Play in the California Snow

In California, snow and sand are surprisingly interchangeable—perhaps because they both shine under that same Golden State glow. “We have an annual average ... SkiptocontentHomeRegionalMapBookmarksPopularPages:CaliforniaisopenClosePlayintheCaliforniaSnowCalifornia’sskiandsnowboardculturetakesitscuesfromthesunnybeachesandskateparks—andviceversaRemovedfromLikesSurfinthemorning,powderintheafternoon.InCalifornia,snowandsandaresurprisinglyinterchangeable—perhapsbecausetheybothshineunderthatsameGoldenStateglow.“Wehaveanannualaveragesnowfallof450inches—and300sunnydays,”saysSamKieckhefer,spokespersonforthePalisadesTahoe(formerly SquawValleyAlpineMeadows)skiresorts.“BigsnowandbigsunaretotallyuniquetoCaliforniaresorts.” CallitthesecondcoastlineofCalifornia:InvitingmountainsstretchsouthalongtheSierraNevada,fromthepeakssurroundingLakeTahoedowntoBigBearandSnowSummitintheSanBernardinoMountains.AndalloftheCaliforniaskiresortsareasurprisinglyquickhopfromthefishtacostandsandsurfshopssprinkledthroughoutSouthernCalifornia.“WeregularlyhaveguestswhosurfinthemorningbeforehoppingtheearlyflightfromSanDiegoorL.A.tohittheslopesintheafternoon,”saysLaurenBurke,thesocialmediamanageratMammothMountainintheEasternSierras. Nodoubt,somethingaboutthatbeachculturealsotranslateseasilyintothehigherelevations—andsodoesthatclassicCaliforniasenseofadventure.WhenPalisadesTahoefirstopened(underthenameSquawValley) withjustoneliftin1949,theownersquicklystartedlobbyingtohostaWinterOlympics—andsucceeded,gettingthemountainreadyforthe1960GamesandcreatingthefirstOlympicVillage.Bythe’80s,theresort andother skiareasaroundLakeTahoebecameknownasthebirthplaceofthefreewheeling“hot-dogging”skistyle.Theoriginalsnowboards,meanwhile,wereriffsonbothsurfboardsandskateboards(calledSkiBoardsorSnurfers),andthefirstsnowboardhalfpipewascarvedin1979outsideTahoeCity,bylocalboarderswhowantedtoduplicatetheskate-parkexperienceinthesnow. Granted,youdon’thavetobeschussingdownthesideofamountain—orevenbeatatraditionalskiresort—toembraceCalifornia’ssnowseason.AttheBadgerPassSkiArea,thenationalparktakesonanewdimensionduringthewinterseason,with90milesofmarkedcross-countryskiingtrailsand25milesofgroomedtrack,aswellasmoonlitsnowshoeingtoursanddecadentwinterdiningeventsatTheAhwahneeHotel.Formoreextremesports,gofat-tirebikingonthesnowtrailsofNorthstar,orsnow-kiting—akindofwind-surfingacrosssnow—atRoyalGorge,bySugarBowlintheTahoearea. Andacrosstheresorts,après-skiisalmostasportinitself,fromthebrewerytoursaroundMammothLakestotheHighCampPool&HotTub atPalisadesTahoe,whichoffersavarietyofdiningalongwithstunningviewsofLakeTahoeandbeyondfromits8,200-feetelevationperch. Whilethereareplentyofworld-classathletesontheslopes—likeOlympicboardersJeremyJones,whomakeshishomebaseinTruckee,andL.A.nativeChloeKim,who’saregularatMammoth—theprevailingattitudetowardCaliforniaskiingandsnowboardingiskindoflikethatfamouslineaboutsurfing:Thebestsurferoutthereistheonehavingthemostfun.“Californiaskiresortstendtohaveamorelaid-back,progressiveattitude,andanatmospherethatpromotescreativityandindividualexpression—bothonandoffthehill,”saysJustinKanton,thespokespersonforBigBearMountainResorts. Thatkindoffreedomismorethanjustemotionallyliberating.“Thereiscertainlysomethingtobesaid,”saysMountainHigh spokesmanJohnMcColly,“aboutskiinginaT-shirtandputtingonsunscreeninsteadofsecondlayers.” RemovedfromLikesOfficialResourcesMammothMountainhttp://mammothmountain.comBigBearMountainResorthttp://www.bigbearmountainresort.com/SkiLakeTahoehttp://www.skilaketahoe.comYosemiteWinterSportshttps://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wintersports.htmTravelerPhotosTag#VISITCALIFORNIAonInstagramtohaveyourtripfeaturedonourpage.SubscribetoourNewsletterGetweeklytravelinspiration,offers,contests,andmore!SubscribetoourNewsletterZipCodeEmailAddressSubmitIagreetogetpromotionalemailssentIagreetogetpromotionalemailssentPrivacyPolicyThankyouforsigningupGetreadytoDreamBig!Close