A VISIT TO NORTHSTAR RESORT IN LAKE TAHOE
Hello There!
Over the course of my son Austin’s ski racing career, we have traveled to Lake Tahoe many times for races. There are over a dozen world class ski resorts in the Tahoe area.
And, as you may have gathered by now, I love to travel. So, following my son to a ski race is a good excuse to satisfy my craving for wanderlust. Twice in recent years Austin’s ski racing events have taken place at a charming resort called Northstar. In fact, we have just returned from a visit there, where Austin competed in the California High School State Championship Ski Races.
Northstar is actually located in Truckee, California, about 15 minutes from Lake Tahoe.
But Northstar is far more than just a ski resort.
It consists of a village made up of low rise condominiums……
with shops and restaurants on the ground floor of most of the buildings.
There is a cool place called The Chocolate Bar where you can eat or drink chocolate in every imaginable form. One evening we tried a chocolate martini.
On both of our visits to Northstar we have rented a condo through www.VRBO.com. This time our condo featured a view of the entrance to Northstar.
However, many units face the interior of the village
The finest accommodations in the village are located in this condominium, called One Village Place. The units look amazing, but on both occasions they were fully booked during our stay.
Northstar is a ski-in, ski-out resort, with a gondola in the village that delivers skiers to the slopes. One can then ski all the way back down to the village.
The centerpiece of Northstar Village is the ice skating rink.
Cabanas with comfortable seating around gas-burning fire pits encircle the rink.
At midday the team gathered here for lunch.
And every afternoon, after the races, they would congregate around the fire to roast marshmallows and make S’mores.
Northstar hands out free S’mores kits, which the team took full advantage of. They also went ice skating every afternoon, utilizing the free skates provided at the rink.
At the far end of the rink is a stage where they apparently have entertainment from time to time.
In addition to the many restaurants and bars, in Northstar Village they also have kiosks like this one where you can order a cocktail to enjoy apre ski.
Dotted around the rink, as well as on the slopes, are these “Euro Snack” kiosks. They sell Belgian waffles and sausages stuffed in a French baguette that they call “French Hot Dogs.”
There is also a kiosk called “Euro Crepe” where you can order crepes with both sweet and savory fillings.
Our team spent a full week at Northstar and loved every minute of it. If there wasn’t so much to do in and around the Lake Tahoe area, one could keep quite busy without even leaving Northstar. And, if there were not a fantastic restaurant in Truckee called “Stella” to try, I could be quite content living on ham and cheese crepes at Northstar. So, stay tuned for my next post, where I will share my culinary adventures at the acclaimed fine dining establishment of Stella.
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Thank you for visiting!
Celia
