Tahoe Snowmobiles & Tubing — Attraction in South Lake Tahoe

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

While the concept of Google Snowmobile is fun, my recent experience was unfortunately marred by significant overcrowding and inefficiencies that severely detracted from the enjoyment.

Issues:

Excessive overcrowding: Despite pre-booking a timed slot, the designated area was jam-packed with people. It felt chaotic and unsafe, making it difficult to maneuver and enjoy the experience.

Disregarded reserved time: Our reserved time slot seemed meaningless. The line progressed slowly, regardless of booking time, resulting in significantly longer wait times than anticipated. Insufficient tube rides for the price: At over $50 per tube, I expected more than just three runs down the hill. This felt like a poor value for the cost, especially considering the long wait times. Safety concerns: With the high number of people and tubes and scooters crammed together, it felt potentially unsafe. Collisions and close calls were just at the corner, adding to the overall negativity of the experience.

Suggestions:

Implement stricter crowd control measures: Limit the number of people allowed within the designated area to ensure a comfortable and safe experience for everyone. Enforce reserved time slots: Stick to pre-booked schedules to avoid long lines and frustration for early-bird guests. Offer better value for money: Consider increasing the number of runs included in the ticket price or offering discounted rates for longer waits. Prioritize safety: Implement measures to minimize collisions and maintain a safe environment for all guests. I hope Snowmobile takes these suggestions into consideration to improve the overall experience for future visitors. Unfortunately, my visit fell short of expectations and left me feeling disappointed...

The snowmobile experience itself was fine. It served our purpose to “understand what is it”. It was enough for our family of four to share 30min slot.

The issue is to get to the point when you start driving. It was frustrating.

First of all, and even before we brought our kids there we visited the site and tried to book a slot. We arrived at 10.00 and explicitly asked if we can book a slot for 11.30. The cashier just pointed us to the “waiver” and asked to complete it before anything else.

Not a problem, we did that right away (questionnaire online).

Then we repeated our ask to book a slot for 11.30 and got an answer that she can’t do that and we need to do that online only!

So my question is - why didn’t you said that before?! Why we spent that time, filling that questionnaire and holding the entire line? To hear “go book online”?

Alright, we went back to the hotel. Booked our slot and got back to the site at 11.30.

Approached the same cashier and let her know, that we would like to share the snowmobile 30 min slot (15 min/ 15 min) for our family of four. She gave us receipt and four “under the helmets”.

The next surprise was waiting for us when we approached the snowmobile and informed personnel that we will be sharing it (two 15 min slots). We’ve got an answer that we can’t do that because we didn’t purchase two additional helmets (because we can’t reuse those two included). It’s perfectly fine, but why didn’t the cashier said that? Didn’t she know it’s the requirement? She knew. She gave us “under helmets” for four of us.

What was the result? We got back to the line again and spend another 15-20 minutes there holding two lines now (to the cashier and holding the snowmobile itself white getting two...

Overcrowded, overpriced and disregarded start time not to mention the 15mph max speed, small track and people don't pay attention. No different then driving in a big city with tons of congestion. I especially like all sleds speeds are set to KM/h vs MPH to give you the allusion your going fast but in reality your not, nice gimmick.

One guy somehow ran off the track almost into a tree which is impossible because you let off the thumb the throttle and stop real quick. Others try and race haha but all the sleds are slow and they come very close to hitting you. Any damage is 100% your responsibility so be careful if you decide to rent one of these money machines.

I see where the kids would have fun but for adults who have rode a bike; Don't waste your money. I used 7 of the 30 mins before I stopped and asked for a different sled because I thought mine was broken and at that point I was informed everything is governed at 35 km/h (about 20ish mph) and for $95 you should be informed of all the details so at $3.16/min x2 sleds rented I'll be happy if our money is refunded for the time not used as the sleds were quickly given to the long line of uninformed visitors waiting to go round and round and no compensation offered even though it's misleading marketing to attract customers.

Again just to be completely fair here: if you have kids (teenagers would be bored) and you wanted something fun to do compared to a full snowmobile adventure in the zephyr or somewhere else then here is your answer. Your just going to pay a extremely high premium...