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 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 resorts including Squaw Valley,
Northstar and Heavenly feature ice skating
rinks and innertube runs for those looking
72 2 0 1 6 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A
A Grand Season for Play
Bears may be hibernating in winter, but California's many winter
activities provide lots of reasons to get outdoors
BY BILL FINK
PLAYING IN SNOW
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, with the area around Lake
Tahoe offering more options than
anywhere in North America.
Young snowboarders are ready to
aZack the Mammoth Unbound
terrain park at Mammoth
Mountain Ski Area, above.
PETER
MORNING/MAMMOTH
MOUNTAIN
SKI
AREA
.
OPPOSITE:
DELAWARE
NORTH
AT
YOSEMITE;
MONOCOUNTY.ORG
WINTER SPORTS
