Ski Lake Tahoe

Among the 62 ski areas I’ve skied, the Alpine Meadows, Heavenly, Northstar at Tahoe, Mt. Rose, and Squaw Valley finish well down in the mediocre category. I think they get their popularity because they are best skiing in California, which isn’t saying much-they are close enough to the Bay Area for a weekend trip by car, Lake Tahoe is cute for about 45 minutes, and it’s easy to combine skiing with gambling and Vegas-style night life.

Gambling is the one feature that would make a trip here attractive to some. There is a casino center in South Lake Tahoe, very close to Heavenly, the best of the resorts listed above, and in Reno, which is a reasonable drive to the other listed resorts (Mt. Rose is 22 miles away). (There are more ski hills around the lake and at Donner Summit that are not mentioned because I didn’t ski them. I don’t have any desire to, either.)

One night during my trip, there was some real snow. Everybody went nuts with a rare chance to ski off the groomers. I can’t remember exactly which it was, but Ski Patrol told me it was either only the second day of that season or the first day in the last two seasons when there was decent off-piste skiing. This celebratory snow fall was about the quality of Utah powder after it has been sitting in the sun for 3 days--that’s when I stop skiing the trees and go back to the groomed runs to wait for more good snow.

The terrain is not all that great here either, which is the only way I can account for our liking Mt. Bachelor, which may be even worse snow, but is one of our favorites.

Although Reno lacks the mega resorts of Las Vegas, there are several casinos, prices are lower, and skiing is closer, but see Ski Las Vegas.

Although we live only a day’s drive from Tahoe, we have no urge at all to go back to ski there again.

The bottom line is, if you want a vacation that combines casino gambling and skiing, this is the place. The casinos aren’t up to the Las Vegas ones and the skiing isn’t up to the central Rockies trails, but you won’t ever get this combination in Utah.

Quick Tips:

Check the hotel's websites for the best rates.

Best Way To Get Around:

You should take a rental car from Reno.

They have rooms from $39 to $200 a night, and there are 2,000 rooms.

We have stayed in 14 Nevada casino hotels and like the Reno Hilton the best. They have fairly large rooms as casino hotels go. They are very comfortable, and it is quiet in rooms away from the expressway, with just a little airport noise. It’s so big that you don’t have to leave–it has several restaurants, a casino, shows, an arcade, and a driving range (you get a free trip to Hawaii for a hole-in-one), which is good because it’s isolated. You can’t walk to anything else.

It costs from $39 to $170 a night. There are 950 rooms.

It has very nice (and quiet) rooms in the downtown casino center, and more casinos are just across the street. All casino hotel amenities are provided--buffet, shows, gambling, gambling, and more gambling.

Check for ski packages.