Tahoe Donner Ski Area

This place is so awesome ! They have slopes and equipment for everyone. It’s better than north star for half the price

Just back from a long weekend in Tahoe. Had my kids and wife in the ski school, and their lessons were fine.
Also observed some off-​the-​charts rude behavior by one of the instructors for an adult beginner class. Instructor was berating a student who clearly had no experience and was struggling. At one point, threatened the student to «get up, because we are not waiting for you.» Absolutely outrageous.
Also observed a joyless toddler class run by a guy who continuously directed sarcastic comments at his students. He was clearly out of gas at the end of the season. Sad. Glad I was there to keep an eye on my kids.
Tahoe Donner might want to consider supervising its instructors. Some of them suck.
I won’t be back to this mountain or ski school again.

Took my daughter and her friend here for an all day ski lesson, ages 8. Prices are reasonable and the reservations were easy, facility is nice and cozy, which is why I gave a gracious 2 stars. The problem came with the ski instructor. It was an older man, which I didn’t understand they would put an older man with a bunch of 8yo girls. He had no patience and not engaging the kids at all! These girls were first timers. They spend THE WHOLE DAY in the flat ski school area, smaller than a kids soccer field. (4 hours!!) Only the last 45 min of the ALL DAY lesson, they were brought to any hill! Needless to say, the instructor was incredibly boring and so impatient the girls begged me not to continue the lesson. I waited until after lunch, hoping it would change, it did not! I complained to the ski school manager, he was equally rude and impatient! Probably would not go back to this ski school again!

This review is for the ski school and the excellent instruction provided to our four daughters, all first-​time skiers. The instructors were all very clear and patient with the kids, with a great positive attitude that paid off with excellent results. I also saw them deal with two instances of young student frustration – both times, they were able to bring them back into the lesson and ultimately create a great experience for the kids. At the end of their first-​ever day on skis, our girls were able to gently wind their way down a full-​length green run with few falls and a lot of grins. Definitely the place to go to learn – we’ll be back!!!

I called ahead for information regarding the tubing– only to find out upon arrival it was a sled area and to use a sled was 19 each (!) I coulda/​shoulda brought my own ! Too bad when I phoned earlier asking about conditions and tubing that this wasn’t explained. Upon arrival it almost took an act of god to get the correct information, as none of the staff knew the setup/​location/​price. So even though it was late we decided to ski-​as I didn’t feel like spending 38 to use a sled for an hour.- Then we were charged full price on everything with literally 2 hours left in the day. OK rules are rules– but what about a little discount ?
So off we went-​out the 2 lifts I went to the one that went to the top, as green runs were available form there– for my young daughter who is learning to ski.
We got there and the wind was blowing — about 25 to 30 knots– I am not afraid of wind– I am a sailor and life long skier– but this was hazardous– it was white out conditions and it was blowing my kid backwards– I had to tie her to me so she wouldn’t get blown over! If they had put a sign at the base of the lifts– alerting us to conditions, I would have not chosen this lift and just did bunny hill lift as I like to make informed decisions. Also the access from the top to the bunny hill area was an intermediate (blue) area– as green area was shut (and whited out /​windy) so it was very hard for newish skier to do –I was ok – but I had to coax and help out the new one a lot– Again had I known there weren’t a green option… ok so 50 min later after I finally got the kid down the hill safely, we embark onto bunny hill chair– the 2 operators — one on each side — OK I thought this is good– safety first… not… my kid didn’t quite get fully scooped up – and was dragging — I had to let her go into the snow, vs. getting her leg twisted /​dragged. I said to lift operator — hey I thought you were helping– she began to yell at me telling me it was my fault that my kid was hurt… YIKES. Just what my scared kid needed to hear– mom cannot be trusted… Way to go – the model of customer service! So ok – we soldier on – we get a total of 2 runs in – and then decide to go enjoy the firepit as the day is over… but they had the chairs put away– 15 min after lifts closed (!) So no apre ski ! As I said I have been skiing for 40+ years on 2 continents — and I have never experienced such a terrible time– it’s a boring hill with a crowded lodge and rude clueless staff, and worse– not alerting their customers about unsafe conditions.

My son literally got bored at the group ski class called Snowflakes. Definitely it doesn’t make sense to pay for a whole day since children spend time on the small slope and the instructors don’t really teach anything. My son and other children who were skiing for the first time sometimes had to wait 5 minutes to be picked up when they fell down. Maybe it’s better when you want to expose your 3 yo to the snow, but please, stay with them, as after 10 minutes the class begun, some children were crying and their parents (not to mention instructors) couldn’t really help.

I don’t think you can beat it for the price. I don’t know about lessons, but my beginner son and I appreciated that there are a few green runs to choose from. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. We bought 2-​day tickets from Liftopia in advance for even more savings. This is obviously not for everyone, but it was great for us.

