North Lake Tahoe, California has 12 downhill ski resorts. You can save money and ski at seven of them with the Ski Tahoe North Interchangeable Lift Ticket. Only two North Lake Tahoe resorts offer night skiing with limited terrain but unlimited fun. Lift lines tend to be shorter at night, and the slopes less crowded. Lift tickets for night skiing are also often less expensive than daytime tickets.
Lots of trails
Squaw Valley offers extensive night skiing, including a 3.2-mile Mountain Run where you get plenty of exercise. A custom floodlight system provides good contrast and easy visibility of the varied terrain. Squaw Valley runs its cable car at night and keeps the High Camp restaurant open. Night skiing starts at 4 p.m. Squaw Valley night skiing is included with an all-day lift ticket. If you are just skiing at night, prices are heavily reduced; in 2009, nighttime lift tickets for kids under 12 were only $5, $15 for ages 13 to 18 and $22 for adults; regular prices were $10, $61 and $83, respectively.
Limited runs
Boreal Mountain Resort starts its night skiing at 3:30 p.m., with lifts open till 9 p.m. You can get practically a full day of skiing in. The night skiing season runs from Thanksgiving till late March. In 2009, the resort still had enough snow to keep its lifts open in late May for day skiing, but the night skiing is more limited. The price differential is not as great at Boreal, since its top lift ticket price in 2009, for all day and night skiing, was only $47 ($54 on holidays). Adult night skiing was $25. Teens were $39 for day, $25 at night, and children ages five to 12 were $15 day or night. If you are bringing a child, lift tickets for those under four years old are free anytime.
Healthy eating
You burn a lot of calories skiing and you want to be sure to eat nutrient-dense food to provide adequate energy. Twenty-Two Bistro & Bar in The Village at Squaw Valley, and Dragonfly in Truckee, use fresh, local, organic, sustainable ingredients. Both restaurants are part of the "Slow Food" farm to table movement, and you can choose healthy food, either while you ski at Squaw Valley, or after you ski at Boreal.
Time for Spa
After skiing, your tired muscles may need to relax at a spa. The Spa at Squaw Creek has ten treatment rooms, with massages and body scrubs that can rejuvenate your body. The outdoor whirlpools and year-round outdoor heated pools can also soothe sore muscles. The spa also has saunas and steam rooms and a state-of-the-art fitness center where you can get into shape before or after you ski.
Cross Country
Cross-country skiing is a full body workout, though without the adrenaline rush of downhilll skiing. Tahoe Donner Ski Area, which has 115 kilometers of Nordic skiing on 49 trails offers weekly nighttime cross-country skiing. Trail passes in 2009 were reduced from $21 to $12 for the two hour sessions.
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