Page 51 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

SKIING WITH VIEWS of Lake Tahoe at Heavenly Mountain
Resort, right; climbing in snow on Mount Shasta, below;
snowboarding off-piste at Donner Pass, opposite.
mountain scenery. South of Tahoe, Mam-
moth Mountain boasts a world-class ski
resort, while Big Bear offers skiing within a
reasonable commute from Los Angeles,
enabling the highly motivated to surf and
ski in a single day. Outside of the ski resorts,
snowmobiling provides high-octane motor
sport fun, while dogsledding is a way to
enjoy a different sort of ride with some furry
friends. For the adventurous, remote back-
country skiing, the increasingly popular
“sidecountry” Alpine Touring connected to
the ski resorts, ice climbing and hut-to-hut
hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains can
feed one’s hunger for adrenaline.
The Great Outdoors
Step away from organized resort sports and
there’s still a wealth of winter outdoor
activities in California. The bears may be
hibernating but that doesn’t mean you
have to as well. Avoiding the hot summer
months means visitors can enjoy tem-
perate winter hiking and camping
opportunities in desert parks such as Death
Valley, Joshua Tree and around Palm
Springs (but be forewarned that the nights
can still get frigid). Prior to snowfall, the
Sierra Nevada mountain forests are ablaze
with colorful fall foliage, making a drive
through the hills a prime “shoulder
season” activity.
Wintertime means an escape from the
summer crowds in famed Yosemite
National Park. Visit the near-empty wilder-
ness to enjoy a quiet blanket of snow
covering towering cliffs, the sun glistening
off frozen waterfalls and the muffled
clomping sound of guided snowshoe tours.
Hot springs around Mammoth Lakes pro-
vide some toasty outdoor relaxation with a
view of snowcapped mountains. Or, per-
haps bundle up and climb a mountain for
some prime star-gazing opportunities in
the crisp mountain air, then add a few
more layers and try some ice fishing on a
high alpine lake.
Winter also is the time when visitors
can spot many animals migrating south to
follow the sun. From massive gray whales
to miniature monarch butterflies, flocks of
birds in the central wetlands and pods of
seals come to mate on the shores of the
Pacific, the world’s wildlife also seems to
think that California’s outdoors is a great
place to visit in winter.
» FIND YOUR
SPORT
Skiing
skilaketahoe.com
mammothmountain.com
bearmountain.com
xcski.org
Hiking/Camping
yosemitepark.com
nps.gov/state/ca
parks.ca.gov
Wildlife
whalewatching.com/california
birding.com/wheretobird/california.asp
dfg.ca.gov/wildlife
2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 49