Alpine Meadows
The relaxed pace and family-friendly environment at Alpine Meadows makes it a popular resort. Here you have the chance to enjoy the natural life while skiing some of the toughest terrain in North America. Little wonder that Skiing Magazine called Alpine Meadows "a mountain with a distinctly split personality: a mild side and a wild side."
Alpine Meadows keeps a low profile compared with some other ski resorts around Lake Tahoe, and you’ll be mingling with lots of locals if you choose this one for your ski vacation. Steep chutes, gentle glades and endless cruisers have made it a firm favorite with local skiers. It is less expensive than some of the Lake Tahoe resorts and offers a quieter atmosphere off the slopes, as well as some good off-piste skiing and riding.
In 2011, Alpine Meadows merged with the well-known neighboring ski resort and 1960 Olympic site, Squaw Valley, becoming Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows resort. In 2021 the Squaw Alpine resort was rebranded because the term “squaw” is deemed derogatory by many Native Americans. The new name Palisades Tahoe celebrates the granite walls that rise up at each ski area. Squaw Valley base area has been renamed Olympic Valley and construction crews are preparing the foundations for the Tahoe region’s first-ever base-to-base gondola, connecting the Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows base areas.
One lift ticket gives you access to both locations, but the terrain at each ski area stands apart and while installation of the new gondola will provide skiers with an easy ride from one base station to the other it will not open additional skiable terrain. With 495 inches (1,257 cm) of snow per year, the snowmaking facilities, which operate on 12 of the 14 lifts, are required usually only during November; then the natural snowfall takes over. The season is long, running from mid-November to the end of May or mid-June.
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