Holiday Charm in Lake Tahoe
| 12 October 2009
Tahoe City, CA - White Christmases aren’t just for dreamers. Just as North Lake Tahoe begins to glisten with early season snow, the area's ski resorts and restaurants are decking the halls to create a special holiday season for travelers.
Squaw Valley’s Squalidays keeps the holiday spirit alive through the month of December as the Village and surrounding base area glisten with tinkling lights beneath a grand towering tree during the Festival of Lights. A Holiday Torchlight Parade down the Mountain Run welcomes Christmas on the 24th and guided full moon snowshoe tours on the 29th and 30th give guests the opportunity to create a uniquely mountain holiday memory. Squaw Valley rings in the New Year with a number of parties, including the Fresh Tracks New Year’s Eve Party with live music and house DJs.
Across the snow-covered Olympic Valley, the Resort at Squaw Creek celebrates with a Magical Memories holiday celebration. The festivities begin November 23 with lodging specials and family-oriented activities then kicks into high gear November 27 when the resort becomes a fully illuminated winter wonderland at the Gingerbread Village Unveiling and Grand Tree Lighting Ceremony. The gathering will feature American figure skater and Olympic-gold medalist Peggy Fleming as well as live music, carolers, visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus, ice-skating with Buddy Bear and complimentary hot chocolate and s’mores under the stars.
Activities such as breakfast with Santa, live après ski music, children’s holiday crafts, winter wonderland stories, snowman-making contests and elf tuck-ins continue through New Years Day, when warm- blooded brave souls welcome 2010 by diving into one of the resort’s (temporarily) unheated pools for the Polar Bear Plunge.
Noel Nights set the Village at Northstar a-twinkling December 3, 10 and 17. The festive evenings include s’mores toasted under cool winter skies and enjoyed by the fireside, free ice skating, hot cocoa, carolers and photos with Santa Claus.
Tahoe City celebrates with a Town Tree Lighting December 4 at Heritage Plaza, followed by a Family Winter Wonderland with refreshments and pictures with Old St. Nick in front of the lake December 5. Guests enjoy free sledding and a visit from a toy-bearing Santa at the Rotary Santa Sled Day December 13 at Granlibakken Resort.
Kings Beach gets into the festive winter spirit with a Tree Lighting Ceremony and annual Holiday Fair December 5 at the North Tahoe Event Center. The man in red makes yet another appearance at Diamond Peak Ski Resort in Incline Village December 23-25.
Families curl up at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village both in and outdoors. For many holiday guests, room service and a movie for an evening in together is ideal, but others will venture into the crisp, clear Tahoe air to sit next to the crackling blaze of the resort’s fire pits with s’mores and storytelling. Families can also build an igloo, make snow angels or hike along the lake using the Hyatt’s on-site snowshoes. For guests spending Christmas Day in Tahoe, the Hyatt offers an extensive buffet.
Live music also abounds during the holidays in North Lake Tahoe and the Crystal Bay Club in Crystal Bay will get you toe tapping and finger snapping, in addition to its blackjack dealing and slot cranking. Slated for December is Moonalice Feat December 4, Hot Buttered Rum & Split Lip Rayfield December 5, Blues Great Sherman Robertson December 10 and The Subdudes rockin’ in the New Year December 31.
