Northstar or Kirkwood for a family vacation?

[Timberridge]

Not sure if it's a consideration on this trip, but NV has legalized prostitution.

[hutash]

Staying in South Lake and skiing one or two days at HV, the other one or two days at K-wood would be a good compromise. There is plenty at HV to entertain a good skier for a day or two, but K-wood is over all a better skiers mountain. In good conditions the drive between the two is easy. On bad days it can be a nightmare...remember these are bay area drivers who panic at the sight of white on the road.

[4matic]

For Kirkwood on a snowy day, if the road is open, you leave South Lake at 7am and avoid the kookla. Problem solved.

[irul&ublo]

Stay at Squaw. Lots of shops, etc for non skiers, close to Tahoe City, plenty on easy terrain and if you want to hit Alpine, there’s a shuttle and the ticket is shared.

[hutash]

^^^but it is not a gapic pass member.

[TurxSki]

How far is kirwood from heavenly...

Dude.
Where UR thinking of sleeping is key, imho?
In Town vs at Resort.

All 3 resorts have enough mild, and wild terrain. Don't get hung up on that.

In Town?
SLT for HV, with a possible to KW if weather cooperates.
Easy groceries, but no xc.

At Resort?
KW, for ski/eat/sleep repeat.
NS if some peeps want to shop and hang out.

Is the xc important?

Btw, fwiw, hwy 89 between SLT & Tahoe City (emerald bay) was my favorite drive last winter.
[If you wanna go between NS & KW/HV.]

Some awesome sights.
Closed a lot though.
Scary in spots when snowy/icy.
My first ever winter driving in mountains.

[splat]

Stay at Squaw. Lots of shops, etc for non skiers, close to Tahoe City, plenty on easy terrain and if you want to hit Alpine, there’s a shuttle and the ticket is shared.

Holidays and traffic is at a stop across the north shore from Homewood to Sugar Bowl.
You can certainly get away from that traffic jam by staying close to either HV or KW.
Or in Olympic Valley. Key holiday advice: Don't drive anywhere.

[powdrhound]

Without the 7,800 Club, Kirkwood is going to be Real quiet after dinner at The Inn.

[digitaldeath]

If kirkwood is vail now, why don't they have shit popping off ?

[irul&ublo]

^^^but it is not a gapic pass member.

Not my fault they bought the wrong pass

[MTT]

Interesting no one mentions that Christmas is iffy for snow in the Tahoe Basin.

Flat Star may not even have snow @ Christmas.

State line S Tahoe and Heavenly is a solid recommendation. = Options for a mixed group regardless of weather and snow conditions.

There are good ways to do the N shore also but not @ N Star. - Not really on the lake.

[jorion]

Without the 7,800 Club, Kirkwood is going to be Real quiet after dinner at The Inn.

Wait what? No more 7800?

[Steven S. Dallas]

KW has been a shit show during holiday periods and offers the dynamic lodging combination of high prices and little to no amenities. Heavenly's been a mess, too, and dodging chained-up Priuses and lifted F250s in SLT is not exactly a relaxing vibe.

It's a family vacation. If you can afford it, stay at Northstar and chill/have a good time with your wife and folks and earn some wifely goodwill towards a last minute storm chasing quick hitter later this winter. If it dumps, you'll have fun, because skiing powder is fun. If conditions are meh, you'll have a fancy vacation with some fun skiing. If you get bored by day 3 then spend the extra money and spend the day falling off shit at Squalpine.

[TurxSki]

Flat Star may not even have snow @ Christmas...

NoStars has a ton of snowmaking now.
Best wrod in tahoe through the recent drought years.
When SV has one lift served wrod (gold coast), NS will have a few.
Burnout as an early season wrod is pretty frikking gnarly.

[hutash]

Best wrod in tahoe...

Now that is a ringing endorsement, how could anyone pass on that

[TurxSki]

Time and place, brother.

[Gman]

Interesting no one mentions that Christmas is iffy for snow in the Tahoe Basin.

Flat Star may not even have snow @ Christmas.

State line S Tahoe and Heavenly is a solid recommendation. = Options for a mixed group regardless of weather and snow conditions.

There are good ways to do the N shore also but not @ N Star. - Not really on the lake.

How does the snow making at heavenly compare to northstar? The current plan is to stay at a place near kirkwood on vrbo but that may switch to staying near heavenly because there are more options as far as places to stay. Also if there is no snow, then being down by kirkwood is probably less than ideal.

[TurxSki]

iirc, in a no-snow season start, HV covers a coupla runs on NV side under Dipper (or is it Comet) access via Gondi & tamarac lift. With a small park under tamarac line.

