I live in Minneapolis and am planning a family(Wife & 11 year old son) ski trip(X-country & Alpine) in Feb. I have a couple of questions, Whats the best airport to fly into? Whats a good resort? North or south?

Squaw Valley for XC skiing.
North side will give you a drier snow and typically receives the snow first. South is closer to the casinos and shows and has recently seen another layer of lodging / shopping construction.
I've never flown there. Reno airport? Tahoe area does have a small airport. Hmmm.
Anyone else?

I think your choices for flying to the area are Reno or Sacramento. The Lake Tahoe airport just doesn't have the kind of service most visitors would use. Smaller private planes can use Tahoe but not so much jets.

I'd opt for Reno and then stay on the north shore or even in Truckee if you want to have easy access to both Squaw and areas near Incline.

I agree with "suzie"
Squaw Valley has "resort" quality and accommodations and great skiing....
You'll love the are...

Looks like a person could fly into Tahoe airport if they wanted to:

FROM THE WEB:
Parking is available for Boeing 737 or MD-80 type jet aircraft along with commuter aircraft simultaneously.

Here's more info:
http://www.virtualtahoe.com/GettingH...portation.html

I still think that Reno, NV is the best bet. Rent a car, drive to Lake Tahoe.

We just got back from a 2-week trip that included Monterey, San Francisco, and a week in Lake Tahoe. We do this every couple of years, and fly into Reno. The benefits: it offers great rates and schedules for us (flying out of Orlando, $174 per person R/T), reasonable rental car rates (we rented an SUV for 2 weeks @ $125/week from Budget), is very easy to get in and out of, and is convenient to Lake Tahoe. Although it's about an hour from South Lake Tahoe, the roads are excellent.

On this trip, we stayed at Stateline (South Lake) at a timeshare right at Heavenly Valley ski resort. Next time, we will probably switch to the north side for a change of pace (less casinos, more laid-back).

Check this link: www.virtualtahoe.com
-- there is a lot of information about the area and all the ski resort, even webcams so you can view the various ski areas realtime.

We left on Saturday; on Sunday it really started to snow. Good thing we left when we did, as we were at 7500 ft. altitude and did not have snow tires or chains.. Enjoy your vacation, it is a lovely area.

We ski the Tahoe area a lot in the winter and always fly into Reno - decent air schedules and availability of 4WD vehicles are primary reasons. If you fly into Sacramento, you risk closure of I-80 if a big snow storm comes in. Squaw Valley has terrific alpine terrain and a new village (try the Fireside Pizza restaurant for lunch or apres-ski), plus XC skiing as noted earlier. South Shore (Heavenly, etc.) has the casinos and shows. (FYI, I wouldn't stay down by the lake -north or south - unless you like driving in traffic.) Hope this helps!

Sludick : Sounds like a great trip you set up! Can you provide details on the vehicle you rented for the $125/week? This might work for a friend who will be visiting. Thank you...

TripleSecDelay - gladly! (I'm working on my trip report now.) On Budget's web site, they were offering a promo for the Escape (considered mid-sized SUV). However, when we got there, we found that they were not at all concerned about holding us to that and gave us a Blazer. Had I simply reserved a mid-sized SUV, I would have paid twice as much. Go figure! Look for the promos. I also get emails from Budget when they are offering special deals, you can sign up for them on the web site and get the jump on any specials.

Thanks, Sludick, I'll look for your trip report later on...

Fly into Reno and when you rent your car be sure it's either 4 wheel drive or you have chains. You never know what the weather is going to do. Usually in Nevada with 4 wheel drive you can get by without chains. California is more restrictive. Going from Reno to the Lake you usually will take the Mt. Rose Highway which is well over 8,000 ft. at the summit. If staying at South Shore you can to through Carson City and up Spooner Summit ....a little over 7,000 feet. If you go to Squaw Valley you head west on HW 80 to Truckee and take 89 to Squaw and again you'll be at about 7,000. Hopefully there will be a great snow storm before you arrive and none while you are here so you get great snow and none of the driving hassles.