NO DOUBT THIS IS MY MOST FAVORITE SKI RESORT IN LAKE TAHOE!!! I have had some of the best and nicest experiences at Alpine Meadows and LOVE everything about this resort. Maybe just me, I tend to always ski BETTER at Alpine (as compared to Squaw, Heavenly, Kirkwood, Mount Rose, etc.). Call me biased and subjective (I don't care :P), but I have nothing bad to say about this place. Their lake view is spectacular and beautiful. To me, Alpine is a bit less intimidating than Squaw. Squaw to me is more for the advanced skiers (which I am not) and has more treacherous and challenging terrains. Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Alpine Meadows!!! P.S. Homewood is Alpine's sister resort and is just as nice, a little bit smaller but equally cool. Homewood's view is GORGEOUS and insanely breathtaking!!! :D read more

See all

$25 lift tickets. Yeah, you heard that right. I came on Alpine Meadows' Annual Community Benefit day, which raises money for charity and the proceeds from the day's lift ticket sales were donated to local Lake Tahoe programs. But I didn't hear anything after the $25 full-day lift ticket. The resort itself is pretty good. Not huge, but the runs offer a good amount of variety. The trails are average in length, but you can definitely spend quite a bit of time exploring. The lifts are not necessarily the "express" lifts that get you to the top of the mountain really quickly, but they do the job. We came later in the day, so the trails were pretty tracked up, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. The view from the top is amazing. You get a beautiful look at Lake Tahoe. There is a ski/snowboard park here, so if you're looking for some good jumps, head on over. I heard they're thinking of trying to connect Alpine Meadows to neighboring Squaw Valley. That would be pretty awesome, but that would probably also mean an increase in lift tickets to north of three figures, so no thanks for that. I don't know if it gets really crowded here, but I like that several of the local resorts have shifted to the RFID lift ticket system so you don't have to have someone scan your ticket everytime you get on the lift. It's also reloadable at the resort, so that saves resources. Keep Tahoe Blue, kids. read more

Palisades Tahoe Alpine Lodge - View from the top - Ski Resorts Near Me - Alpine Meadows, California

Awesome place to go skiing! People there were very nice and accommodating. Slopes were well groomed and perfect day of spring skiing.

So crowded during MLK weekend. I actually don't know how to ski but the prices looked steep. This is an expensive hobby. The lodge and cafeteria is all right. I was expecting fancier. Same goes for their bathrooms. My friends enjoyed the ski slopes. Day pass was like $140 and season pass like $400 something? A ski lesson for a day with rentals $200 ish? Maybe when I have money. They have shuttles if you park at the bottom of the mountain. read more

I can tell this is a mountain I want to get to know... After years and years of snowboarding, Alpine is definitely my peeps' fave resort. While I definitely find it hard to keep up, I love the challenge and knowing that some day I'll be bombing down the double diamonds. The lodge is decent with a fireplace and couches, but if you want a true Tahoe experience, try the mid-mountain Chalet Restaurant! It's a super cute little log cabin and a great pit stop for sausage, beers and an incredible view. At $58 for an adult day pass, it's still affordable, so take full advantage! read more

