Our Winter Lake Tahoe Family Vacation with Kids
If you're considering traveling to Lake Tahoe with kids during the winter months, this blog post is for you!
We just got back from our family vacation (February 2025) in Lake Tahoe, California and it was incredible. This blog post will give you all our trip details including where we stayed, where we ate, what activities we did, etc.
Traveling to Lake Tahoe:
Since we live in the San Francisco Bay Area, getting to Tahoe isn’t too bad for us. On a good day, we can drive to Tahoe in less than 3 hours. If you are driving, make sure you have a car that is ready for the snow during the winter months.
If you don’t have a car with all wheel drive and winter tires, make sure you have chains before you leave and practice putting them on and taking them off before you go on vacation. Usually they have people on the side of the road that you can pay to put the chains on/off for you, but that’s not always the case. Since we travel to Tahoe yearly, one of our cars is all wheel drive and has winter tires. This makes things so much easier and we feel safe driving in the snow.
If you don’t live within driving distance to Lake Tahoe, you will probably want to fly into the Reno Airport. (RNO- Reno- Tahoe International Airport). From there you will probably want to rent a car at the airport as Reno is probably going to be at least 30 minutes away from where you stay in Tahoe.
Pro Tips for Car Rides:
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Pack a backpack for each kid. In each backpack, include:
- water- this is the BEST leak-proof water bottle for kids and adults
- snacks
- iPad fully charged with headphones or Mini Yoto with headphones
- activities and toys- I've linked our favorites here!
- Bring all the snacks. I make sure to bring a lot of snacks and a variety of snacks. I pack these in my kids’ backpacks. I always try to pick things that aren’t super crumbly or messy. I also bring an empty grocery bag to act as a trash bag for the car ride. This helps with easy clean-up when we get to our destination.
- Make the car as comfortable as you can for your kids. I let them bring a pillow, stuffed animal, and/or blanket.
- Family Movie. We always have a movie ready for when we need it. Our Jeep Wagoneer has tvs in the car which makes it super easy, but before we had this car we did the same thing with an iPad. Download a movie on an iPad prior to leaving and bring it out when you need it. We would set it on the middle front seat console with a case with a stand and it stays put pretty well for the whole movie.
Where we Stayed:
We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe. This resort is technically in Truckee, but it’s ski-in/ski-out at Northstar and you’re just a short drive away from the actual Lake Tahoe lake. You can even see it from the Northstar mountain when you’re skiing!
This resort is 5 stars, absolutely breathtaking, but also extremely expensive. It’s a splurge, but I’m going to share with you what we do to make it worthwhile.
We opened a Marriott Amex credit card years ago and it’s our primary credit card. You can use our referral link here to get more information about offers and benefits. When you first open your card, you have enough points for a free night stay at a Marriott hotel! There's also so many other benefits that make it worthwhile too- it's our favorite credit card and we swear by it!
Ritz-Carlton is owned by Marriott and most years, we use our credit card points to stay here during the winter. Becoming a Marriott member has been one of the best decisions we have made as a family. We love staying at hotels vs. Airbnbs, and with the card, we are upgraded to suites often and really taken care of. We tell all of our friends how much we love this credit card and many of them have gotten one (and love it) since!
We stayed in a Mountain View Queen Room which had 2 queen beds, a fireplace, and gorgeous views of the mountain. Since there’s 5 of us in our family, we also got a pull out bed and the 5 of us slept comfortably (2 in each queen bed and 1 in the pull out). The room had a spacious bathroom with a large tub and a separate shower and lots of closet space!
Things We Love About the Hotel in the Winter:
I don’t even know where to begin. I am absolutely obsessed with this hotel. I think it's in my top 5 favorite hotels I've ever been to (and I've been to a lot). Below are just a few things that make this hotel really special.