I must said I had the worst experience of their private lesson. Never find the instructor named Sean.
This was our first time trying on Tahoe Donner, because we saw its website markets it’s the best resort for beginners. So we decided to register a private lesson with them. We called the resort, a lady answered the phone, she was very impatient for helping us make bookings and said our registration numbers so fast that we couldn’t really get the exact number through the already not very clear quality of the call. And she was just so impatient to us. Finally we got our number, though we were quite disappointed with the lady’s attitude.
On the day when we arrived the resort, we found the ski resort didn’t have clear direction. After we registered, we couldn’t find where our private lesson instructor was. One of the customer service lady advised us to go to the middle area of the poll, where a bunch of people were taking the lesson. We went there, however we didn’t see an instructor there. We waited for a while, but still didn’t see any instructor. Then a student there kindly told us to find those wearing green jacket to ask about our private lesson instructor, that’s how we finally reached Sean.
We finally were able to start our private lesson with Sean. However, when we just stepped on the snowboard about 15 mins, Sean said our class has ended! We paid our lesson but barely learned anything yet, but he just left us standing there surprised not knowing what to.
It is very disappointing that we received a private lesson of this kind of unacceptable quality. To us, this was even worse than a group lesson and it even costed much more expensive price. I wouldn’t recommend its private lesson and we will never consider choosing Tahoe Donner ever again.

Went to get information on ski lessons, was told by attendant we open in 2 minutes come back later, lol, I hope that’s not the attitude by the entire ski resort, what a first impression i had a bad day because of that, I hope other resorts are better

I went there for the first time to meet with friend who are ski beginners and just placed my skis on the corner of the ticket building while I checked the ski pass price and unloaded my stuff. Next moment my skis were stolen!!! I could hardly believe what just happened. I have been skiing all over the country and this was my first time on the beginners slopes and I am sure my last one. Do not ever leave your skis there unattended! Ski stealing-​did not know that such a thing existed. I was assured by the stuff there that somebody took it by mistake and that they will return it, but it did not happen. Very disappointed. Will not go there ever again.

For young kids learning for the first time, it’s actually quite a mess. The weekend classes are really hard to get into. The 2 easy magic carpets are reserved for the ski classes, so if you can’t get into one it isn’t easy to teach a new young kid.
We finally got the kids into a class, and the class for the 4 year old was a disaster. Within 20 minutes, several kids from my kid’s group had to go to the bathroom or were crying. So our teacher left with them and left our kid marooned… Unclear who was his new teacher, and seemed like he was just supposed to sit on the side for half an hour because the teacher left.
They also didn’t have basic supplies like tissues, so one kids nose was just a mess.
Overall I expected a lot more from an area supposed to be tailored for young kids and families.

We enjoyed a ton at the snow play area with our 3 year old.
So many things to do, for just $ 19 per person.
Sledging, tubing, making snow man, aiming snow balls.
We took 2 lessons at the downhill ski area, nd had mixed experience.
Adult lesson with Nancy was superb. She is a very good instructor for beginners.
Snowflakes lesson was good the first day with Natalia, but the second day the instructor Joseph was horrible. He was constantly yelling at my son, and he once picked him up with just my son’s arm. You are not supposed to handle kids like that.

One of the best skiing experience… Brad and Shiela were extra ordinary… and gave us the best skiing lessons during christmas weekend… It was my second time learning skiing so I am a total beginner. My dad also went in for the first time in life and both instructor made sure that he is comfortable and can have an amazing experience… they didn’t rush through anything and took us way into the countryside forest and never spoke to us rudely even though we kept on falling all the time. Shiela was with us till the end and kept telling us all the best strategies while skiing so that we don’t get hurt and at the same time enjoy more and more.
This resort I heard opened up recently and in my opinion it is way better than Northstar.

My review is for the lack of customer service by Dave Walker, who is the Director of Ski and Snowboard at Tahoe Donner. My child was ½ hour late for the full day lessons that starts at 10:00 a.m. due to the slow rental process (over 1 hour to get the equipment). Ran into Dave Walker who was at the group lesson meeting area. Only a ½ hour late for a full day lesson, he wouldn’t help my child join the group ahead. He pretty much said tough luck because it wouldn’t be fair to the other skiers and to come back at 1:30 pm to start the 2^nd half of the lessons. I said what about lunch (which comes with the full day lessons)? He said my child can go have lunch at 12:00 pm but can’t join the group to ski afterwards. He emphasized that your child should arrive 2 hours ahead of the start of the lessons as stated online. I couldn’t find this recommendation. What gives? Eventually, we were able to get credit back for the missed morning lesson at the cashier area, but it wasn’t offered from Dave. In general, the overall staff was not very friendly.

