Northstar at Tahoe Resort
Posted on May 23, 2008
Northstar at Tahoe Resort is Lake Tahoe area’s most complete destination resort is perfect for families, thanks to its many sports activities — from golf and tennis to skiing and snowshoeing — and its concentration of restaurants, shops, recreation facilities, and accommodations (the Village Mall).
On snowy, windy days, Northstar can also be a great place for skiers of any ability to retreat. When avalanche danger or lack of visibility make skiing at more exposed areas a dicey proposition, the skiing at Northstar just keeps on keeping on.
Experts might find the gentle pitch ho-hum, but it’s better than flying blind through an avalanche-prone whiteout. And experts have a good patch of snow to play around in also: 240 acres of backcountry they added to include deep powder fields, tree skiing and riding, and expert steeps on Sawtooth Ridge.
In recent years, they’ve spent $2.5 million upgrading its snowmaking system to cover 50 percent of the mountain and expanded its base lodge with new condos, shopping, and cafes.
Where: About 200 miles southeast of San Francisco on Interstate 80 and 40 miles west from Reno on Interstate 80.
What’s There: Interested in learning a new snow sport? Northstar is the land of so-called “snowtoys”—snowbikes, snowscoots, and something called snowfoxes. Frankly, snowbiking looks treacherous to me, but maybe that’s because I haven’t tried it yet. Oh yes—Northstar also offers skiing and snowboarding instruction, too.
Northstar for families is essentially a redundancy. This is certainly the best resort in the Tahoe area for families with young children. If for some reason the kids don’t take to skiing or snowboarding, Northstar is also big on tubing—sliding down specially groomed runs on inner tubes.
What’s New: The Lookout Mountain lift extension will open up 46 new skiable acres. They’ve also replaced a large portion of their rental equipment—100 percent of their snowboards, 2/3 of the snowboard boots, all of the crosscountry ski equipment, and 1/3 of their alpine ski equipment.
Lodgings range from hotel rooms to condos to private houses, some with ski-in ski-out access. The list continues to grow: Northstar has been building lots of new condos as well as a new Ritz-Carlton (due to open in 2009).
Whatever lodging you book, you’ll receive free lift tickets and on-site shuttle transportation and have complimentary access to the Swim and Racquet Club’s swimming pools, outdoor hot tubs, fitness center, and teen center
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