Page 30 - 2019 Travel Guide to California

WINTER SPORTS
BY BILL FINK
Winter Wonderland
A sports paradise in any season
SKIING
CALIFORNIA
Snow play isn’t usually foremost
in people’s minds when they
think of California, but the state
has some of the best skiing in the
West. Mammoth Mountain is a
magnet for skiers from Southern
California, and the area around
Lake Tahoe offers more options
than anywhere in North America.
A lone skier enjoys a groomed
slope at Lake Tahoe, above.
Southern California has long been
known as a warm-weather winter vacation
area, with sports and outdoor activities
centered in San Diego and Los Angeles and
desert retreats like Palm Springs. But the
mountains of Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes
and Yosemite and across the Sierra Nevada
range beckon winter visitors who want to
embrace snow-based sports and recreation.
Sports
In winter, Southern California is still an
oasis for outdoor sports and adventure,
from golf to tennis, hiking and horseback
riding, whether in the still-baking desert
around Palm Springs or the perpetually
pleasant vacationland of San Diego or Los
Angeles. But for those seeking winter
sports, there may be no better place on
earth than the mountains surrounding
Lake Tahoe. The area hosted the 1960
Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley and con-
tinues to be home base for many U.S.
Winter Olympians who bang moguls, rip
the half-pipes and race on downhill runs at
more than a dozen area ski resorts. For the
non-extreme, plenty of beginner trails,
group lessons and smaller hills offer a safe
introduction to the sport.
Tahoe ski resorts including Squaw Valley,
Northstar and Heavenly also offer ice
skating rinks and inner tube runs for those
looking for more mellow activities, best
complemented with a fire pit and toasted
28 2019 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
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