Lake Tahoe - California - page 884

SLEDDING, TUBING & SNOW PLAY FOR KIDS

Major ski resorts such as Heavenly and Kirkwood around South Lake Tahoe, and Squaw
Valley and Northstar California near Truckee, offer sledding hills for the kiddos, some with
tubing rentals and thrilling rope tows. Smaller ski mountains including Sierra-at-Tahoe
outside South Lake Tahoe, and Boreal, Soda Springs and Tahoe Donner, all near Truckee,
also offer child-friendly slopes.
To avoid the crowds, bring your own sleds to designated local snow-play areas at North
Tahoe Regional Park in Tahoe Vista on the north shore, or to Nevada's Incline Village,
Tahoe Meadows off the Mt Rose Hwy (Hwy 431) or Spooner Summit on Hwy 50, all along
the east shore. Back in California, DIY Sno-Parks ( 916-324-1222; www.parks.ca.gov ; pass
per day/yr $5/25) are found along Hwy 89 at Blackwood Canyon ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ), 3
miles south of Tahoe City on the west shore, and Taylor Creek, just north of Camp
Richardson at South Lake Tahoe. Coming from Sacramento or the San Francisco Bay
Area, two Sno-Parks are along I-80 at Yuba Gap (exit 161) and Donner Summit (exit 176
Castle Peak/Boreal Ridge Rd); their parking lots often fill by 11am on winter weekends.
Buy required Sno-Park parking passes online or at local shops.
For private groomed sledding and tubing hills, swing by Hansen's Resort ( MAP
GOOGLE MAP ; 530-544-3361; www.hansensresort.com ; 1360 Ski Run Blvd; per person incl rental
per hr $15; 9am-5pm) in South Lake Tahoe or Adventure Mountain ( 530-577-4352;
www.adventuremountaintahoe.com ; 21200 Hwy 50; per car $20, tube/2-person sled rental per day
$20/10; 10am-4:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4:30pm Sat, Sun & holidays), south of town at Echo Sum-

mit.

South Lake Tahoe

Heavenly SKIING, SNOWBOARDING
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 775-586-7000; www.skiheavenly.com ; 3860 Saddle Rd, South Lake Tahoe;
adult/youth 13-18yr/child 5-12yr $99/89/59; 9am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8:30am-4pm Sat, Sun & holidays;

)
The 'mother' of all Tahoe mountains boasts the most acreage, the longest run (5.5 miles)
and the biggest vertical drop around. Follow the sun by skiing on the Nevada side in the
morning, moving to the California side in the afternoon. Views of the lake and the high
desert are heavenly indeed.