This is more like a 3.5 star review. I'll update after I actually board here. We planned this snow trip for weeks, but on Wednesday before our trip, I twisted my ankle at my friend's house (her kids dug a hole in her front lawn and I fell in it at night -- who lets their kids DIGS a hole in a lawn, and then lets the grass grow back over it?? That's called a BOOBY TRAP!). Argh. Although I was somewhat bummed to miss out on the fun, I thoroughly enjoyed my day as I was camped out in the lodge with a good book and a view of the Kids Club kids learning the basics of french fries and pizza. Both of my sons were in the Kids Club, so the vantage point was especially enjoyable for me (the little guy actually picked it up more than his brother, which we attribute to his lower center of gravity). This was the second ski school that my kids have gone to (the first one was at Boreal a year ago), and I have to say that this one is BY FAR a better experience for the little guys! I'd say that after one more ski school experience, they'll be ready to hit the slopes with us and tackle some green runs. One thing that I'm not certain about, and that is . . . since my husband and I are both boarders, will one of us (or both) have to temporarily switch back to skis to take the little ones up to the slopes for the first time? Or maybe we should teach them how to board? Hmm... The lodge had decent food -- nothing like Squaw Valley's awesome village, but nothing to complain about. A $6 bowl of clam chowder kept me going until dinner -- that and a contraband bag of popcorn that I bought from a market in Squaw Valley's village (several signs proclaimed NO BAG LUNCHES). Scott in the Alpine Bar kept me supplied with Guinness (alas, from a can -- no Guinness on tap). Umm, I was drinking beer so I wouldn't get any flak about hanging out in the log with my bag of popcorn. Yeah, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. A note to the management of Alpine Meadows: I'm not expecting a massive village like the one at Squaw, but please try to get a decent little store in for those of us who aren't skiing or boarding! A few books or magazines would have gone a long way toward keeping me happy. Instead, I had to debate about losing our primo parking space, head over to Squaw Valley and then have to find another space (word to those who enroll their kids in Kids' Camp -- if you pay $10, you can park in the designated Kids' Camp spaces. It's totally worth it if you get there kind of late-ish, but not worth it if you get there early and don't have too far to walk with tired kids, your gear and their gear). read more

I've honestly put this off for a while, but my girlfriend and I had a bit of an accident on the way back from the resort and the parking manager, Roy Richner, helped us out quite a lot. He saw that we couldn't move our car out of the road at all, so he took the initiative to set up cones along the road to divert the traffic from colliding with our car. It could've been dangerous, but he was really calm and reassuring. I honestly am thankful he was there to help us out and even keep us company as we waited for the tow truck to pick us up. read more

I'm stuck. I'm not good enough to bomb down the mountains with the boys, but I'm faster than the n00bs and have no patience to babysit. I know, I should man up and just bomb. But sometimes when I stare down the side of the mountain I just get scared. I can't help it. I really like Alpine. I like the high-tech ticket system. It's a rechargeable card versus the other resorts with the zip ties and the stickers. Bonus points. Avoid the crowds by hitting the backside. Plenty of powder to go around on a good day. They have long blues, too. Perfect for a mellow day of riding! read more

Wifey and I skied here twice over the Christmas holiday, and we'll be back. The biggest reason: ample ungroomed powder, even when it's been a few days since the last snow. Day one at Alpine was Christmas Day itself, and Wifey and I revived an old P. family tradition of cutting figure 8s all day long to celebrate the day on which Jesus was absolutely not born (that happened in the spring, as essentially all Biblical scholars agree). It had been a few days since the last snow, but many of the backside runs still had a few inches of ungroomed powder. I was demo'ing a beautiful pair of Line Prophet 100s, and they gobbled the powder all day long, like a 22-year-old stripper. An accidental wrong turn landed Wifey and I at the top of the Summit lift, beyond Wifey's usual comfort zone. Rather than bitch or cry about it, we stood at the lip, talked strategy, then I went first and showed her the line, and she carved it up like a champ. Family sports give you that rare opportunity to be immediately proud of your spouse. Day two was Sunday, at the tail end of the Christmas weekend. Overnight storms had deposited 3-4 inches of fresh pow-pow, and the storm kept going until noon. Despite frigid temps and end-of-trip legs, WIfey and I turned a half-day of lazy Ss into the light, fluffy clumps, traded high-fives, and called it a vacation. Also important (if you're anything like me), the food in the lodge was excellent, and service at the bar was prompt and reasonably cheap. Hey, you can't ski ALL day. read more

