Sugar Bowl Ski Resort

Ski Sugar Bowl

When it came to the very first chair lift placement in the region, the founders of Sugar Bowl Ski Resort had their choice of spectacular locations. And among those visionaries? Walt Disney himself. The group of intrepid forward-thinkers chose a stunning spot near Donner Summit filled with steep chutes, expansive bowls, and towering peaks, an area that boasts more snow than just about anywhere else in the region. Those who ride or ski Sugar Bowl will experience amazing terrain and excellent backcountry and side-country areas at this state-of-the-art ski area.

Sugar Bowl receives an average annual snowfall of more than 500 inches and is easily accessed right off Interstate 80 by thousands of visitors every year. The resort stretches 1,650 acres across four grand peaks, making for a vertical rise of 1,500 feet from a base elevation of 6,883 feet. With 12 lifts, including five high-speed express quads, three fixed-grip quads, one fixed-grip triple, two surface lifts, and one gondola, you can ski more than 100 trails at Sugar Bowl.

Ride the Crow’s Peak Chairlift to more than 150 acres of advanced/expert terrain, including two new groomed runs, wind-protected glades, and committing steeps and chutes. Sugar Bowl offers a great mix of runs for skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels, with 17 percent of trails listed as beginner, 45 percent as intermediate, and 38 percent ranking as advanced.

The Switching Yard Terrain Park is three terrain parks in one: Golden Gate, Coldstream, and Caboose all feature jump lines, boxes, rails, spines, mini boarder-x, and more.

With its wide-open learning areas at the base of Mt. Disney and Mt. Judah, Sugar Bowl Ski Resort makes learning or perfecting skills a pleasure. The resort’s Mountain Sports Learning Center is the quickest, easiest way to gear up and hit the mountain with customized instruction. The center offers a dedicated kids center as well.

Things To Do At Sugar Bowl Resort

As incredible as the action is on the slopes, there’s more to do at Sugar Bowl than ski and snowboard. The resort offers a family-friendly snow play area as well as unforgettable dog sled rides. Historic snowshoe tours of the mountain and the surrounding area are also available. A $4.5 million Sport Haus Aquatic and Fitness Center is available for use by lodging guests staying within the resort’s snowbound village.

Sugar Bowl continues to expand the offerings available at the largest cross-country (XC) ski center in North America – Royal Gorge Cross Country – to include more than 140 km of groomed, tracked trails spread across 6,000 acres for XC, skate skiing, and snowshoeing. The resort also hosts the Sugar Bowl Academy, the nation’s only ski-in/ski-out academy that consistently places athletes on the U.S. Ski Team and in the country’s best universities.

Getting to Sugar Bowl Ski Resort

So, where is Sugar Bowl Ski Resort? Located off Interstate 80, the resort is the closest major resort to Sacramento and the Bay Area. But that’s not even the best part. Riding Sugar Bowl promises access to a handful of other major ski resorts in the area, like Northstar California, Boreal Mountain Resort and Woodward Tahoe, Donner Ski Ranch, and beyond.

Our expert advice? Make a weekend (or more) of your trip to Sugar Bowl, with a planned pit stop at Donner Lake. You can hit up this hub of recreational activities – think hiking, boating, and fishing in the summer and cross-country skiing and snowboarding in the winter – any time of year, and it’s right on your way to or from Reno’s world-class resorts.