Cross Country Center — Hotel in South Lake Tahoe

To downhill skiers who are used to posh ski resorts (like the main Kirkwood resort a bit farther down the road from Kirkwood Cross Country Center), this place might seem a bit “bare bones.” There’s no restaurant or bar, unless you count the Kirkwood Saloon next door, and the gear rental shop will feel small next to the sprawling outfitters at Heavenly Village or Northstar.

But to a cross-country enthusiast, this place is spacious, well-equipped, warm and comfortable (especially compared to the drafty little yurt that served Spooner Lake cross-country skiers for so many years!). The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and they rent good-quality gear, the sort of thing that qualifies as demo gear at lesser shops. Prices are decent too: $30 to rent skis, boots, and poles, and $35 for a trail pass. If you buy the whole $65 package you also get a brief lesson or a guided tour to someplace worth seeing and worth skiing to—but you can just rent the gear and go ski elsewhere, or bring your own gear and buy just the trail pass to take advantage of their well-maintained trail system.

Those ski trails begin across the highway and down a short frontage road which itself is almost always well-groomed snow. If it isn’t, the rest of the meadow probably isn’t skiable either! The trails consist of wide machine-groomed “roads” with plenty of room for skating or open skiing in the middle, plus perfectly-sculpted striding tracks on each side. My wife loves these pressed tracks: they are like smoothly-engineered versions of the natural striding tracks that develop in the wild, whenever one skier blazes a trail and others follow in their tracks. Unlike the natural ones, these are never uneven width or depth, never too-sharply turned, and they never develop “death cookies” along the edges. As a backcountry skier I find them weirdly idealized and perfect, but when the impulse to blaze my own trail, I can always cut across the meadow anywhere, or skin up into the surrounding trees and hills, and let my wife practice her diagonal stride on the groomers that snake all around Kirkwood Meadows.

This is our go-to place to bring beginners who want to learn cross-country skiing. The instructors are great. And although I really love backcountry skiing with my climbing skins and powder skis with randonée bindings, a day of easy skiing with their lightweight gear and lovely trails is always a delight.

A few last notes: • there is a warming hut at the far end of the meadow! I’ve never been there but my wife loves it, and makes it a goal for her friends whom she is encouraging in their skiing. • You can ski to the Kirkwood Resort itself, and all its luxuries, from here! And the parking here is better. • They won’t keep your regular footwear in the rental shop for you, you need to stow your shoes in your car. • snowshoes can be rented here too if you’re into trudging slowly through the snow instead of gliding on skis as God obviously intended...

One of the best places to go cross country skiing! Beautiful area & has trails for all levels. Be careful not to drive to the wrong place as I did, but was easily pointed in the right direction. Only reason I am rating this 3 stars is because of one of the employees that was not friendly at all. She was not accommodating or friendly at ALL when we were just barely late for a lesson, when she realized we had dogs, or when we were told we could switch out our cross country skis for skate skis & she said we couldn’t. Was just rude all around! Slightly ruined my attitude for the whole activity since my friend & I had never cross...

I wish it was cheaper, but I can't stay away! Haha! The equipment is in good shape and the trails are just stunning. I can't wait to get better at cross country skiing so I can get out onto the advanced trails. You can also rent and get a sno park pass for the Carson Pass area and get out into the back country on snow shoes. Just be sure you know where you're going! I had been out there in dry weather but didn't recognize some of the landmarks in the snow. This is some of the most beatiful land in...