I got my pass pulled the first day using it 50 ft off a groomed trail in the normally open terrain of Alpine Bowl. The reason why Alpine only receives 1 star is due to the horrible experience I had when dealing with certain members of the ski patrol. Their attitude was simply rude and completely unwarranted most definitely due to our age (mid twenties). After taking the Roundhouse lift up my two friends and kept speed and made our way skiers right into the Alpine Bowl there was some good snow so we thought we would just hike up about 50 feet to catch a little more speed before the flat traverse below. Three ski patrol members noticed us and called us down to their position, we promptly came and met them. The ski patrol member rude from the beginning mentioned the area was closed and his "life was in danger" because of the high avalanche advisory (we were 50 feet above the groomed trail not yet at even elevation with the top of Roundhouse in the Alpine Bowl, a pitch of about 5-10 degrees, did I mention it was raining!!!) The one female ski patrol member was just smiling and laughing at the situation, until I asked her if "this situation was funny to her" the other ski patrol member was making it very serious she quickly removed the grin from her face. Way to be professional. We hadn't seen a sign and the Ski Patrol members preceded to point out two brown colored half buried signs about 1 square foot each used to block off about 150 meters of terrain. If the avalanche advisory was this serious, why was the area not roped off, why were the sings not bright colored and why were there not more signs indicating the closed terrain?!? This was negligence on the Alpine Meadow Ski Patrol and after the incident in 2012 you would think they take extra measures to ensure the safety of patrollers and public on the mountain. But this wasn't the case. They put all the blame on us pulled our passes!!! read more

A day in a life in skiing Alpine Meadows. $71 for a full day ticket and if you're a lazy ass like me, get there at 12:30 and get a 1/2 day ticket for $56. It is still expensive in today's economy. But I love Alpine Meadows. If you're stuck behind the morning Squaw traffic going south on 89, then you got up late. The next exit is Alpine. Get there super early or get there super late was my mantra, to avoid this jam. If you're really impatient, then ski Squaw, go up KT-22, go to back of Oly-lady and you can catch a glimpse of the Alpine Meadows parking lot to the south/south-west. Nehhh. There were many reasons why Alpine Meadows attracted me. In the 80's, they catered to handicapped skiers. But I like it because it's not as big as Squaw and the terrain can be as challenging. Like any major ski resorts there are different terrains. But get there late, and you will be hoofing it on that parking lot and ruining your fine Solomon boots. The front side of Alpine: go up to Ward Peak and 8637 ft, you'll have a nice panorama of Alpine chair to your (downhill) right, and bit of Scott Chair further to the right. To your downhill left, from Ward, there are a number of blue and black runs towards Granite Peak. I tend to ski this in the morning. Do some bowls, do some trees. Mid-morning, I would go up Scott Peak. Ski under the chair, where you will hit a couple of hour-glass traverse past the rocks. It is black diamond, steep and full of Volkswagen sized moguls. The added bonus? Everyone will watch you ski on your ass from the chair if you screw up. You can choose to go to the back side of Scott. The intermediate runs there are great in the winter and in the spring, rocks and high-plains grass begin to appear. Lots of kids practice their slaloms there. Early to Late afternoon: I do the high traverse up and beyond Alpine bowl. Bring your bagged lunch and sit down and feel the pain of having to side step up a couple of hundred feet. Munch your lunch while looking down at Alpine Bowl to the front and Sherman Bowl behind you. There are plenty of tree skiing on the back side. Once I parked my car at that road in the back; I traversed up then down back side, but got into immediate hell from ski patrols for having skied past closing and out of bounds. They threatened to call the Sheriff on me. "But, but, my car is parked here on this side..sir". They wagged their 20 year old finger at me and told me to take a taxi next time. I believe you can ski Alpine past the date when most ski resorts have to surrender their tenure to the US Forrest service. I've skied this place in the very very late spring-- when you're jumping from snow to snow avoiding rocks. I love this place. read more

I've only been skiing and snowboarding a handful of times, but Alpine Meadows is definitely my new favorite resort. Since it was only my second time skiing, I signed up for a beginner package that included a two hour lesson. The lesson was amazingly good- just two of us in the class and thus we received a ton of personalized attention the entire time. The instructor was incredibly helpful and just a really nice guy too. And now I can say I finally know how to ski! That'd be beginner slopes, at least. So much fun and all around an awesome experience. My more advanced friends also enjoyed themselves, and made their way all over the mountain. Less crowded than the bigger resorts, so there was never a line at the ski lifts either. Also really nice that the lift tickets are reasonable too- practically half the price of Heavenly. read more