I would give this place more stars but the rudeness of one employee can ruin a person’s perspective on the place. A group of friends and I rented a place for 5 days over the Christmas holiday. All went amazing until our encounter with a short woman who gave her name as Dody but would provide no proof of it. Although she did work there cause she used a key to get into the office club house. We were enjoying our evening by winding down in the spa and playing pool. Long story short we were playing pool and someone knocked on the door. A gentleman that was not in our group let him in. This woman named Dody came out of the office screaming that it’s our job to verify the people coming in. I proceeded to tell her we are on vacation and not here to police people, I was told I have no rights as a guest which I laughed at. Anyway a person in the room happened to video tape it and I forwarded it to me which i forwarded to the management. Hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Other than that its a great place just limited food spots.

Cheap and very good for kids and first time skiers… gentle slopes for beginners.
There is a restaurant and fire pit for eating and chatting :)
Rentals and lessons can also be booked there as well as online
There snow play area is good as well for tubing and sledding.

Last time we were here, there was only one trail open, and it was icy. The lower area was pretty muddy. I guess you can’t blame Donner if Mother Nature was stingy with her snow, but I felt a little let down. At least the ticket prices were cheap that day.

This place is awesome for families with small kids. The price of lessons is much more affordable and the people are super friendly. My 3 and 6 year old boys had a great time learning to ski here. It was a crying shame that the rest of the mountain wasn’t open when we visited, since they were reading to move to a steeper area after their morning lesson. One tip I have for parents of little ones: I saw a lot of 3 – 5 year olds completely exhausted by the early afternoon for full day lessons. I would honestly not book a full day, especially for 3 year olds. I feel like it would be waste of money. But hey, that’s just me! I saw at least two kids leave the lesson early because they were just too exhausted. My 3 year old fell asleep sitting up at 6pm that night after skiing. It takes a lot out of the kids. :) We will be back! Pray for snow!

Tahoe Donner Resort – the best place to fall on your butt a billion times before you finally learn how to snowboard.
My boyfriend is an intermediate snowboarder. I, however, have been snowboarding a total of 2 times. Last saturday, January 5^th, was my second time. Ever. So, I fell on my butt more times than I can count. Eventually, I got good enough for the green runs, so it was nice exchanging the bunny slope conveyor belts to the 4 seater lifts. There are three types of lifts in the resort: (1) bunny slope conveyor belt, (2) 2-​seat lift to the green run, and (3) 4-​seat lift to the blue and black diamond runs.
My boyfriend has a season pass at Squaw Valley Resort, but I, being a rookie, wanted to learn how to snowboard in a beginner-​friendly resort.
My group arrived at about noon (technically past 12:15pm), so we were just in time to purchase half-​day lift tickets, $ 35 opposed to the $ 43 whole day ticket. Super affordable! A day pass at Squaw, albeit a bigger, more challenging resort, would have cost $ 104. Ouch!
We stayed at the resort until closing at 4:30pm, which means about 4 hours of falling, crashing, and shredding (into) the snow.
If you are a beginner, Tahoe Donner is the best place to go. Best deal for beginners!
Tip: If you are carrying lots of equipment (or lazy like me), the resort offers a free shuttle to and from the parking lot. Short wait and friendly service. In fact, Tahoe Donner, has some of the friendliest staff I’ve met.

We took our kids skiing here over the recent spring break. It was a great experience for them. This place advertises itself as «a great place to begin», and they’re absolutely correct about this.
We’re effectively a non-​skiing family. The first time I skied was 25 years ago; the second time was 2 months ago. We took our kids (4 and 6 years old) to a small midwestern ski area where they first got a taste of skiing, and took this most recent opportunity to see how much they really liked it. They have a reasonably-​priced «Snowflakes» program for new skiers up to age 6, with very patient and kid-​friendly teachers. Both our kids enjoyed it, though the 2.5 hour lesson was a little long for my younger child.
Make no mistake, this is a small ski resort, especially as compared to some of the marquee sites nearby like Squaw Valley. It only has two lifts, one of which services a very gentle beginner’s slope. The larger lift give you access to a handful of intermediate runs and a couple so-​called black-​diamond runs, but as compared to black diamonds that I have seen (not skied) at other areas, they clearly aren’t as challenging. Still, when you take your 6-​year-​old down and give her the opportunity to tell her friends that she did a black diamond, you’ll both feel a sense of pride.
I got the impression from other skiers that this resort doesn’t get nearly as crowded as other nearby ski areas, even during the busy times like ski week. The slopes were practically empty during this last week of their ski season, which is also a good thing for beginners. We’ll be back a few times next year, including ski week, so we’ll see if this is really true.
Prices are fair; for non-​Tahoe Donner members it’s $ 39 for an adult. Lift tickets for kids 6 and under are free; I didn’t see the rates for older kids. There isn’t much to the lodge — just a bar and grill with burgers and dawgs and the like.