Northstar at Tahoe Archives - Jen is on a Journey

Summer Mountain Biking at Northstar at Tahoe

August 27, 2010 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

Thanks to my husband, “The Dad,” for the following awesome review, click on any of the photos to enlarge!…

I’ve been mountain biking around the Tahoe area for the past 8 years and I finally got around to checking out the Northstar Resort Mountain Bike Park. I was worried that once I started riding a chairlift to the top of the mountain I would be too lazy to continue trying to climb the hills myself. This is not the case….the mountain bike park is an entirely different experience. Six hours of downhill riding only really wore me out, in a good way, and I still got up early the next morning to tackle a portion of the Rim trail I had not yet ridden.

First stop was the Plaza Bikes shop in the Northstar village which offers state of the art, full suspension mountain bikes from Giant, helmets gloves and just about anything else you may need.. I was completely satisfied with my rental bike and it took the bumps and bounces without complaint.Lift ticket in hand I took a ride up the gondola to the Lodge at Big Springs where I picked up my bike rental.

Next to the calm ride up the mountain on the Tahoe Zephyr Express (they have replaced every third or fourth ski lifts with a rack that holds four bikes so its basically just like skiing, you ride up to the lift, toss your bike on a rack and hop into a chairlift just behind the bike and off you go) views views and views of the sierras.

A quick hop off the chairlift, bike in hand I hit the trails not knowing what to expect I played it conservative started on an intermediate trail. The trails are marked similar to skiing with a green circle representing easy, blue square for intermediate, black diamond for difficult and double black diamond for crazy.
This first trail was basically a dirt road with some steep spots but totally appropriate for my 9 year old son who will definitely be accompanying me next time.

After getting halfway down the mountain I jumped onto a single-track intermediate trail which is just plain fun, it included numerous berms and jumps and you could basically go as fast as your constitution would allow. 20 minutes later I reached the chairlift again, this time I took the Vista Express chair to the top and was rewarded with a view of Lake Tahoe to the south.

Now comfortable with the intermediate, I decided to take on a black diamond and was thoroughly pleased. This trail was fast, technical and exhilarating all at once, lucky for me I got the chance to catch my breath every 10 minutes or so at trail junctions before dropping off to the next segment. These black diamond trails were challenging yet ride able.

Another ride up the chairlift and a little over confident I decided to see what the double black diamond had to offer. Lets just say that I ended up walking a few sections and wondering how the tire marks made it onto some of those rocks. A quick ride down the mountain to our condo for the weekend for a quick lunch, then back up the mountain with a buddy to ride as much of the mountain as possible.

There are a wide variety of trails to challenge any rider’s ability level, and I noticed that even the most advanced riders are able to challenge themselves by going faster and faster. A number of trails include manmade features such as big air jumps and obstacles, beyond my level of expertise but they always had a safe and sane way around. At the end of the day the entire body feels a little shaky but well worth the dust, sweat and tears.

My husband was given a lift ticket and bike rental to facilitate this review. All the opinions are his tried-and-true experience and was not influence by any source.

Northstar at Tahoe: Family Activities in the Village

August 26, 2010 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

Just less than a mile from our Northstar at Tahoe Condo is the Village at Northstar, the main event area of the resort. Here during the winter is where skiers and snowboarders take the gondola up the slopes. During the summer, the mountain bikers take that same ride up to the trails and lifts to the higher runs. If you are visiting during the summer without a bike, you can get hiking passes at any of the ticket booths around the Village and ride the gondola to some great walking paths. The scenery on the ride is top notch!

In the center of the Village is the ice skating/roller skating rink. Our 3 kids all had the chance to skate and had a wobbly time of it! It was their first experience on four wheels and let’s say thank goodness for the rails. The Saturday afternoon we skated a band played some great 80’s music and it was a great time. The rink is open noon-8pm most days and is a $5 charge for skate rental.

Surrounding the rink are both covered and non-covered lounging areas with couches and some spots with fire pits. Evenings even in the summer are cool, grab your favorite spirit at a few of the great free-standing kiosks selling food and drinks and hang out, it’s a gorgeous area!

There are some great shopping stores in the Village like Ambassador Toys and The North Face. During the summer, on Friday and Saturday nights you can watch an outdoor movie with your family in the fresh night air! Herbie Fully Loaded played on Friday night, while Fame played Saturday. Chairs are available on a first come first serve basis, the movie is free!

My youngest tried out the Apex Bungy featuring the Bungy Trampoline, channeling her inner gymnast/acrobat. For $12 you get 5 minutes of excitement as you bounce up and down on a trampoline. I hear from my 4 year old that it makes your tummy feel “wiggly!”

