South Lake Tahoe - ski and what else?
 

Hi, we are considering a 3-night stay in Lake Tahoe and would stay in South Lake Tahoe. I'm looking for recommendations on what there is to do for very novice (and happy to stay that way) skiers. It seems riding the Heavenly Gondola is a good idea for the views. We wanted to rent ski equipment and ski a bit (bunny hills), but lift tickets are $78 I saw online, plus another $35 or so for rental and that seems like a lot of money for just a little bunny hill exercise. Does anyone have other, less expensive ski recommendations? What about snow tubing? This is for two fit 40-year-old adults. We would enjoy the casinos at night, plus pool and hot tub/saunas at hotels. Any recommendations for activities are welcome. Thanks.

If you didn't need a casino at night, I say come to Bend, Oregon and ski at Mt. Bachelor. There are several rental places that compete on the road to the mountain on the edge of Bend. If you X-country ski or snowshoe, there are lots of places to do that with only a sno-park permit (daily or seasonal).

Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing could be good options too, if anyone knows of good places to go for this.

I snowshoed for 3 hours this afternoon in the Oregon Cascades.
I made an effort to stay off the cross country skiers tracks.

If the weather is good enough for a nice drive, pop over to Truckee and up to Tahoe/Donner. You can ski for 38.00 or less per person and it's very friendly and perfect for beginners.

I used to ski there all the time. They had a good bunny hill and if you're a bit more adventurous they have a long, not steep run, down the back side of the mountain. It was called "mile run" at the time. It's been a long time since I skied up there so don't know if the name of the run has been changed.

Truckee has some really good restaurants. Anyway, something for you to think about.

Truckee has really good shopping in addition to really good restaurants. It's a fun town (former mining town) to poke around for a few hours (did it myself last Friday). For skiing, Tahoe Donner is a good idea, as is Boreal (also near Truckee). It's probably similar at Tahoe Donner, but you can get a first timer package for $70, including limited lifts (beginners usually), rental equipment and a lesson.