Think KW has their wrod under 11.

But, no worries, cos its gonna be excellent, innit?

[4matic]

How does the snow making at heavenly compare to northstar? The current plan is to stay at a place near kirkwood on vrbo but that may switch to staying near heavenly because there are more options as far as places to stay. Also if there is no snow, then being down by kirkwood is probably less than ideal.

It's as good. Just takes more time and trouble to access. Kirkwood not worth wrod.

[Marshall Tucker]

stay at a place near kirkwood on vrbo

If the snow is good, you will damn sure know how to drive in it by the end of that. HIGHLY recco renting a big ass 4wd suburban with that plan. Drove white-knuckle in extremely challenging conditions last feb, (Chain stops every day) never felt the wheels slip once. Course, we went pretty freakin slow.

[Ottime]

Have not read thru this entire thread.

Kirkwood basically had no lines between Christmas and New Years last year. No one goes there. Northstar and Heavenly will be mobbed with 45 minute lines.

Rent a home. Find one that has sleds in the closet. If you get hit by a storm, the lifts will close. Maybe XC ski, or sled, or build a snowman. The resort can completely shut for a day during a storm. It will be limited lifts for a day on either side of the storm, but the beginner area stays open the longest in wind.

Everywhere in the valley gets shuttle service. During a storm it may stop. Along KW Meadow drive opens first, ten West Meadow, then East Meadow. Or you can stay right at the lift. But you won't need to drive.

If you go to KW, feel free to PM me for a guide to beginner and intermediate skiing. I've been skiing with my 6yr old there since he was 2. Could give you an advanced guide as well, but the steep stuff is not hard to find. You need to be a strong intermediate to ski off the front side, but a low intermediate can ski off the top of the backside.

Going to KW can be a great vacation if you just want to ski, play in the snow in a beautiful place, and that is about it. It is way prettier than being in town.

It would be worth a day mid week when the roads are clear going to Heavenly. More access for beginners. A lot to get around. Views of lake and desert. And see how many more people ski there.

N* is a fun intermediate mountain with great access for your family. Large. Fast lifts. Runs during a storm. You'll ski very day. Way more people. In lines. On pistes. Getting back to the lifts. In the parking lots.

Either way, stay within shuttle distance to your primary ski location. Parking at any Vail resort sucks.

[Ottime]

Rent an AirBNB in Meyers or off Pioneer Trail and split time between Heavenly and Kirkwood. Covers both of your bases. It being holidays, prepare for gnarly traffic unless you're staying at the base of the mountain.

If coverage is spotty, which it certainly can be still in late December, Heavenly and Northstar have excellent snowmaking systems.

Yeah. But KW will have more snow. Even if it is not enough to ski.

Not a bad idea, but find a location where you can get the Heavenly shuttle. Or park and ride at the Y.

[Ottime]

iirc, in a no-snow season start, HV covers a coupla runs on NV side under Dipper (or is it Comet) access via Gondi & tamarac lift. With a small park under tamarac line.

Think KW has their wrod under 11.

But, no worries, cos its gonna be excellent, innit?

Word.

N* huge winner. Multiple lifts and runs get you all around the mountain.

Heave will likely have tamarack and dipper with a few runs each by then. Limited space.

KW will have 11 and hoping for 6 by then with one run each. 5 will for sure have two runs by then.

Typically by Xmas, KW is mostly to completely open and will have way more natural snow than either other resort.

[gravitylover]

Either stay at KW or NS so you can walk out the door to ski, if you have to drive you'll be sorry you're there. Not much to do right at the base of either but it's way closer from NS than KW. Heavenly will have acceptable conditions from the top of the tram up but S Lake is a fkn zoo at that time so unless you like crowds I wouldn't bother. You can stay right across the street from the tram base at The Tahoe Seasons, they have indoor valet parking and a shuttle that runs down to the casinos so you don't have to touch the car while you're there. They also have shuttles that run out to KW or some of the other areas just about every day so you won't have to drive if you don't want to. The suites are nice and have a ktichenette and hot tub, there's also a pool and on site restaurant and bar.

[TurxSki]

Last time I checked, a Shuttle to KW, from SLT was non-existent. And when it did run, back in the day, it was weird/sketchy.
There is some kinda employee shuttle I think.
It's real cool if I am wrong.

I think OP's best bet would be NS.
But he's set on KW, which is totally fine.
Maybe buy some recreational weed on the way in though...

Conditions are a gamble that time of year.
He could easily win big.