Nestled among the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains, Truckee is a winter wonderland at this time of year. Its cozy downtown feels like the set of a Hallmark movie — or like you’ve stepped inside a snow globe.
There’s something magical about just walking down Main Street — or in this case, Donner Pass Road — under strings of twinkling lights, your breath fogging in the crisp mountain air.
This historic town dates back to the mid-19th century, and was named for the Paiute chief who helped the earliest emigrants cross the Nevada desert to the east. By the 1860s and ’70s, there were sawmills, a railroad and a thriving beer company, Boca Brewing — and soon after, tourists began arriving, wooed by winter carnivals with ice palaces and summer recreation possibilities.
Today, Truckee offers all kinds of modern creature comforts, but you’ll see traces of the past too. Bar America’s Victorian building, for example, dates back to 1891. Dave Cabona’s Dry Goods Emporium was founded in 1918 as a general store. These days, it sells Pendleton blankets and upscale outdoorsy clothing for men and women.
Ease into a cozy booth at Moody’s to sip wine and enjoy wagyu steaks or fresh fish. The bistro is tucked inside the Truckee Hotel, which was built in 1873 as a stagecoach stop. (Of course, there are plenty of non-historic but also delicious options in Truckee. If you’re traveling with the family, you’ll find calzone, pastas and deep-dish Godfather pizza at Zano’s Family Italian & Pizzeria, which opened in 2004 and acquired new owners earlier this year.)
But what brought tourists here in the late 1800s — besides ice palaces — was snow. And this is still snow central, the perfect basecamp for skiing, snowboarding and other icy adventures.
So start your day with a breakfast sandwich and coffee at Truckee’s popular Coffeebar, or an espresso — a lavender-tinged Purple Haze latte, perhaps, or a rosemary and sage-spiked Pine — at Drink Coffee Do Stuff.
Everline Resort and Spa in Tahoe’s Olympic Valley offers all sorts of amenities, from an ice rink to snowshoe hikes and more. (Everline)
Then go do stuff. Tahoe Adventure Company, for example, offers a variety of easy to moderate snowshoe tours ($95 and up) throughout the season that let you enjoy the powder, even if you’re not a skier. Take a morning mountain tour or opt for snowshoe treks at sunset, under a full moon or after dark with a focus on the stars. The tours are two to five miles each, include plenty of stops and equipment rental is included.
Special, winter-themed events are unfolding in the coming weeks at the ski resorts, as well as in town.
Truckee’s Festive Fridays — on Dec. 6, 13 and 20 — see visitors sipping and shopping along the main drag, for example. Thirteen shops and businesses will be pouring complimentary drinks — alcoholic and not— while you check off your last-minute shopping to-dos and join the snowflake scavenger hunt. Carolers will sing the season’s most-beloved tunes. There’s free hot chocolate for all. And Santa promises to be out and about. (We hear the jolly one will be visiting Bar of America on Dec. 20.)
The mountain town of Truckee, near Lake Tahoe, is illuminated during the holiday season. (Courtesy Scott Thompson/Scott Shots)
Everline Resort and Spa, at the foot of Palisades Tahoe, will be decked out for the holidays with a life-sized gingerbread village, ice-skating performances and a grand fireworks display. You can spend your days snowshoeing on property or gliding across the ice rink — with disco-themed ice skating nights starting Dec. 21. Santa will be making appearances.
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And the resort is offering Stargazing Snowcat Tours ($125) on Friday and Saturday evenings. Guides will tell stories about the night sky, while guests peer through high-powered telescopes and enjoy hot chocolate and s’mores around the fire.
At Palisades Tahoe, hear the Great Basin Carolers perform from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 20-24 in The Village or join a guided snowshoe tour to the Chalet at Alpine for a Bavarian four-course dinner ($140).
If you’ve decided to spend Christmas in Truckee, you can enjoy Santa sightings on the snow, too. All-nighter notwithstanding, Saint Nick will enjoy his first day of vacation on the slopes, starting at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 25 at Tahoe Donner Downhill Ski Resort. The resort, which expects to open Dec. 13, weather permitting, offers sledding and tubing fun, too, throughout the season.
Santa pays a visit to holiday skiers each winter at Tahoe. (Visit Truckee-Tahoe)
Santa and Mrs. Claus plan to put in an appearance at the Christmas Eve buffet at The Village at Northstar, where other attractions include sledding, gondola rides, fat tire snow bikes, a huge ice rink with fire pits and, of course, skiing.
The magical Claus duo will be spending Christmas Eve dinner with guests at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe, too. (If Santa and his sleigh can circumnavigate the globe in a single evening, simultaneous Truckee events should be no problem.) And during the lead up to the big day, enjoy carolers, kids activities and seasonal spa offerings that include a chocolate-winter mint facial.
And after that? The snowy frolic will continue all season long.
If You Go
Cabona’s: Opens at 10 a.m. daily at 10100 Donner Pass Road in Truckee;
Moody’s Bistro Bar & Beats: Open for lunch and dinner daily at The Truckee Hotel, 10007 Bridge St.; www.moodysbistro.com/.
Zano’s Family Italian & Pizzeria: Open for dinner daily and lunch Thursday-Sunday at 11401 Donner Pass Road; www.zanos.net/.
Coffeebar: Opens at 6 a.m. daily at 10120 Jibboom St.
Drink Coffee Do Stuff: Opens at 7 a.m. daily at 10115 Donner Pass Road; https://drinkcoffeedostuff.com/.
Tahoe Adventure Company: Find details on snowshoe tours at https://tahoeadventurecompany.com/
Bar of America: Open for lunch and dinner daily and weekend brunch at 10040 Donner Pass Road; www.barofamerica.com.
Everline Resort and Spa: 400 Squaw Creek Rd, Olympic Valley; www.everlineresort.com/
Palisades Tahoe: The snowshoe tour and Alpine dinner is offered on select dates from Dec. 20 to Feb. 28. Find details and make reservations at www.palisadestahoe.com.
Tahoe Donner Downhill Ski Resort: 11603 Snowpeak Way; https://www.tahoedonner.com
The Village at Northstar: 5001 Northstar Drive; www.northstarcalifornia.com
Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe: 13031 Ritz-Carlton Highlands Court; www.ritzcarlton.com
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