I paid $104 for an adult lift ticket, $89 for a teen and $58 for kids. Those prices are outrageous. I was having a tough day and tried to cash my ticket in for 1/2 days credit at 11:30am. The clerk said, "nice try we don't do that any more". Great response for some who just spent $300 on lift tickets.. Then I tried to use the paid value of an Expired Groupon ticket to purchase lifts tickets at Squaw which has merged with Alpine. By law they have to honor the paid value of these coupons but they told me to basically take a hike and go back to GroupOn, Good luck with that. It seems the new owners only want rich clientle and don't care about those of us on a budget trying to ski. read more

This was my first time skiing and they were incredible! Starting with the first person saying hello to us to our instructor, Tim, everyone were kind, generous, patient, and extremely helpful! Can't wait to come back here! read more

Got my pass pulled because I was "going to fast" trying to keep my speed up before a flat , patroller Brian said "it's called the trail of tears we don't care if it's hard for you" this guy needs to learn how to talk to people and not be rude he just made me want to break the rules more to be honest , there was not one person on the trail in front of me and I was obviously in control there was no reason to treat me so rudely read more

My ultimate favorite place to ski.......I taught two people how to ski here and its not as busy as Northstar and Squaw and its not as far away or susceptible to weather conditions as Mt Rose. I'm really looking forward to this ski season and going on all the runs that this mountain has to offer!!!!!!woooohoooooo The ski instructors are great no matter what level you are at!!! Everyone who works here is really nice and they have a kick ass bar. The best is that their smugglers (hot coco and peppermint schnapps) hit the spot during midday skiing and the Merlot is great here...not sure if its the altitude or what:) see y'all on the slopes! read more

Well the Easter Bunny didn't show up for the kids as planned on Easter Sunday at 9 am. But that's what you get when Alpine let's a bunch of hung over stoners manage the event. Don't worry kids, Daddy's going to save Easter. And we're skiing away.... read more

Hear hear! Only one other resort has been rated 5 stars by me and that's June Mountain. So what do I love about Alpine Meadows? There's a great variety of terrain here. The front side is a little more mellow and has what you expect from any legit resort. The backside is definitely more challenging, fun, and sparse. Do a few runs on the front to warm up and get yourself back there! The bowls are really incredible and you should go experience them for yourself. I wouldn't give any resort 5 stars unless it met my most important criterion: grooming. A resort can't control it's size, how much snow it gets etc but it sure can control its grooming quality. Alpine has the best grooming of any Tahoe resort I've been too. I'm talking Grade A world class cord. They really know what they're doing and if you're going to get first tracks somewhere, make them at Alpine. No crowds! I hate dealing with crowds. If you like to freecarve like me you need all the room you can get. I had more room than I needed but I'm greedy like that. I really hate waiting in lift lines too and never had to do that once. The staff here is so friendly and my friend took a ski lesson here. He reports great instruction. It's almost like this is a mom-and-pop run place. You always walk away smiling after a ripping day. read more

CONDITIONS WERE HORRIBLE! Ski here if you hate your skiis. I asked for a refund and they said "now way" - didn't you enjoy the runs you made while destroying your skiis on the mountain? I am very upset on how they misrepresented the conditions and refused to make good once they had my money. They should not have been open. There were places where you could NOT get around giant rocks on the trail. If you must ski - rent them at the mountain and get out early when freshly groomed and all the people are not packed on the few rocky and muddy slopes open. Alpine was bought by Squaw. I love both of these mountains but now I have a bad taste in my mouth. I am going to stick to the smaller (and cheaper) a(nd more personal )smaller ski areas in the area. read more

