Soda Springs Ski Area
This basic, little ski area offers sufficient fun and discounted rates that it has drawn crowds for 68 years. If you grew up in Central California, chances are this is where you learned to ski. Many have. Now many of their kids have.
You can count on few other skiers or boarders, short lines and a nice assortment of easy slopes.
Tubing tows with flumes marking the runs, kid- sized snowmobile rentals and track, plus a tubing carousel and magic carpet for the even smaller kids...
DESCRIPTION:
You can count on few other skiers or boarders, short lines and a nice assortment of easy slopes. Still the intermediate and advanced slopes are perfect lengths and appropriate difficulty for starting out on the more advanced slopes. Even experience skiers return each year as they know they can get more vertical drop than at the big boys because they spend no time in lines and turnarounds for the next run are one after another.
Tubing tows with flumes marking the runs, kid-sized snowmobile rentals and track, plus a tubing carousel and magic carpet for the even smaller kids make Soda Springs a small resort area for all ages. It displays its small-resort-welcoming-spirit well. The relaxed atmosphere of yesteryear can still be enjoyed here.
| Parking Elevation: | 6780 feet | Base Elevation: | 6780 feet | Summit Elevation: | 7325 feet |
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| Snowfall | 450 inches | Season | Late November through April | ||
| Parking: | Ski Area Parking | Skiable Area | 200 acres | Groomed | Yes | Terain Park | Yes |
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| Snowmaking | 20% of the runs are covered with snowmaking |
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| Runs | 16 | Beginner | 30% | Intermediate | 50% | Expert | 20% |
| Description | Longest Run: 1 mile |
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| Lifts | 4 | Types | 1 double chair, 1 triple chair, 2 tubing tows |
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| Contact(s) | Main: (530) 426-3901 |
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| Website(s) | Website: www.skisodasprings.com |
DIRECTIONS:
To Soda Springs Ski Area
From San Francisco/Bay Area/Sacramento Valley: Take Interstate-80 east to the Norden/Soda Springs Exit. Follow the Donner Park Road (old Highway 40) east for about 1 mile. At Summit Station turn right onto the Soda Springs Road and follow for very short distance.
From Reno, Nevada: Take Interstate-80 west to the Norden/Soda Springs Exit. Follow the Donner Park Road (old Highway 40) east for about 1 mile. At Summit Station turn right onto the Soda Springs Road and follow for very short distance.
ACTIVITIES:
Skiing & Boarding Downhill (Rating: Good)
With 200 acres of skiable terrain and two lifts for downhill skiing and boarding, Soda Springs has bragging rights as the smallest of the ski areas in the Donner Pass/Lake Tahoe area. It also requires the smallest take from your billfold. The slopes are a nice mix of beginning terrain and then more advanced runs that are short enough to encourage skiers to move their skills up a notch or two. Lines are short so skiing and boarding time is at a maximum with quick drops and fast turn around.
Snow Play (Rating: Exceptional)
Two tubing tows take riders and tubes to the top and flumes mark the runs down. Snow tubes are provided. Personal tubes and sleds are not permitted. A minimum height limit of 42” is required so kids can control the tubes with their feet. Conditions can change the requirement.
For kids less than 42" tall, Soda has a tubing carrousel at Planet Kids that is open weekends & holidays from 10am to 3pm. Designed for ages 12 and under, kids can enjoy a tubing lane, tube carrousel. Planet Kids' main feature is a new Moving carpet designed to help kids go up the small 40-foot slope.
Kids ages 6-12 – can hop on their very own pint-sized snowmobile and try out the sport of snowmobiling on a circular track. Helmets are provided for the riders.
