Find the Right Choice for California Ski Lodging

The majority of California’s ski resorts have on-site lodging, ranging from typical hotel style rooms to multi-bedroom condominiums and full vacation rental houses. Still, if you don’t want to pay resort prices, there are off-site options for lodging as well. In fact, many destinations for California ski lodging are able to serve multiple ski terrains in the area. Whether you’re looking to make your dollar stretch or trying to escape the resort crowds, knowing all of your options is never a bad thing.

To help you understand what’s out there, we’ve organized our California ski lodging information around the four main hubs where you find skiing in the Golden State: North Tahoe, South Tahoe, the lower Sierra Nevadas, and Southern California.

North Tahoe

There are five resorts clustered around North Lake Tahoe: Homewood, Sugar Bowl, Northstar, and Alpine Meadows/Squaw Valley. Homewood is located directly off SR-89 and has private homes for rent that are only yards from the resort and the lake. Off-site options include the Rockwood Lodge and the West Shore Café, both of which offer standard hotel rooms as well as private lakeside villas.

Sugar Bowl, North Star and the Alpine Meadows are all located within fifteen minutes of each other. Off-site lodging can be found in Truckee, as well as on the shores of the lake itself at Tahoe Vista and Tahoe City.

Sugar Bowl is closer to Truckee, where multiple inns offering standard hotel rooms can be located. From the Donner Lodge to the Cedar House, there are properties that cater to visitors of all types. On-site lodging can be found at the Lodge, which has true ski in/ski out capabilities.

Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley have deluxe on-site accommodations that range from standard style hotel rooms or private cabins. More casual lodging is available at Poole’s Guesthouse, which offers full kitchens as well.

Northstar has true resort lodging with the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe serving as the flagship hotel for this resort. The Village at Northstar seeks to be an all-inclusive resort, offering shopping, restaurants, and a full size two-screen movie theatre.

South Tahoe

There are three resorts near South Lake Tahoe: Heavenly, Sierra-at-Tahoe, and Kirkwood. Although Heavenly is the only resort that can claim anything like ski-in/ski-out access for South Lake Tahoe, Sierra-at-Tahoe has a free shuttle that stops at most of the hotels on the southern shore. From small villas and spas to traditional inns, there are numerous California ski lodging options near South Lake Tahoe. This includes a few different chain hotels. Many hotels and casinos lie along SR-50 as it crosses the Nevada border. The gondola leading to Heavenly leaves from South Lake Tahoe near the Marriott’s Timber Lodge and the Grand Residences.

Kirkwood has its own lodging options with luxury townhomes available on-site. Other on-site lodging includes premium slope-side condominiums and standard meadow-side condominiums. These properties are all within 100-yards of the resort and can sleep up to eight people per unit.

Lodging for the Lower Sierra Nevadas

Further to the south, the same Sierra Nevada Mountains that surround Lake Tahoe also serve as the canvas for several ski terrains. These ski areas are headlined by June Lake and Mammoth Mountain. Rather than a central hub as it is with the Tahoe area, this California ski lodging is more contained to the immediate area. There’s still resort and offsite lodging, but the “offsite” options are usually found in companion ski towns rather than standalone cities.

Southern California Ski Lodging

Bear Mountain and Bear Valley are both located on the southern shores of Big Bear Lake. While there is no on-site lodging for either resort, there are a large number of off-site lodging options in the town of Big Bear. Local Bed and Breakfast Inns include the Apples, the Black Bear and the Dorrington, all of which feature cozily appointed rooms suitable for couples. Multi-bedroom townhouses are available for rent at nearby Snow Summit and Mountain Vista, with room for parties of up to twelve people. Traditional hotel rooms are everywhere, from the Black Forest Lodge to the Club at Big Bear Village. No matter what the size of your party, there is a lodging option within your price range.