Where is Sugarbowl Ski Resort?

The address of the Sugarbowl Ski Resort is 629 Sugar Bowl Road, Norden California – just off the I-80. The SugarBowl Ski Resort is 10 miles west of Truckee, and as one of the Tahoe ski resorts it’s about 24 miles from Lake Tahoe. Nearby is Rainbow Bridge (Donner Memorial Bridge) on route 40, a striking bridge that overlooks Donner Lake just below Donner Summit.

Sugar Bowl CA is:

• 91 miles northeast of Sacramento
• 178 miles northeast of San Francisco
• 42 miles southwest of Reno Nevada
• 25 miles northwest of Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe
• 23 miles from Kings Beach on the north shore of Lake Tahoe
• 53 miles northwest of South Lake Tahoe

Flying

The Reno-Tahoe International Airport is not far away from the Sugarbowl Ski Resort (46 miles), receiving more than 100 direct flights daily from various USA cities. Otherwise another gateway is the San Francisco International Airport (189 miles away).

Rent a car (preferably at 4WD) at the airport if you plan to visit various Tahoe ski resorts, or if Sugar Bowl is your only destination it is possible to get a private Reno airport shuttle to Sugar Bowl Resort.

Base Areas and Parking

The Judah Lodge on Sugar Bowl Rd is the main base area for day trippers. The main beginners’ slopes are near this base, and there are also blue runs and the terrain park. There is a parking lot near the day lodge, and unless it’s super busy it’s just a short walk to get there. A shuttle bus provides transport between Judah Lodge and the parking lot, but it didn’t seem to be running too often when we visited.

For overnight visitors the parking is on Donner Pass Rd. From there, you catch the slow-ish Village Gondola that crosses the inter-continental railway line to get to the village. Powder hounds often use this as a base for day trips too, because the black and double black terrain is more easily accessed from the Village base area.

Private Transport Providers

There are a couple of bus companies that provide transport from the Bay Area and Sacramento to Sugar Bowl.

Otherwise you can catch an Amtrak train to Truckee and get a shuttle from there.

Getting between Truckee and the Sugar Bowl

During winter, there are hourly shuttle buses between various locations around Truckee and Sugar Bowl.

Other Ski Resorts Nearby

Very close neighbours to Sugar Bowl are Soda Springs, a tiny little ski area, and Boreal which isn’t much bigger.

Sugar Bowl is in close proximity to some of the major Lake Tahoe resorts and particularly close to Northstar (20 miles), Squaw Valley (20 miles), Alpine Meadows (23 miles), and Diamond Peak (31 miles).