I can't really compare to other West Coast snowboarding experiences (since this was my first time) and WHEW was I blown away. These runs are amazing (compared to any poo poo East Coast runs of course)! If I had to summarize Alpine Meadows to my friends it would be: 1) Way too many lifts that take you to all parts of the mountain 2) The Lakeview Lift (how appropriate) that will give you an amazing view of Lake Tahoe on a clear day 3) The Ward peak gives you the most variety of runs and types 4) There are a lot of trees and narrow slopes 5) Hot Wheels Gully was my favorite run only because it's a very narrow run in like a little valley surrounded by hills on both sides. 6) Not a good mountain for snowboarders (too many flat parts) Can I emphasize that there are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too many flat parts? I think I was exhausted from all the unstrapping and walking that I had to do in between these flat parts. TOO MANY FLAT PARTS! read more

Unfortunately, I am rating this lower mostly based on the staff and the patrons, not so much on the mountain. The mountain/terrain was (in my opinion) just okay. However, I don't typically prefer a lot of steep terrain, or if I do, I prefer it to be mixed with semi-steep terrain. It was very mogully when I was there too, because 9 of 10 people at this resort seemed to be skiiers. It was very much a family resort, and I found that both the staff and the patrons were EXTREMELY unfriendly. They almost had a sense of arrogance and "why are you talking to ME?" attitude. I personally wasn't very impressed but will probably give it another try. The nicest people I met there were in the parking lot. The parking lot is easy to get lost in. The view is gorgeous but I go for a number of reasons and because the staff and patrons were rude, I doubt that if I go back I'll come by myself because I wont anticipate meeting any friendly folks to share a conversation with on the lift. read more

Damn, this place made my weekend so sweet. We rented a big-ass cabin in Tahoe City with a panoramic view of the lake and a hot tub. Then we got to check out Alpine for the first time. Thanks to Cat D. for the great idea. A bunch of my co-workers and I signed up for GLTR, which is this thing that Alpine does with Active.com-- it's called Girls Learn to Ride and for a discounted price, women can get a 2hr snowboarding lesson, an all-day lift ticket and equipment rental for the day. I already knew how to snowboard, but it was fun taking the lesson anyway and trying to do those crazy toe-side turns that I still can't do. The instructors at Alpine (Katie and Ashley) were totally awesome and incredibly cute. Alpine's cheaper than Squaw (though not as fancy, but whatever, I can do without the pretentious types), and it's a little higher up in elevation and not as crowded as some of the even cheaper resorts, so it's kind of my favorite place to snowboard right now. read more

Eric and I have this habit of trying something once, loving it, and then going out and buying all the equipment for it soon thereafter...which is kind of dumb if you think about it, because if we dont follow through with it...we then end up with a bunch of junk in our house that is going unused. I think we've found a new hobby to buy stuff for.... We took the 1/2 day lessons today - he took snowboard lessons, and I took skiing lessons (both of us are first timers) and it was so AWESOME! I think that the rates were reasonable for what it included. I was so thrilled, I laughed the whole way up and down the stupid little bunny slopes. ...and this is just the beginning for me. Being a first time skiier, I could handle an hour and a half and I was finished! The teachers and ALL of the staff were super friendly, helpful, and patient! They had great personalities, and were passionate about the sport. Their encouraging words and lessons were such a huge help. AWESOME! read more

Resorts suck. I hate Squaw and Whistler and I care barely stand Northstar. But Alpine Meadows has some of the sickest terrain on the North Shore, with a great vibe, and great parks too. Dropping in off a cornice? A cliff? Want to grind some rocks in the spring? It has it all. It was super icy, and the mountain orientation isn't that great for spring riding, but with runs for every ability level (including some way too flat for n00b skiers) it was great running all over this mountain bombing around, ollie off a lip and keep on going. I had a great time here and will certainly be back. read more

Thank you for the Epic day of ski lessons and great conversation! Your staff was amazing and all the greeters at the resort made me feel very welcome and made it easy to find my way around!! The Worlds Largest Ski Lesson was a blast and I am excited to have anew winter sport to pursue!! read more

