Hay mama's - I am looking for a Tahoe vacation spot for the family. We have the week after Christmas off and want to bring our family to the snow in Lake Tahoe. The bad news? Planing very late! The good news, we do not need to be close to ski resorts and we could go Dec. 26 or 27 for four or five or six nights. We don't care if we are there for New Years but want to stay at least four nights. Our kids are young and we want to sled and just play in the snow! We would love a home or cabin, are very mellow and clean and want something decent that is not insanely costly.
Any suggestions? I have been on the net and I am having a hard time finding a reasonable place.
Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!
I have some friends with a lovely cabin, rented for that week, but if you wanted to choose a weekend their contact info is John ###-###-####. Hope you have a special week! LKG
My mother in law has a vacation house in Nevada City that she rents (http://www.vrbo.com/159480). That is where we go. It is only a short drive to the snow.
Best of luck!
Just wanted to add that if you end up going to Truckee or Tahoe City there is a cool spot called Granlibakken (spelling may be slightly off) that has a great snow park for the kids. You can rent disks and they have a great hill for the kids to go down. I'm sure they have a website because they also have condos there, which are pretty expensive. I went when my daughter was 2 and she had a blast.
CH
Unless you are set on being near the Lake, you might want to try Truckee... a little further from the Lake but I have found it to be a little more reasonable... also when looking in the Tahoe area- make sure the search include the Nevada side (so not Lake Tahoe proper) I Have found some great rates for condo on the Nevada side. Another possibility- again if you are not totally invested in going just to the Tahoe area- is to look at the Bear Valley area- (Murphys, Arnold, Big Trees) area- does not have the big name as Tahoe but really mellow if you are just looking for a getaway to the snow.
M.
http://www.rusticcottages.com/
We stayed here last year for our honeymoon. It was great! There is a sledding hill nearby and they have breakfast in the lodge (make your own waffles). The cottage we stayed in has a kitchenette and they have movies to borrow too! Have a great trip, wherever you end up!
Hi -- we love Holly's Place in south Lake Tahoe -- 2.5 GATED/FENCED acres -- individual well equipped cabins -- a rec room with big TV/ping pong -- QUIET at night - 2 blocks from the lake - 2 miles from Stateline - AND you can take your DOG!!!
Across the street is a huge recreation center with ice skating rink...1-800-745-7041 - www.hollysplace.com
Good luck!
If you just want snow, why not try some place besides Tahoe. There are lots of little towns in the Sierra foothills that would have snow. Try Mi Wuk Village.
If you are a AAA member call your local office and ask for the auto travel specialist. There is no charge for the service and they can often find things that you can't find on the internet. I use Pati in the Capitola office (she's amazing!), but it is my understanding that all offices have someone in her position. They will even give you maps with the route marked in highlighter so you won't get lost on the way. :o)
Our girl scout group is researching a snow getaway and one of the mothers found Bear Valley to be a good location. She has done preliminary research that has found house rentals and motels are cheaper than Tahoe. I think it's on highway 4. It sounds good.
I was just looking on VRBO.com for houses for rent in the same time frame. If you aren't worried about skiing then you could stay in Donner/Truckee area for less. There are sledding hills, etc. A lot of the houses for rent mention that they are walking distance to a sledding hill or even have a suitable backyard. Good luck.
Or, if you went SouthLake Tahoe there's a hotel called Montbleu we like to stay in. It has a great indoor pool/hottub (its built to look a little more like a natural outdoor waterfall setting) and its close to Heavenly Ski Resort, but its a hotel so its not the coziness of a rental house, but you can get really good deals there most of the time (because its also a casino).
You also want to think about where you are coming from because in the winter it can take several hours to get from North Lake to South Lake because they close the smaller roads due to snow. We prefer North Lake for a more rootsy experience to the casinos of SouthLake, but it really depends on where you are coming from. Have fun!! It will be very white, fluffy and fun!!
HI,
Try www.brockwaysprings.com this is furnished condo's in Kings Beach area. We go every Summer and winter with our 3 kids 7,5, and 3 years and it's perfect for them. All the condo's go from 1 bed 1 bath all the way up to 4bedrooms 3 baths. There is a great grass area in the summer that slopes down facing the lake and during the winter it's great for the kids. You don't need to drive anywhere to go sledding.
I'd be happy to answer any questions on the property if need be.
I agree with those that have suggested Truckee. It's a really cute town and an easy drive to the lake (about 30 minutes.)
We have been going up to Tahoe with our 3 kids every year for many years. Two things to keep in mind: one, north shore is an easier drive than south shore, and two, the Tahoe area is very crowded and expensive during the two weeks between Christmas and New Year. I doubt you will find any bargains at this time.
Another option is Yosemite. It is BEAUTIFUL in the winter and about the same distance from the bay area, plus the lodging around that area is a lot less expensive because it's not a major ski destination. Just a thought...
Good luck & have fun :)
Have you tried the eastern Sierra - such as Arnold and Murphy's out on HWY 4 by Bear Valley.
We took our boys there last year and had many cabins to choose from only with a week or two notice.
Try Cedar Creek Realty
http://cedarcreekrealty.com/
3 Peaks Resort is a nice family place. You can bring your dog if you want to take the dog(don't worry the rooms are nice and you can't tell a dog has ever been there), they have suites with a kitchen (save money on breakfast), a living room, a pull out sofa, a bedroom, a pool etc. And I don't remember it being very expensive (or we wouldn't have gone there.). Ha Have a fun time
after spending the day last week in Tahoe...starting lookng for cabins....but couldn't find much.....outside of Tahoe....on of my friends stated that the cabins outside of Tahoe tend to be closed down..no water, no heat etc in the winter....you might want to look at the hotels there..instead of the ones at hte ski resorts...look at the ones that are not by the ski resorts....we stayed once at the Cal Neva Hotel....one of the olest hotel/casino's there..but it hsa a lot of history.....since it was home of the "rat pack" etc...
You might try around Strawberry which is near Dodge Ridge ski resort near Sonora. Right next to the Strawberry general store is a little community of privately owned cabins. I don't recall the name of them, but we rented one to play in the snow and had a marvelous time. The cabin in stocked with all the dishes, etc and has games, tv. etc. There is also a guest book you can sign to describe your experience there. Search under Dodge Ridge/Strawberry and you may find these. We also stayed in some cabines right down the road from Dodge Ridge one time. These were kind of cold though, so you would want to make sure you have warm bedding. There were four bunks in the cabin. There was one larger cabin in this group that had a fire place and could sleep 6-8 I think.
