All Resorts

Kirkwood Mountain Resort

Tahoe's snowiest resort, with 2,000 acres of terrain that make advanced skiers happy and beginners nervous.

Our Take

Kirkwood sits at 7,800 feet base elevation in a Sierra Nevada pocket where storms arrive from the southwest and dump more than almost anywhere else in Tahoe -- 354 inches average annual snowfall, consistently the most in the region. The base elevation means more natural snow days, colder temperatures, and a top-to-bottom experience that holds up longer into spring than its lower-elevation competitors around the lake. Kirkwood joined Vail Resorts and the Epic Pass in 2012, which upgraded the infrastructure but hasn't erased the character of a mountain that was genuinely hard to reach before Highway 88 improvements. The terrain is skewed expert. The Cirque area along the resort's high ridgeline is a collection of chutes and drops that are technically in-bounds but require a traverse, a plan, and functional skiing. The Wall, Sentinel, and The Fingers are the named classics -- each dropping through narrow rock bands onto open pitch. Intermediates get the long cruisers off the main lodge and the Timber Creek area. The mountain has a ski racing tradition and produces good junior racers, which is relevant only in that it means the race gates are often set and the runs are impeccable. Buy the Epic pass. Ski Kirkwood. Don't only ski the groomed side.

Expert terrain seekersDeep sierra snow devoteesEpic pass Tahoe samplerGroomer fansAdvanced intermediates

Nerd Stats

Avg Annual Snowfall

354"

Skiable Acres

2,300

Summit Elevation

9,800'

Vertical Drop

2,000'

Fun Facts

  • Kirkwood averages 354 inches of annual snowfall -- the most of any resort in the greater Tahoe region, due to altitude and southwest storm exposure.
  • The Cirque ridgeline sits above 9,000 feet and has multiple named chutes accessed by a 10-minute traverse. The exposure on the entry is real.
  • Kirkwood joined Vail Resorts in 2012 but still feels distinctly unlike Vail corporate -- remote location, smaller village, zero condescension.
  • The resort has operated since 1972 and has a fierce local following who consider it the 'real Tahoe skiing' distinct from the lakeside resorts.