See all

The reason for the three stars is because, well...I'm not that advanced. And by "not that advanced" I mean I can hardly go down an easy blue without falling on my head (but hey, it's fun!) At any rate, Alpine Meadows is a good place if you're quite the snowboarding aficionado and can carve like a sculptor. However, for the people who are around the same level that I described, you might not have as much of a blast. The blue routes are harder than the ones at NorthStar, and I ended up having a difficult time on one of them (and had to heel it down most of the way). Hot Wheels may be the easiest blue, but there is also a pretty frustrating flat part so DO NOT SLOW DOWN. Seriously, you'll thank me later when you're not undoing your binding and gimping along the rest of the way. The greens? Um. If it's your first or second time, maybe you should save your inaugural snowboarding trip for another place and just enjoy the hot chocolate and baileys in the lodge. read more

Woohoo! - I just had an awesome day of snowboarding at Alpine Meadows w/ few buddies yesterday after the big storm. Adult lift tickets cost $56/person at SportsBasement (although I've been told you could score some tickets for $50/person at Costco). I took off work on Tuesday as usual, got home, packed up and drove back to San Jo to pick up my snowboarding gear. Had dinner back in San Jo then headed up to San Mateo. We didn't go to bed till ~1am - woke up at 3am and started loading the car and makin' our journey up to Tahoe. Roads nice and clear, hardly any traffic (considering it was the middle of the week, I would've been surprised and pissed if there was heavy traffic). We got to Alpine Meadows and were able to score parking right in front of the resort @ 8am. The weather was nice and sunny, lifts were open, no crowds, and did not have to wait in line. I lost my camera during my first run, because I hadn't gone snowboarding in over 3 seasons, and I've never been in such freakin' light powder. So kinda bummed that I lost some great pics, and now I gotta buy another camera. I spent the day tryin' to get used to carving and the speed of boardin' again, so I stayed on the blue squares (too scared to try black diamonds). This resort also has a nice section of ramps and boxes for you to do jumps and grind on - next time, I gotta hit up this spot. My buddies are hella more experienced than me, so they were able to make 2-3 runs before I even finished one run down the mountain. I got stuck in the powder several times, and it really wore me out struggling to get loose and back on my way. Buddies also threw snowballs at me to get me movin' again - thanks a lot guys - you bastards. By the end of the day, we were all hella exhausted, stopped by Auburn to grub on some In N' Out. I was super-exhausted, and didn't make it back to SF till around 11ish last night. Spent a whole day at work hella sore all over, so was it all worth it? - Yep :^D I'm plannin' on comin' back up to Alpine Meadows again next week. read more

This rating is based on the ski resort itself not the lack of snowfall this year. I went up to Tahoe for the first time this year. I was fortunate enough to get a lift ticket deal on liftopia for Alpine and Squaw. Went to Squaw the first day and Alpine the next. After being at Alpine I had wished I had went there both days. Granted its not on par with the mountains in Colorado but in comparison to Squaw it was fantastic. The runs had a lot more diversity and the quality of the runs was far better. There is no big village at the base of the mountain but, personally I don't need that. The cafeteria was more than adequate for my eating and drink needs. Also the parking lot is so close that you could easily pack a cooler. Also the lines were alot quicker/shorter. So if you are deciding between the two (Squaw, Alpine) go to Alpine! read more

To me the most important aspect of a ski resort is its terrain. The weather didn't bless me with ideal snow conditions for my two visits to Alpine Meadows this season, but I can see this mountain's potential. This would be a fun place to traverse the steeps and explore the natural terrain away from the lifts, but my access was limited due to hard ice or high winds. Still, I had fun riding the groomed runs and small park and I'd definitely come back again next season. The lifts are not very fast here but it never felt overcrowded with people. Ticket prices are decent, plus they run several promotions and discounts throughout the season. Parking is paved, close to the lodge, and serviced by shuttles. This is a good example of a ski resort that walks the line between a small local resort and a large corporate one. I would up my rating to five stars if they expanded their ski area and added more lifts. read more

