Best skiing place in late December?
 

What is the best place in California after christmas for skiing?

Looking into doing something out there right after christmas.

What sort of Ski experience are you looking for?

Luxury resort? Maximum variety? Most snow? Least crowded (hard over holiday vacations)? Drivable from SFO or LAX? A single day, weekend, or week?

Not a luxury resort that will cost a lot of money, but not a place with a Motel 6. Some good hotels but nothing pricey. Different levels of difficulty on the ski trails. Not too crowded, like at most 30 minutes wait for a chairlift. Driveable from any airport, doesn't have to be SFO or LAX, and has to be worth it to get a rental car (not looking for a rental just to drive between the airport and the ski resort.) Probably Sunday december 26th to arrive and leave check out thrusday the 30th.

Sounds to me like some of the Lake Tahoe resorts will suit your needs. Now the big Lake Tahoe resorts (e.g. Heavenly, Northstar) are relatively expensive, at least as far as lift tickets go. And they will be relatively crowded. But there are plenty of smaller resorts that ring the lake (e.g. Homewood, Diamond Peak) that are cheaper and shouldn't be as crowded. I snowboarded at Diamond Peak just after Christmas 2008 and enjoyed it. :cool:

Of course, none of the rentals are exactly cheap at Lake Tahoe, but the area is big enough that you should be able to find something. The closest airport is RNO.

I think that Mammoth is a wonderful resort and, of all the California ski resorts I've been to, is most like the experience on gets in Colorado. However, it's pretty far from everywhere. (Well, as the crow flies, it's not that far from San Francisco, California, but there are many other resorts that are much easier to get to from there. As a result, it's mostly people from southern California who head up to Mammoth.)

Thank you a lot for this info!

I think that Lake Tahoe is the best call. You have many different resorts to choose from, whether you like the big resorts like Squaw and Heavenly or the smaller ones like iapetus suggests. Personally, I like Kirkwood myself for the snow and less crowds.

And it's close enough to Reno or SLT to go gambling if you want some diversion. :D

There are years when the snow is great in December and there are years when it's terrible. Most Tahoe resorts do not make snow. You are really gambling on snow conditions. In a bad year, you might end up doing boring skiing at Boreal, one of the few resorts equipped to make snow.

The biggest choice in terms of number of resort is at north Lake Tahoe. The major resorts are Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl and Northstar. There are also smaller resorts like Slide Mtn, Mt Rose, Boreal, and Homewood. (I don't think Tahoe Donner should be included on any ski area list.)

Mammoth/June Lake tends to be more reliable regarding snow but as it is the major ski area for all of SoCal, it can get quite crowded.

Edited to add: Bear in mind that in a decent snow year, the last week of December is the most crowded and expensive of the entire season.

You don't give many specific details. Drivable from an airport up to what distance? ANY airport? So air fares don't matter? There is an airport at Mammoth, but I don't know if the fares are cheap, and there aren't that many flights. Tahoe would be good, and easly accessible from the Reno airport, or Sacramento. Not bad from San Francisco, but may be too far to drive (you are kind of vague about not just wanting to drive from the airport to the ski area; you want it to be a long enough drive to take in other sights along the way???). Also, it would help if you could be more specific as to what you consider "a lot of money" for your rooms. What is your budget? Lift prices can vary tremendously, so you might look at the Web sites for some resorts and see what's within your budget.