We are lucky in South Lake Tahoe to live in a top travel destination for Christmas Vacations! And with the 2015 holiday season fast approaching, it is time to start thinking about where you and your family is going to be for Christmas 2015!
The weather is now colder, and we have moved past the crisp sunny fall days. After our first few snow dustings this fall, the winter lovers are getting excited for the 2015/2016 winter season! Once we receive these first few snow falls, the community collectively starts dreaming of mornings waking up to two or three feet of fresh snow.
With this season change, we all start thinking about the upcoming winter holidays. You might even start hearing Christmas music playing in stores!
For many families, Christmas is a time to get away from home and spend the holiday with their family in a destination spot. South Lake Tahoe is one of these popular holiday destination locations! So why visit South Lake Tahoe for Christmas this year? Let me give you some reasons.
The Holiday Festivities!
The Christmas holidays in South Lake Tahoe kick off with the annual Festival of Trees and Lights at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa. The ‘strip’ becomes a beautiful sight with all the trees lining the road lit up with holiday lights! Driving through, you will immediately feel the holiday spirit!
Each holiday season, our Heavenly Village is transformed into a holiday wonderland with lights, music, sleigh rides, fire pits, ice skating and so much more! The two week festival starts on the weekend prior to Christmas.
Bring your kids to Santa’s Workshop Snow Globe where they can sit on Santa’s lap for a great photo opportunity! The globe is set up right in the middle of the village, near the Heavenly Gondola. The Great Basin Carolers will get you into the holiday mood, if you are not already in it, as they perform the classic songs.
The open area near the Heavenly Cinema is transformed in to an outdoor ice rink for the Christmas Holidays. You can skate all day and into the evening at the Heavenly Village Ice Rink. Music is always playing, and when you get chilly, sit by the fire pit and warm up! During the holidays, there are scheduled performances by figure skaters that are sure to delight everyone in the family.
Watch as blocks of ice get transformed into gorgeous works of art before your eyes! It is truly an amazing process to watch, especially considering the artists are wielding chainsaws. The results are always amazing! There are multiple ice sculptures placed throughout the Heavenly Village, all different from the last.
The Holiday Activities!
We know that not everyone comes up to South Lake Tahoe for the sole purpose of skiing or snowboarding. Christmas in South Lake Tahoe isn’t all about skiing on the mountains, and there are plenty of activities to do for the non-skier or rider.
Riding the Heavenly Gondola is one of my favorite activities to do with non-riders. Heavenly offers sightseeing gondola tickets, that will take you up the Heavenly Gondola to Tamarack Lodge. Get off at mid-station for the perfect photo-opportunity of Lake Tahoe. Even if you don’t do anything else when you reach the top, this mid-station view is worth every penny.
Continuing up the Heavenly Gondola you will end up at Tamarack Lodge. Here you can grab a bite to eat, enjoy a beer and watch the skiers and riders head up the slopes. Heavenly also offers tubing at Tamarack Lodge, an activity the whole family will love. Race each other as you zoom down the mountain!
Down in the Heavenly Village, head to the state-line (across from Mc.Ps) and you can take a carriage ride through town with Borges Sleigh Rides. When there is enough snow, they relocate to the meadow across from MontBleu and offer sleigh rides. You can head over the meadow and through the woods…
For the shopper, the shops in the Heavenly Village will be a delight. With stores ranging from Alpaca to upscale boutiques, you can get all your last minute Christmas shopping done!
Holidays on the Mountains!
For those that do ski or snowboard, our mountains are already preparing for the winter 2015/2016 season. The Heavenly snowmaking team is already waiting for the first night cold enough to fire up their snow guns. The man-made snow combined with some fresh snow from Mother Nature is all we need for the mountains to open in time for the holidays. Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar are all set to open on November 20th of next month.
Mother Nature is also hopefully going to provide us with the natural snowfall. Weather sites and blogs are filled with promising El Nino predictions for the 2015/2016 winter in Tahoe. And it is supposed to be a wet year, which is very needed in Tahoe.
Take some epic photos on one of the runs, and make all your friends jealous when you share them on Facebook! Find the DJ Cat, a snow cat turned mobile , and take a break from riding to dance around on the snow. An of course, enjoy the breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe while you ride down some runs on Heavenly. It really is the best view from all the ski mountains in Lake Tahoe.
Did we convince you?
We do still have availability of luxury vacation homes for the Christmas holiday. We know that a lot of you have held off on reserving your vacation home to see how the ski conditions are going to be. With so many other fabulous activities to enjoy, we think that you should reserve your home earlier so that you get your favorite luxury vacation rental!
If you think that it might be a bit too crowded in town during Christmas, why not come up the weekend prior and hit the slopes of Heavenly or Kirkwood before the crowds arrive! If we do receive some glorious natural snow, combined with man-made snow, you and your family can hit the slopes before the Christmas crowds even arrive.
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