South Lake Tahoe, California is one of the best places to spend your ski or board season! I mean Cali has such a hype for some very good reasons. Let me show you why planning your ski season around the ski resorts in Lake Tahoe is the way to go.
Time to start planning
One could argue that the time to start planning your 2022-2023 ski/snowboard season plans starts right after the close of the previous season, and I am one of those people. Mainly because of the season pass deals you can snag at the end of the 2022 spring season! Most people who travel for snow sports and plan to ski/ride more than one mountain for the season have two options: the EPIC Pass or the IKON Pass.
In the Tahoe area with the EPIC Pass, you would have access to Heavenly, Kirkwood and NorthStar resorts. The IKON pass would open up Tahoe’s Palisades to you. Each of these ski resorts in Lake Tahoe area has its own vibe, and if you ski all of them yourself this upcoming season, you’ll find your own personal favorite based on terrain, community and experience.
Quick Tip: Think about buying the Local Pass which has some holiday days restricted. Since you will be a “local” for the season, you’ll have the luxury of skiing weekdays rather than busy holiday weekends.
Regardless of favorites, your pass may have to be chosen based more on logistics. The question that may help you decide which pass is best for you is “What form of transportation will you be relying on?” If you are flying out to your snow-bunny destination and you won’t be renting a car for the full length of your stay, you may want to consider staying closer to town and public transportation options rather than in a mountain house. Unless, of course, it’s a ski-in-ski-out house.
Consider the logistics
- Buy your season pass early
- Book a 30, 60 or 90 day short-term lease
- Bring your own equipment
- Consider renting a ski/board locker at your main resort
- Check the walkability score of your potential new neighborhood
- Find a local rental car agency
- Utilize the time change in your favor
As a professional working remote, one of the first items on your checklist when making arrangements to live in a new location is going to be consider the logistics. Most of the time, this branches out to include at least the above list of items and other times many more items. Below we walk through each, dissecting their importance and potential pros and cons.
Buy your season pass early
I mentioned this above, but I’ll reiterate it here because who doesn’t love to save. EPIC/IKON run early bird deals for their passes that can save you (depending on your pass chose) $215 – $310. Epic Pass prices start at $626 for limited “local” access and the nationwide, unrestricted passes start at $859 whereas, IKON Pass prices start at $919 for the Base Pass and the unrestricted passes start at $1,229.
Book a 30, 60 or 90 day short-term lease
When staying in the South Lake Tahoe, you will have higher success when booking a longer short-term rental due to the local restrictions around STR (Short Term Rentals). Each of the five different counties around Lake Tahoe have different regulations when it comes to STRs ranging from banning STRs completely to limiting the amount of home-owners that can hold a STR permit to having home-owners enter an annual lottery to win a STR permit. Since short-term vacation rentals are banned in the most desirable locations to the slopes of Heavenly, in theory, you will have better luck with long-term furnished rentals. FYI that means the stay must be 28 days or longer.
If you are looking for an incredible place to stay close to the slopes, check out this listing. The Blu Haus Nordic Retreat is your own oasis with a private hot tub, sauna and cold plunge included.
Bring your own equipment
Plan to bring your equipment with you. Most airlines consider ski bags as regular checked bags and not an oversized bag. Therefore, depending on the type of ticket you purchase (if the checked bag is included with your ticket or because of your credit card perks) you could be paying nothing extra or a checked baggage fee starting around $30 one-way. Bonus tip: the airlines will check a boot bag along with your ski bag at no extra cost as long as both bags do not exceed the 50 pound limit.
Consider renting a ski/board locker at your main resort
When traveling on public transportation to the mountain, finding a way to keep your equipment close to the lifts was key. The goal is to reduce the hassle of getting to the mountain. Don’t get me wrong, you will see plenty of people on the local bus with skis and boards headed to the mountain but it is nice not to have to lug your equipment back and forth each time, especially when you are trying to hit the slopes daily.
This is where your negotiating skills will come into play. Depending on where you are staying and which part of the ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area you plan on making your main entrance, you can run a Google search for local ski shops nearby and contact them to see if they will store your skis/board for the month or two you will be in the area. Keep in mind that Heavenly does not have ski storage lockers available for season rental, they only have day lockers and even those are too small to fit skis. There are services such as Ski Butler that will bring your gear right to the lift for you that you might want to consider as well. But it all goes back to price and the extended stay will work in benefit for some services and not in others. So don’t be afraid to ask and negotiate with the locals.
Check the walkability score of your potential new neighborhood
- Staying close to your home resort plus a grocery store, café, cocktail place and gym
- Don’t rule out public transportation
- Bring Yaktraxs for icy walks
When choosing your snow-bunny location, you’ll need to prioritize its walkability score. If you are looking to go mostly car-less for your extended stay in South Lake Tahoe, you will need to consider how far your two feet will get you. Can you walk or take the bus to the grocery store or a nearby coffee shop, restaurant or local bar? What about a gym? Take the time to Google map out your most frequent routes to understand the convenience or inconvenience of your potential neighborhood.
To take it a step further (pun intended), how does the town’s walkability score change in the winter months, if at all? Does this town prioritize clean sidewalks? How quickly will the town clean these sidewalks after a big snow storm? Hint: South Lake Tahoe township does a good job at clearing the sidewalks after winter storms.
Find a local rental car agency
Find a local rental car agency for all your weekend adventures, ideally one in walking distance. The workweek doesn’t allow for full-day adventures so why rent a car for your entire extended stay. Rent a car from Friday through Sunday and explore the area freely (Yosemite is a 4 hour drive away during the winter months).
Ideally you will find a local rental car agency that offers free pick-up and drop-off, and one that is in walking distance to your place so that you do not have to incur extra costs for Ubers or Lyfts. Keep in mind if you can walk to the agency from you place since you will most likely be returning your rental car after hours on Sundays and will need to walk or find a ride back home.
Utilize the time change in your favor
This one is my favorite even though I am not technically a morning person. If you work East coast hours, the time change will help you get more out of your day. Its a three-hour time difference from coast to coast, so your 9:00AM ET will be 6:00AM PT which means your 5:00PM ET is 2:00PM PT. This gives you at most 2 hours a day to ski daily.
Find out ways to beat jetlag, adjust to your new time zone and still excel at your East coast 9-5 here.
“To breathe the same air as angels, you have to go to Tahoe”
Mark Twain
Get Going
Now that you have the logistic considerations outlined for you, start searching for flights or planning your epic road trip out to Cali! Let me know which of the local ski resorts in Lake Tahoe ends up being your favorite!
- Find your new home (set parameters on a local map of which locations logistically work for you and stick to them)
- Plan your dates (stay flexible to your rental availability)
- Book your flights (maybe book a one-way, you may fall in love with Tahoe)
- Start packing (Ski Trip Packing List)