Having grown up skiing Tahoe, I actually have a soft spot in my heart for Alpine because this is where I learned back in 85! HOWEVER, being an adult, and being a pretty damn good skiier,who has skiied at Whistler, Breckenridge, Sun Valley, A Basin, (and back east which really isn't worth mentioning!) I just don't have the patience to sit on their old school lifts that take forever to get to the top of the more advanced runs. Yes the lift tickets are cheaper here, but you get one main lodge and old slow lifts. Bottom line is if you want to really get some decent skiing in anywhere, I suggest going during the week, otherwise you stand in the lift lines all day. And I have stood in some major lines at Alpine. Same for Squaw but you really get to weed out the beginners and the advanced by going on KT, Mad Dog, Granite Chief etc...I feel like at Alpine you might think you're better than you really are because you are in most of the same lifts with experts. There is alot of easy terrain at Alpine, more so than Squaw and Mt Rose. The 3 stars is for the terrain and 1 star for cost of ticket. I would ski here more if there were faster lifts, but I'll always love my little Mt Rose, the difficult terrain, the better snow quality, the fast lifts and the cheap season pass! read more

Have loved skiing here for over 40 years. Great mountain. BUT am sooo disappointed in the food at the Chalet!! My sausage was in a stale bun, so ended up just eating the sausage alone. No chili?!! Wimpy hot chocolate. And NO cookies? And sooo expensive. I got Apple strudel instead of the non-existent cookies ($9!!!), and, although nice and warm, had soggy pastry and certainly not $9 worth. You used to serve great sandwiches, chili and other good stuff, including home-made cookies. What happened? read more

So having the Squaw/Alpine season pass and not being that familiar with Alpine couldn't understand why so many people we talked to loved Alpine so much. Then we snowboarded multiple powder days there and wow now we get it. Get's so much more snow than Squaw. On a white out day which we love since the slopes are empty and the snow is plentiful, at Squaw the entire upper mountain shuts down. At Alpine it seems like you can get untracked powder everywhere. Our last week we did one day at Squaw and 4 straight days at Alpine cuz it just was so good. Doesn't have the frills of a fancy lodge area. Really the one inside bar and on the weekends they got the bar outside that's it but it's a great chill vibe. People are pretty nice. My one gripe is that parking lot. I don't mind that the snow builds up but damn if it rains and freezes over it literally becomes an ice skating rink. Not safe and not fun you bite it and land on your ass. read more

Alpine Meadows is my favorite destination in Tahoe by leaps and bounds. I love everything about this mountain; the comfort of the Summit Six chair, racing down Wolverine Bowl, chili cheese fries for lunch, the friendly staff, the view of the lake when you get off Lakeview Chair, and carving down my favorite run, Palisades, on a powder day. If you are a skier, this is your mountain; I've gone with friends that snowboard who don't enjoy it nearly as much as my skier friends though, so beware. I give Alpine Meadows my highest recommendation to anyone looking for a great place to ski and enjoy Tahoe. read more

If you're looking to ride/ski at Alpine Meadows, the easy-to-find lifts on the front of the mountain are great. They provide direct access to a good number of runs for every ability level. The fresh on a pow day will get tracked out pretty quickly though, but you have only yourself to blame for making it to the mountain late anyway. But if you're looking for the goods at 2 in the afternoon... go with someone who knows the mountain. That's what I did my first time I rode AM, and damn, it made all the difference. Of note (that I feel like sharing) was Sherwood on the backside and its expansive bowls, insane tree riding (I don't know if it's actually awesome or because I was a little high, but I'm almost positive it's the former), and short lift lines throughout the day made the short trek and traversing more than worth it. One downside (not applicable to most people, thankfully for you all): the terrain parks need a lot of work. I don't see why they even bother promoting it on their website because they're a pain in the ass to access, their terrain selection is limited and super sketchy to boot. Not a fan of launching myself 40 feet forward without knowing if the transition was built at a safe angle. Also, their lift access scanning is state of the art. There isn't some under paid, over baked liftie standing there scanning peoples' tickets/passes; instead, when you buy a lift ticket you get an RFID card that you can put anywhere on your upper body and you're scanned by a gate at the bottom of each lift. More resorts need to adopt this technology because it's totally the bees knees. Unless, of course, you like the idea of some Australian reaching for your pass that always seems to be hanging right in front of your junk. read more