The dining in the Village runs a little higher than if you were to go into nearby Truckee, but it’s convenient and pretty delicious! You will find a common Starbucks available, Earthly Delights (deli/grocery), Mikuni Sushi, and North of the Boarder (Mexican).

I suggest Rubicon Pizza Company! The pizza was fabulous, and we dined again a second night (my girlfriend and I) and the spaghetti bolognese was divine! Great appetizers (wings, mozz sticks) and kitchy mason jar drinks! Rubicon has a fabulous kids menu as well!

Enjoy the Village at Northstar during your stay, there’s something for the whole family!

I was given a $25 GC to spend in the Village along with skating and hiking passes included in our lodging package. The opinions are our tried-and-true experience and was not influenced by any source.

Northstar at Tahoe: Condo Lodging is Perfect for Families, Close to the Village

August 25, 2010 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

Lake Tahoe has been one of my favorite vacation areas since I was little. Even nearby Donner Lake, I have a million memories being with my parents and meeting up with other vacationers that would be my pen-pals in the off season. The mountains, the trees, the blue lake. Now that I have a family of my own, I’m passing on annual memories taking trips back to the Tahoe area, most often South Shore.

Last weekend, we ventured to the north end of the lake near Truckee, CA and had the opportunity to stay at Northstar at Tahoe, a classy inclusive-resort set up against stunning mountains that boast fabulous winter skiing and summer mountain biking. Whether you’re in the area to bike, golf, fish, shop, play, or just relax there are fabulous accommodations near the main Village to come back to after a day out. (click on any of the photos to enlarge!)

Our family was treated to a 2 bedroom/2 bath Indian Hills Condominium (Big Springs area) for the weekend that was more than enough room for comfort! Just about a mile to the main Village, the condo was set amongst a neighborhood of wonderful mountain family-style homes. You see people out during the summer taking walks, out on the decks and it’s a comfortable feeling.

Walking into our home-away-from-home, you have two sets of stairs, one leading down to the bedrooms, full bath, and laundry room, and one leading up to the living/dining room, kitchen, bathroom and patio. We were pleased to see laundry access at our fingertips for any of those “just in case” scenarios, like the one where changes of undergarments were forgotten (I won’t mention any names ;)). The home was decorated like a mountain cabin should with greens and browns, adorable wood accents and pine tree decor. The kitchen was fully-equipped which is perfect to stock with your own food for the weekend to cut back on restaurant costs! Complimentary Starbucks coffee won us over as well.

The dining area has room for 6 as well as a bar with 3 stools for causal dining. Adjacent is a magnificent fireplace for cozy winter evenings, along with a cozy couch, chair and entertainment center with TV, VCR, and a CD/radio system. Each condo is individually owned and will be decorated differently depending on owner’s preferences. Though we didn’t have any VCR tapes with us, the condo provided a ton for our viewing pleasure. Our kids enjoyed watching Indiana Jones Saturday evening!

Downstairs you first reach the entrance landing which has a bench and plenty of hooks for coats, purses, equipment, etc. We stored our shoes there, though during winter, I’m sure snow boots, and ski gear has it’s place.

Heading into the bedrooms, you’ll find a master bedroom with queen bed, night stands on either side of the bed and a grand dresser with TV and DVD player. Mirrored closet doors give you an alternate place to dress, apply makeup/hair and inside the closet we found fold-out futon pads, extra blankets and pillows. My kids love the trunk in the master bedroom that contained games and cards so that we didn’t have to pack our whole household with us!

The second bedroom had two double beds, all with great sets of pillows and blankets, and both rooms had a gorgeous view of the surrounding woods.

The bedding was super comfortable and even with the rooms on the bottom floor, the temperature was perfect, no need for heat or cooling.

Back upstairs and out on the patio, you’ll find a table and chairs plus a electric bbq for outdoor summer dining.

While my friend and I dined out Saturday night, our husbands barbecued for the kids. You can watch the sunset on the patio and when everyone is asleep enjoy the utter SILENCE but a gentle breeze through the pines!

Lodging at Northstar at Tahoe varies and can be as low as $150/night depending on location and size of home/condo/room/season.

Included in your stay is 2 free roller skating passes and hiking passes at the Village and on the mountain, plus access to the recreation center (pools and spas) for a minimal fee. Check out more information here, http://www.northstarattahoe.com/info/ski/trip-planning/accommodations-overview.asp and find some great “stay 2 nights, get a 3rd free!”

Our stay was wonderful, if we ever want an all inclusive mountain trip, we’d be excited to stay at Northstar at Tahoe again!

Stay tuned for my next few reviews where I’ll talk about the activities and restaurants in the Village as well as my husband’s experience at the Terrain Park!

Thanks to Jessica for setting up our compensated stay for this honest review. The opinions are our tried-and-true experience and was not influenced by any source.