Lake Tahoe boasts over a dozen ski resorts within an hour’s drive. The Sierra Nevada mountain range of California and Nevada offers a lot of terrain and a lot of snow. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is an under-the-radar resort for most first-time visitors to Lake Tahoe. After skiing in the Lake Tahoe area for over 20 years, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe Resort remains a personal favorite, especially for families. Here is what works at Mt Rose for kids.
What I Liked about Mt. Rose
Two lodges with separate parking areas
No Shuttles or Gondolas to and from the parking lots
Lots of lessons and package deals
What I Wanted from Mt. Rose
More dining options inside
More seating and firepit areas outside
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Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe
Thanks to its 8,260 base elevation, Mt. Rose is usually the first ski resort to open every year. As the highest base in Lake Tahoe, the resort opened in November and routinely stays open until April.
With two lodge areas, Mt. Rose doesn’t bottleneck like some Lake Tahoe resorts. The green runs are popular with beginners. This resort is surprisingly good for green skiers and boarders.
Mt Rose Ski Tahoe By the Numbers
Mt Rose Ski Tahoe Lodges
Main Lodge Area
This is where guests will find the rentals and lesson check-in at Mt. Rose. It also features a large deck out back facing the runs, along with a cafeteria, coffee shop, bar, and retail shop.
All the green and beginner skiing and boarding are located in this area. Find the Wildhorse Adventure area with glade green skiing. Additionally, find the Northwest Passage, Lakeview, Galena, Wizard lifts, and Magic surface lift.
Inside, guests will find several dining options in the main lodge. There’s Lodgepole Cafe and Hela’s Catina, with Higher Grounds Coffee Bar and the Timbers Bar.
It’s serviced by a large parking area with an overflow area. The parking lot is convenient and doesn’t require a shuttle.
Winters Creek Lodge
This lodge is serviced by a separate entrance located a couple of miles down Hwy. 431 (Mt Rose Highway). The Winters Creek Lodge features more advanced skiing and boarding, like double-black diamond runs. This is also the area to get access to The Slide Bowl and The Chutes, an expert-only area.
The Blazing Zephyr lift and The Chuter lift both originate at the Winters Creek Lodge. Also, find a separate parking area. Additionally, this area can be accessed by Northwest Passage lift without driving from the Main Lodge area.
Inside, guests will find a restuarant and bar. Outside, there is a deck with picnic tables.
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Mt. Rose Family Skiing
My only complain about the Lake Tahoe skiing is the limited amount of green runs for families. So many resorts forget about the family skiers and the carful of kids we bring to ski.
I get it; we aren’t glamorous with our endless needs. We are slow and clog up the lift lines. Sometimes our kids are whiny.
I’ve skied some big-name resorts that offer a couple of green runs for families. Or worse, the one long green run that’s required. Some resorts tack a slow zone (green run) where several blue or black runs converge. It is not the best environment for kids learning to ski and the parents who follow them.
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Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe Green Runs
Mt. Rose offers a lot of green runs for kids. In fact, Mt. Rose offers two green skiing areas, not a green run that doubles as a slow zone. Each area is serviced by a lift.
The Wizard Lift
The Wizard Lift is the main Green Lift at Mt. Rose. Skiers and boarders use it to get to the Galena lift, up mountain. This entire area is a green run wonderland, named the Enchanted Forest.
The Enchanted Forest offers green runs in a separate area that’s not tacked on to the bottom of a blue or black run. The Wizard is not a pass-thru lift to more advanced skiing. It’s the gateway to the magical Enchanted Forest that’s perfect for kids and the parents who ski with them.
You have the option of skiing down runs like Magic Potion, Dragon’s Tail or Spellbound. Even on the busiest holidays, you feel alone in the world, discovering an enchanted land that might be harboring a woodland sprite or, dare we say, Harry?
Galena Lift
After the kids master the Enchanted Forest area, they move up the mountain for longer green runs. Take the Wizard Lift and head left to ski to the Galena Lift.
Take the long green run, Galena, to ski back to the lodge. Or venture off and find more green runs, like Mustang, Bronco and North Rim. All of them return to the Galena Lift so the kids can ski or board all day long without skiing the same run. The scenery is lovely with plenty of tree coverage.
