Lake Tahoe

Observations From Northstar’s Opening Day

Our ranker-in-chief Sam stopped by Northstar on its opening day. Here, he shares some thoughts on the experience.

Off Peak Podcast Episode 11: Tahoe Road Trip Part 2

Sam finally drives across the country after his tumultuous first attempt.

Off Peak Podcast Episode 10: Tahoe Road Trip

Sam starts his road trip to Tahoe…two months earlier than expected. Along the way, he learns some valuable life lessons.

Multiple North American Resorts Opening Tomorrow, November 20

Vail, Heavenly, Northstar, Park City, and Killington are set to open for the 2020-21 season tomorrow, November 20. We’ve detailed the opening-week access details for each of these mountains here.

Video Review: Heavenly

An in-depth video review of Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly ski resort, located in South Lake Tahoe, CA and Stateline, NV.

Video: Squaw Valley KT-22 Run

A run down Squaw Valley's expert KT-22 area, starting at Downhill Cliffs and proceeding to Strawberry Fields. Video taken in February 2020; snow conditions were below average for the time.

Homewood

While this Tahoe hill can’t hold its own overall against the destination resorts, it boasts an astonishing, one-of-a-kind mountain aesthetic.

Diamond Peak

This Tahoe mountain will impress many visitors with breathtaking lake views, but its terrain and amenities are no match for the area’s better-known destination resorts.

Mount Rose

Despite its high elevation, a number of shortcomings detract from this Nevada mountain’s appeal as a destination resort.

Sugar Bowl

This California resort can’t match the acreage and vertical drop of competing Tahoe mountains, but it stands out with trails for all ability levels and an extremely demanding expert footprint.

Northstar

This family-friendly resort offers excellent grooming and a top-tier terrain park, but expert and above-treeline terrain is lacking.

Sierra-at-Tahoe

While it can’t boast the same crazy lake views, striking terrain, or expansive base village as some other Tahoe areas, this moderately-sized resort offers reasonable prices and a local feel.

Kirkwood

This relatively undeveloped mountain isn’t for everyone, but its striking aesthetic, local feel, and extreme terrain are tough to match.

Heavenly

This Lake Tahoe area offers some of the most beautiful slopes we’ve seen anywhere. A few logistical problems diminish the resort’s size advantage.

Palisades Tahoe

Two of Tahoe’s best ski areas have now been linked as one continuous lift-served destination, but the resort still functions as two separate mountains in many ways.