2. Kirkwood Mountain Resort
Where: California
This is a year-round resort south of Lake Tahoe that centers around skiing and snowboarding in winter and hiking in the summer. Kirkwood is one of the area’s larger resorts and has one of the highest average snowfalls, but it is for the more advanced skiers. The mountain is unique in that it has a two-mile ridgeline at the top, making Kirkwood popular for cliff drops and cornices.
The average seasonal snowfall is 472 in second only to Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in the Sierra Nevada. You’ll find Kirkwood approximately 33 miles away from South Lake Tahoe, California, on State Route 88 and within the Eldorado National Forest. Most of the region’s resorts are at the northern end of the lake, near Truckee, California. Kirkwood, Sierra-at-Tahoe, and Heavenly are located on the southern side of the lake.
