Spring Skiing, Riding In Full Bloom At Northern Tahoe Mountains
As the days get longer, a quartet of ski and snowboard mountains that cluster north of Lake Tahoe near Donner Pass feature corn snow, bright sun and laid-back vibes deep into April -- and beyond.
This season, these California mountains got big dumps in November 2024 but had to wait until February and March before their snow stakes got buried again. That sets up for a long late-season of warm skiing and riding for those who head up to some of the oldest ski areas in the U.S.
Expected to stay open until April 13, Boreal Mountain (380 a., 500 vert.) sits right at Exit 176 of I-80. A cozy, laid-back hill, Boreal's eight-lift system mostly aims to please beginners and intermediates with 80% greens and blues. But black-diamond chutes and headwalls are sprinkled around to keep the hotshots occupied.
Park crews flock to Boreal, not only because of a dozen parks on the hill, but also because its home to action-sport monarch Woodward Tahoe -- and stays open until 8 p.m. Both under the same ownership, access and tickets to Boreal and Woodward intertwine seamlessly.
One exit west leads to the first of the other three stops. Open Thursday-Monday until April 20, "big-little hill" Soda Springs (220 a., 550 vert.) serves up comfort food to novices. Among the state's oldest (opened 1931), this hill is a favorite for families out of San Francisco, Sacramento and Reno, Nev.
Only the very top of Soda Springs is rated harder than blue or green. Both two fixed-grips ascend leisurely: Lion's Head handles green runs only, and the bottom-to-summit Crystal Bowl triple has a mid-station for unloading before things get steep.
At the base, a Mountain Adventure Zone dials up a tubing carousel, snow volcanoes and newby learning slopes for the young ones. Across the way, Tube Town has 20 tubing lanes 400 feet long.
Three miles down the road, Donner Ski Ranch (505 a., 750 vert.) is scheduled to operate until May 4. It does catch spring crowds, thanks to its long season, family-friendly layout and spacious parking lots to a hill that began operating in 1937.
Sitting atop the Pacific Crest, the mountain's 52 trails divide up evenly, and has both a front and back side -- a rarity for a modest-sized hill. Greens dominate the family-friendly front slopes, where three of Donner's six chairlifts operate. On the back, the trails get longer and steeper, with the longest Side Winder catching all vertical drop from top of the ridge to the valley floor.
The most challenging of the four, Sugar Bowl (1,650 a., 1,500 vert.) has slotted April 27 as its last day. What it has for green terrain is is safely isolated in three pods out of the base. Similarly, plenty of intermediate runs gather together off of four of the mountain's six upper chairlifts.
Now the serious stuff: Each of Sugar Bowl's peaks presents top-notch expert terrain -- some of the most challenging in the whole Tahoe area. Take your pick: Chutes, couloirs, cliffs, glades, bowls, and eight backcountry gates that lead into more of the same. To skier's far left, experts-only Crow's Peak triple offers laps of some of Sugar Bowl's most severe steeps.