- Year round heated pool and hot tub
- Ski-in/Ski-out access to Northstar (the resort will store your skis/heat your boots, then place them out in the snow for you when you're ready to ski). When you're done skiing, they are outside ready to take your skis from you. It makes the whole skiing process pretty stress-free.
- Mountain Conceirge. You can rent skis and equipment, buy your lift tickets, etc. at the hotel. This makes it such a breeze!
- Cafe Blue- the cutest coffee shop in the hotel. We opted to eat breakfast here most days. The prices are a bit high, but it's delicious and a cheaper breakfast option than going to the hotel restaurants. They have yummy breakfast sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, fruit bowls, cereal, pastries, and tons of coffee and tea options.
- Daily complimentary S'mores and hot chocolate. This might be my kids' favorite thing about the hotel. Every day at 4:30pm, they have free make your own s'mores and a hot chocolate bar. This is outside by the fire pits.
- Topgolf Swing Suites. We didn't do this, but we can't wait to try it on our next trip. You can rent a suite and do this golf simulator for up to 8 people.
- Gondola access to Northstar Village. You literally walk outside the hotel and there's a gondola that you can hop on and take down (and up) the mountain for free. You get off and you're right at the Northstar Village. There's tons of restaurants and shops, an ice skating rink, and more! This is also where the ski school is if you're having your kids take lessons through Northstar.
Where We Ate:
The Living Room is in the Ritz-Carlton hotel and it really feels like a cozy living room. There's an assortment of areas with tables, sofas, large chairs, fireplaces, etc. It's nice because you don't need a reservation- you just seat yourself. We ate here multiple times but loved our big family dinner here.
Zanos's Family Italian & Pizzeria
Zano's is a bit of a drive, but my kids love it because of the arcade. It's extremely family-friendly and great for larger parties. You can create your own pizzas, and they have delicious salads and pastas too.
This is a Tahoe staple and right on the lake. It's a bit of a drive from the Ritz-Carlton, but it's such a scenic drive and you see a lot of the lake while driving there.
At the restaurant, the views are so gorgeous! When you order at Sunnyside- the fried zucchini is a must! My kids loved the appetizer so much we had to order another!
Sunnyside is part of the TS Restaurants in California and Hawaii, so if you're familiar with Duke's, Jake's Del Mar, or any other restaurants in that restaurant group, you'll be excited to know that this restaurant also offers their famous Hula Pie! You must order that for dessert if you go!
This was everyone's favorite restaurant! We've been here multiple times and it's always a winner. It's also right on the lake of Lake Tahoe and the views are incredible. There's a little outdoor area with a "beach" with rocks that kids can throw into the water. There's a long pier you can walk on as well and get the best family photos. Here's a family photo that we took right outside the restaurant.
Activities We Did:
- Skiing
- Sledding (we went right outside the back of the hotel)
- Swimming (heated pool year-round)
- Walked around Northstar Village
Other Popular Activities in Lake Tahoe:
- The KidZone Museum in Truckee. We didn't go to this museum this trip, but we've been multiple times and it's amazing for kids. I would say the ideal age range is 2-8. My 9 year old still enjoys it, but he's beginning to age out of it. It's not open every day so check the website before you go and get there early on popular weekends (it's pretty small and there's a max limit).
- Spa at Ritz-Carlton. I didn't have a chance to go this trip, but it looks amazing and I've heard great things! If you can manage to sneak away from your kids for a couple of hours, go treat yourself!
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Downtown Truckee. The historic downtown Truckee is definitely something you should do if you have time. There's cute shops, restaurants, art galleries, wine and beer tasting, and more! They have a really cute toy store and an old-school ice cream shop that's adorable!
Winter Vacation Essentials:
I got all our ski gear for our family from Amazon. Everything is of great quality and great price points. Here are links to everything on my Amazon storefront.
If you’re planning to travel to Tahoe during the winter in the future, I hope this blog post helps! Feel free to reach out to me with any other questions at stayathomeactivitymom@gmail.com
Happy traveling!
~Brittany
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