I decided to check out Alpine this past weekend on the recommendation of several co-workers. It's definitely a great family resort and since my younger cousins came along, it was perfect! We left home super early to make sure we got here before 9 AM - It was well worth it! There was no traffic pulling into the resort and parking was plentiful, and so all the cars in our party were next to each other. We hit the slopes around 9:30 - lines for the lifts were very short and the runs were fantastic! We did mostly the blue runs which were nice and wide and weren't too crowded. There's a breathtaking view of Lake Tahoe at Scott Peak so we took plenty of pictures. There's a photographer up there who was nice enough to take a group pic for us. They (Alpine) also takes one with their camera - the picture can be purchased in the lodge. The people who ski/snowboard here are very polite, (I've encountered some very rude people on the slopes at other resorts!) so it's a great atmosphere to enjoy a wonderful day of sun and snow! The lodge is large and comfortable. We wanted to beat the lunch crowd so we ate around 11:30. Again, no lines and plenty of tables to seat our entire party of 10! The food was priced ok - I had a chicken teriyaki 'wich ($7.75) and Alan had a double cheeseburger meal with fries and a small drink ($12.50). The chicken sandwich, 1 star, was very dry and plain! The cheeseburger, 3 star, on the otherhand was huge and quite tasty. The fries were nice crispy, which is always a plus. Drink refills are $.25, which I guess isn't too bad. They also have a huge philly cheesesteak ($7.75) that looked very good - I'll be trying that next time. We left around 5 PM and hit some traffic on the way out, but nothing too major. I had a great time here and will be back soon for sure! read more

Mix in some of the tastiest powder in all of Tahoe, great steeps, true black diamond runs (hint hint Northstar), a friendly staff and smaller crowds than the neighboring Squaw Valley and you have the Alpine Meadows experience. Even when the parking lots were completely full, the mountain seemed uncrowded and you had room to roam and find those powder stashes. The good stuff isn't just on the mountain, the staff in the lodge makes sure your food is worth the steep price you're paying and the drinks are stiff and satisfying. They have some great experiences at Alpine, whether it's the powder filled Alpine Bowl, sitting out in the sun with some suds at the Ice Bar or diving down the steeps of Wolverine (just watch out for the double black Waterfall!). One knock, Ray's Rut could use a little grading. The flat cat-track is so draining for us boarders that you almost have to stop for a beer at the Ice Bar. Most boarders flat spot out only about 100 yards into the trail and then it's a long slow grind to complete the ride. read more

This place is a SKI resort, it is LITERALLY DOMINATED by skiers. I think I saw a handful of snowboarders during my entire day here. But guess what, I am a SNOWBOARDER. This place is amazing, I didn't even see one mogul'd run all day because the entire resort is so huge and open its very difficult to be disappointed. Even their back country runs are very easy to get to and when you come down them you can still get back tot he lift so easily. This place was amazing hands down. read more

The sales people are sitting in front of me while currently figuring out how to make their own sales software work. We're doing a half day ticket, so every 10 minutes is a lost run. They have now taken 30 minutes to figure out how their own sales software works. read more

Great place for the whole family to ski/board. My family started skiing here when I was 5 years old because no other resort we tried in Tahoe had both a high level of terrain difficulty for the more advanced skiers/snowboarders and such a kid-friendly ski school/ski team program. If you want to put your kid in a ski program so that he can grow up to become an olympic racer, go to Squaw. However, if what you want from putting your kid in ski school is that your kid wants to come back and do it again, Alpine is the place to go. Another thing that makes Alpine so great for families is that it has a true base lodge at the bottom, unlike Squaw or Northstar, where you can sit down and relax and change your boots and whatnot. There's even a "Kids Zone." You feel a little bit safer about not getting your stuff stolen that at some other resorts. read more

The conditions were great, the staff is friendly. The lifts are awesome especially the new one. That was the best ski day of my year so far!