This winter we took our first trip to Tahoe with three kids. The emphasis was on having fun and introducing the kids to the snow rather than on developing their skiing skills. Yes, we do really want them to love skiing as much as we do. But with our kids you just can’t force things like that and we’ve decided to wait for them to really want to hit the slopes before pushing them into ski school.
who even needs a sled?
Part of our master plan is to make sure they just enjoy the snow and associate it with having fun – we figure that eventually they’ll want to follow us onto skis. Now I love Tahoe, but in previous years I’ve been frustrated by the paucity of places you can take kids to just play in the snow. For free. This year we solved that problem. We discovered the network of California SNOPARKS. I can’t believe no-one had mentioned these places to us before. They’re perfect for little kids. The SNOPARKS are just largish areas of public land where a family can go to play –to have snowball fights, build snowmen, sled–for a small $5 fee. When we went, admittedly on a weekday morning, the SNOPARK was pretty empty. I’m guessing they might get a little crazier on a holiday weekend in high season, but they’re worth checking out if you just want somewhere to play.
Find all the details, including a map of the SNOPARK network, here.
The Outdoors Parent 