USA Guide
California
Lake Tahoe
One of the highest, deepest, cleanest, and coldest lakes in the world, Lake Tahoe is perched high above the Gold Country in an alpine bowl of forested granite peaks. Longer than the English Channel is wide, and more than a thousand feet deep, it's so cold that perfectly preserved cowboys who drowned over a century ago have been recovered from its depths. The lake straddles the Nevada stateline as well and lures weekenders with sunny beaches in the summer, snow-covered slopes in the winter, and bustling casinos year-round.
Skiing
Lake Tahoe has some of the best downhill skiing in North America, and its larger resorts rival their Rocky Mountain counterparts. Although skiing is not cheap – the largest ski areas charge well over $60 for a single day – most resorts offer decent-value rental/lift ticket/lesson packages or multiday discounts, especially if booked in advance online. Snowboarding has caught on in a big way, and the same resorts that once scoffed at the sport have now installed massive snow parks with radical half-pipes and jumps. Cross-country skiing is also popular. Most resorts rent skis for about $30 and snowboards for $35 or more.
Heavenly reachable by shuttle from Southshore, two miles from the casinos, or via the gondola on Hwy-50, next to the state line ( 
775/586-7000 or 1-800/243-2836, 
www.skiheavenly.com ). Prime location and sheer scale (85 runs and 29 lifts) make this one of the lake's most frequented resorts, and it also offers the highest vertical skiing served by a lift.
Kirkwood Ski Resort 35 miles south of South Lake Tahoe on Hwy-88 ( 209/258-6000, www.kirkwood.com ). A bit out of the way if you're in Tahoe but worth the trip as a destination in itself for its recreational possibilities, including excellent hiking and biking trails.
Squaw Valley USA Squaw Valley Road, halfway between Truckee and Tahoe City ( 530/583-6955 or 1-888/766-9321, www.squaw.com ). Thirty-three lifts service over four thousand acres of unbeatable terrain at the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Non-skiers can take the cable lift ($19) and use the ice-skating/swimming pool complex for the day.
Royal Gorge in Soda Springs, ten miles west of Truckee ( 530/426-3871 or 1-800/666-3871, www.royalgorge.com ). The largest and best of Tahoe's cross-country resorts has 204 miles of groomed trails. Trail fee $25–29, rental fee $21, and lessons (group $25, private $40).
Spooner Lake in Nevada at the intersection of Hwy-50 and Hwy-28 ( 775/749-5349, www.spoonerlake.com ). The closest cross-country resort to South Lake Tahoe has lake views and 63 miles of groomed trails. Trail fee $12–21, rental fee $19, and lessons $47, including pass and rental.
Read more ▼
- Practical Information ▼
- City/Town ▼