Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley)

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Heather Burke
SnowPak Local Insider
Heather Burke

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Pros
  • Largest ski resort in California
  • Legendary reputation for high snowfall and notorious steeps
  • High standard of grooming on steep trails
Cons
  • Crowds and long lines on powder days

Overall

4.4

Squaw Valley combined with Alpine Meadows becomes the largest Californian ski resort of legends, home of the world’s first double chair in 1949, host of the 1960 Winter Olympics, and training ground to pro skiers. Although both are technically separate ski areas, there are plans to connect the two via gondola. Nonetheless, both are covered by the same lift ticket which gives you massive 6,000 ac to explore!

Best month to go

Mid-February to Mid-March

Mid Feb to Mid March are the best months to visit. There is nothing worse than holiday crowds to add to the terrible lift queues at Squaw Valley during Christmas and New Years.

FLY TO

Reno-Tahoe International Airport

DRIVE/SHUTTLE/TAXI TO

Squaw Valley (Palisades Tahoe) (1 hour)

Base of Squaw Valley (Walk)

  • Expensive and often limited lodging
  • Ski-in/ski-out accommodation available
  • Most convenient location to the slopes

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Alpine Meadows (1-2 mi)

  • No ski-in/ski-out lodging
  • Limited range of chalets and vacation rentals including Airbnb's
  • Less dining options than Squaw Valley

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Truckee (10-15 mi)

  • Small town with affordable accommodation
  • 20-30 minutes drive away with ski traffic
  • Has more variety of dining, bars and shopping than Tahoe City

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Tahoe City (5-10 mi)

  • Closer to the ski resort than Truckee
  • 20-30 minutes drive away with ski traffic
  • Affordable accommodation and has amazing views of the lake

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For beginners

Squaw Valley is where beginners will want to go! Most of the green slopes here are in the upper mid-mountain so beginners can join the more experienced skiers higher up! Hop aboard the Big Blue Express lift to access some of the best long green runs here!

For intermediates

We'd pick Alpine Meadows over Squaw Valley for intermediates as the runs are generally less crowded and there are tons of blues to cruise. Our favorites here include the Rock Garden Run off the Summit Express lift or Outer Limits off the Lakeview Chair for stunning vistas of Lake Tahoe. In Squaw Valley Lakeview Run and Knob Hill are great long runs worth trying out but our to-die-for run here is The Attic.

For experts

Both Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows have expert terrain but if we had to pick one, it would be Squaw Valley. Notorious for its steeps, Squaw Valley's best chutes and cliffs can be accessed by the KT-22 Express lift! The Silverado lift is also perfect for those looking for some crowd-free shredding. Otherwise, in Alpine Meadows, the powder-filled Beaver Bowl and Estelle Bowls are incredible!

Find freshies

Freshies are easy to find even days after a storm. If you're up for a hike, the advanced rated Beaver Bowl and Estelle Bowl off the Summit Express lift in Alpine Meadows has plenty of hidden powder stashes!

Ditch the crowds

Crowds are inevitable on powder days and they're especially worse in Squaw Valley. Squaw Valley is also notorious for their terrible lift lines with the Gold Coast Funitel and Shirley Lake Express being two of the busiest lifts! Avoid them during peak times if you hate long waits!

Non skiers

Non-skiers will have a range of things to do here including dogsledding and Nordic skiing. There are also Casinos over in Stateline Nevada or if you're lucky enough to be visiting in April, the annual WinterWonderGrass California Music and Brew Festival at Squaw Valley is tons of fun for everyone!

Families

Both Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are quite family-friendly, though Squaw Valley has more facilities suitable for children as well as a larger ski school. Squaw Valley's base village also easy to walk around and has an abundance of restaurants for fuelling up.

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Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) Reviews

Fabulous 4.3 / 5
based on 57 reviews

How well the resort caters for beginner skiers / boarders

Beginners

How well the resort caters for intermediate skiers / boarders?

Intermediates

How well the resort caters for advanced skiers / boarders

Advanced

How accessible and convenient it is to get to this resort from a major destination

Accessibility

Quality of the off-piste terrain

Side/Backcountry

Overall value for money of the resort

Value for money

Quality of lifts, lift speed and lift layout in the resort

Lifts

Quantity and quality of the snow

Snow

How uncrowded is the resort

Uncrowded

Après ski and dining options

Town

Services and facilities e.g. child care, tubing, health care, equipment hire

Facilities

How family friendly is this resort?

Family Friendliness
Fabulous!4.3 / 5Oct 15, 2021
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsJames F.
advanced skier
Squaw is a Big all day fun mountain with varying terrain. Love this mountain for my kids who are growing into the little ripper status. Nothing like KT on Fresh powder day for dad. Hop over to alpine for some tree skiing and the hiking is great.... More
Superb!4.8 / 5Oct 15, 2021
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsRichard A.
advanced skier
The skiing was excellent My daughter loved her private lesson She was skiing intermediate by the 2nd day what great place to take the family everything you need is in the village the lodge is beautiful... More
Fabulous!4.3 / 5Oct 15, 2021
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsTanya F.
beginner skier
Squaw Valley is a great place to learn how to ski! There is some beginner terrain on the upper mountain with beautiful scenery and it’s a fun transition to some harder runs once you’re ready.... More
Superb!4.6 / 5Oct 15, 2021
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsChristina P.
advanced skier
My favorite local mountain and my home mountain. Squaw has so much terrain and skiable area. Also gets tons of snow. Good for wide open skiing and steeps. Alpine is my personal favorite for tree skiing and has more tree options than Squaw. Both are great and there is a shuttle running in between them. Pretty easy to get to both but traffic can get... More
Very Good!4.1 / 5Sep 07, 2020
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsFeli R.
intermediate snowboarder
We love squaw. It was there that my then kindergarten son learned how to snowboard. My husband and I took our first snowboard lesson there too. We used to go there all the time and stay at the SVResort until we bought our winter home in a different area. Recruit g is pretty convenient and provoke us super friendly.... More
Fabulous!4.5 / 5Jan 05, 2020
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsWilliam W.
advanced snowboarder
Squaw Valley is a stunning mountain with more than enough space to keep you from seeing it all through the whole weekend. Alpine Meadows is a fantastic park with great spots to enjoy. You won’t get bored on either of these resorts.... More
Superb!4.9 / 5Nov 19, 2019
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsRock H.
beginner snowboarder
Outstanding experience from beginning to end. Squaw has everything you could want and then some. From beginner to advanced, this mountain had you covered. Why go elsewhere and pay more when you can experience the best right here?... More
Superb!4.8 / 5Nov 19, 2019
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsScott H.
advanced skier
Amazing terrain set in a gorgeous valley with world class skiing. The area is vast and serves the pros to the beginner skiier. It’s truly a special place. After many seasons and unforgettable days skiing there it’s simply awesome... More
Superb!4.9 / 5Sep 30, 2019
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsJosh K.
expert skier
Squaw / Alpine has it all - best of both worlds... Alpine still holds onto that classic local feel resort while offering some of my favorite stashes of tree skiing and hidden gems, there’s always a fresh stash to be found! Squaw is the place to go to see some of the best skiers in the world, and there is a reason for that... amazing terrain!!! ... More
Superb!4.9 / 5Sep 26, 2019
Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) ReviewsSholom W.
intermediate skier
A smaller mountain compared to mammoth. But dont let that fool you. The slopes are great and the town is fun too. Lots of trees and alot of nature to see. Make the trip.... More