Squaw Valley or Olympic Valley as it’s proper name is the home to the 1960 Winter Olympics. Located off Highway 89 you cannot miss the entrance to Squaw Valley with the historic Olympic flame still burning. World-class skiing at Squaw/Alpine opens up to roughly 20 chairlifts, a tram and Funitel to shuttle you around the slopes. At the base area, you will find a vibrant village with a host of restaurants, pubs, shopping, and activities. There are firepits to warm beside in the winter and in the summer months they set up a fun mini-golf course and trampoline center offering activities to keep kids busy too. With oversize chairs and events nearly every weekend, there is an Instagram spot for everyone! And don’t miss the Chamois at the base for apres ski in the winter months. This original bar is a perennial winner in ski magazines for best happy hour and Junior, Katja and crew will make sure the beer and pizzas keep coming! The valley is also home to a Robert Trent Jones Jr golf course at the Resort at Squaw Creek. A links-style course offers rolling terrain with fabulous mountain vistas. There is a selection of housing in the valley from large hotels like the Resort at Squaw Creek, to slopeside condominiums in the village and any number of Creekside and mountainside homes and condominiums to own or rent. The most popular homesites include Hidden Lake, the Resort at Squaw Creek and Olympic Valley.
The ski area of Squaw/Alpine offers another base lodge area at Alpine Meadows. Once its own ski resort, the two powerhouses on the north shore combined for a fantastic ski experience. Alpine Meadows offers some great vistas of Lake Tahoe, powder fields and tree glades and some of the sunniest spring skiing on the backside of Sherwood Chair. There are about 13 chairlifts dotting the hill with the main base lodge, Bavarian chalet for snacks and Ice Bar on the backside to keep you refreshed. There are no large hotels at the base of Alpine Meadows, but a great selection of homes in Bear Creek, Juniper Mountain and Deer Park for lease or purchase. And not to be missed at the entrance off Highway 89 and the Truckee River is River Ranch Lodge. This lodge is the outtake for summer river rafting and offers great bbq food on the patio in the summer and apres-ski specials all winter long. The Crest Café across the street offers some of the yummiest sandwiches and goodies to go for a day of adventures too!