California's winter wonderland!

Snowy, wintery, white Lake Tahoe. First snow experience for Toddler S.

Lake Tahoe is town north east of San Francisco and a GREAT destination as close as it can get to experiencing snow!

We have been talking to Toddler S about snow, making snow man, skiing, snowboarding (so many snow activities) and so wanted to make a weekend trip to experience it all.

I was a little skeptical at first but it turned about to be an AWESOME experience...

Hotel: There are great ski resorts in Tahoe but also expensive depending on where you go. We were headed to North Lake Tahoe and so some folks have suggested us to actually stay in Trukee (haven't tried that but soon).

As parents we now do prefer Airbnb's where we can, over hotels. With a larger group this time, we did book an Airbnb and it was an absolutely lovely suite with great views( a river running by the side)

Alpine Meadows

This is very close to Squaw valley and looked like a part of community.

Pros : Very close to Squaw valley and ~50 mins to Soda springs resort. Includes a kitchen with full range of appliances etc.

Cons : Nothing really!

Itinerary : (We had swapped Day 2 and Day 3, but I recommend as below)

Day1 :  Travel to North Lake Tahoe and reach late evening.

Day2 : Snow day !

Go to Soda Springs Ski resort.

Day3 : Visit Squaw valley and travel back

Tips :

• Buy resort tickets online for Soda Springs (they are cheaper online than when you buy then in person)

• Buy good snow cloths (Snow pants, shoes, jackets)

Toddler and snow activities !

Soda Springs Ski resort is a great place for kids. They have a separate are for younger kids (Planet kids) and I felt like Toddler S had the best time there.

Planet kids has snow tubing, snow boarding, skiing activities for kids.

Print your tickets online and exchange them for a pass at the ticket counter. Once you receive your pass, enter the area and you will find the shuttle/ bus to planet kids on the right towards the cable car. The shuttle runs every 5 mins and is very convenient. Its not a long way but with a 2.5 year old definitely helps :)

Once you get there, kids can try all of the activities out there. Toddler S had a ton of fun snow tubing and snow boarding.

Lounging on a snow tube and enjoying a sunny day!

Well, I think I am just going to drag the tube down :P

Trying out snow boarding.

Look, look momma I found a snow rock. A big snow rock!

A very deep conversation with daddy! This was around our Airbnb.

Some folks built a cute snow man and we enjoyed taking pictures ;)