar Bowl Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner Ski Area.
Terrain
Ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area offer a variety of terrain, ranging from high open bowls to heavily wooded runs. Trails in the Sierras generally are narrower than at resorts in other locations such as the Rocky Mountain, according to the Gold Country Best Guide to Lake Tahoe Skiing.
Conditions
Lake Tahoe resorts generally receive more snow in a season, and more in single storms, than most other U.S. ski resorts, according to the Gold Country Best website. Storms dropping as much as four feet of snow at once can be common. The steep mountains and large lake create micro-climates so that weather and conditions can vary widely from resort to resort.
Unlike the dry, powdery snow of the Rocky Mountains, snow in the Sierras tends to be wetter and heavier, giving it the nickname "Sierra Cement."
Nordic Skiing
Royal Gorge, the largest Nordic ski resort in the U.S., offers an extensive trail system for cross-country skiing in the Lake Tahoe area, including trails through meadows or pine forests and climbs to lake overlooks, according to the Gold Country Best website.
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