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Mt Rose Blue Runs
For skiers and boarders who are ready to tackle blue runs, the Lakeview Express offers a few. From its terminus, the Bunker to the Lonetree to the Ponderosa, this area offers blue skiing and boarding back to the main lodge.
Ramsey’s and Kit Carson Bowl also meet up with the Ponderosa. However, kids need to make sure and follow the signs for the blues and not get on a black instead.
Mt Rose Ski Tahoe Terrain Parks
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe offers two terrain parks. Since terrain parks require more snow and maintenance, find them later in the season. Terrain parks will be closed after heavy snowstorms for maintenance.
Pondo Terrain Park
Doubledown Terrain Park
As a Mom, be sure and check out the terrain park signs to see if your kids are in the right terrain park. Most resorts install several terrain parks with differing levels of difficulty.
Stay SMART-–Start small, Make a plan, Always look around, Respect others and the park and Take it easy.
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Mt. Rose–Getting Kids on the Snow
Don’t try and teach your kids to ski or snowboard unless there’s an Olympic Medal hanging on your wall. All the mountain meltdowns I’ve seen start with DIY ski lessons. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe specializes in getting kids on the snow and loving it with lesson packages.
The Mt. Rose Rosebuds program is for skiers from ages 4 to 12 and snowboarders from ages 7 to 12. The instructor-to-student ratio is 3-to-1 or 4-to-1, depending on the skill level. Get a two-and-a-half-hour session, rental equipment with a helmet and an all-day beginner lift ticket, and rates start at $159 per person. Reservations are required.
Mt. Rose offers an all-day lesson. Those are available for older kids (7 to 12) and include lunch. Rates start at $229 per person. Reservations are required. All lessons include rental equipment, including a helmet, a lesson and a lift ticket.
Private lessons include a three-hour lesson at your level. Prices are for instruction only and don’t include equipment or lift tickets. Rates start at $450 and are available for people 4 and older.
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe offers clinics like the Ladies Clinic and the Silver Clinic during the week.
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Getting Little Kids on the Snow
For the littlest skiers, the Little Mule Surface Lift offers a fenced-off area just for ski school. There is a viewing area so parents can check in on kids during their lesson.
The older skiers and snowboarders use the covered Magic Surface Lift. It serves the Show Off run, a bunny hill. It is open to all.
What I like about Mt. Rose’s Rosebud program
Low kid-to-instructor ratio
Indoor area to drop off your kids
Instructors fit the kids with equipment for you
Next for 2025 at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe
New for the 2025-2026 season, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is adding a Snow Tubing Park: Wildslide Tahoe. This newly built area features up to 20 tubing lanes, 750 feet long. The tubing lanes use a dual conveyor lift.
Wildslide Tahoe boasts its own lodge: the WildSlide Lodge. There, guests can enjoy snacks, hot beverages and even beer. There’s a deck overlooking the tubing lanes.
Located at 22600 Mt Rose Hwy., .75-mile west of the main entrance to Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe. Wildslide Tahoe features a separate free parking lot with 400 spaces. It is open Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (daily during Christmas/New Year’s Break). Two-hour sessions with a new session starting every 15 minutes. Adults are $45 and kids are $35.
Where’s Mt Rose Ski Tahoe
Located at 22222 Mt. Rose Highway, 22 miles from the Reno/Lake Tahoe airport (RNO). It’s 11 miles from North Lake Tahoe, and the traffic is more congested into Reno than into the Tahoe Basin.
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Know Before You Go
Arrive early for the best parking and fewer lines during school holidays and breaks.
Reservations are a must for ski school programs.
Rent equipment from ski shops. Most shops let you rent equipment the evening before, and you can return it early in the morning after your trip.
Don’t forget the helmets. They are required for kids at resorts.
Mt. Rose does not offer daycare services.
3 Comments
This is now on my list as the place we’ll take the family if we ever make it back to the States in the winter time. Thanks for the information!
Thanks! It’s a great place.
Right now Mt. Rose is offering $69 learn ski or snowboard group lessons for kids and adults, just buy online at skirose.com. All packages come with a lift ticket for the day, a 2 hour lesson and the rental equipment good through December 17th!