Palisades Tahoe Ski Guide: Stats, Passes, History

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Palisades Tahoe is one ski area made of two mountains, Palisades (the old Squaw Valley) and Alpine Meadows. The resort’s own statistics page lists 6,000 skiable acres, 39 lifts and a 2,850-foot vertical rise, and says it sits 42 miles from Reno.

Checked November 2, 2026. Dates, prices and hours change; the official page wins.

6,000skiable acres, both mountains (official)
2,850 ftvertical rise, Palisades side (official)
39lifts, both mountains (official)
42 mifrom Reno, per the resort

Palisades Tahoe ski area under snow with Washeshu Peak — Photo: John M, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Quick Facts

OperatorThe resort page credits Alterra Mountain Company in its footer.
WhereOff Highway 89 between Truckee and Tahoe City, 1960 Olympic Valley Road, Olympic Valley, CA 96146 (resort footer).
ElevationsPalisades: base 6,200 ft, peak 9,050 ft. Alpine: base 6,835 ft, peak 8,637 ft (official statistics page).
SnowfallAverage annual snowfall 400 inches, as the resort states (official statistics page).
Trails and terrainPalisades side 187 trails and 16 bowls; Alpine side 109 trails and 7 bowls; longest run Mountain Run, 3.2 miles. Combined trail mix 25% beginner, 43% intermediate, 24% advanced, 9% expert (official).
LiftsThe combined 39 include a 110-person aerial tram, a 28-person funitel, two gondolas, seven high-speed six-packs and five express quads (official).
SeasonWinter November to May, lifts 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., subject to weather (official). 2026-27 opening date: Not confirmed.
Drive from RenoAbout 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min (our estimate, no live traffic); the resort itself says 42 miles.

Two Mountains, One Pass

Alpine Meadows opened in 1961 and joined Squaw Valley into one resort; the combined name Palisades Tahoe replaced Squaw Valley after the owners announced the change in 2020 and made it official in 2021. Those dates and the 1961 opening come from Wikipedia, a secondary source, and sources disagree on the year of the merger (2011 or 2012), so we do not state it. The official mountain statistics page lists each mountain’s numbers separately and a combined total.

The 1960 Winter Olympics

The 1960 Winter Games were held at what was then Squaw Valley, February 18 to 28, 1960, according to Wikipedia’s article on the Games; it also reports 30 nations and 666 athletes. We have not read an official Olympic or resort page for those figures, so treat them as secondary. The It’s Reno renamed and closed ski areas page keeps the naming history in one place.

Passes and Prices

The resort’s page links season passes through the Ikon Pass site. On November 2, 2026 the page listed Ticket Packs from $95 per day, a Midweek Pass at $759 and a Beginner Progression Pass at $799, and said prices rise after November 3. A single-day window price was not shown.

Official site: Palisades Tahoe: Mountain Statistics.

What We Could Not Confirm

These items were not read on an official page when we checked, so we do not state them as fact. Who can confirm each one is named.

Official 2026-27 opening date and closing date (palisadestahoe.com).
Single-day lift ticket window price (palisadestahoe.com lift ticket page).
The Olympic figures and the Alpine Meadows merger year (resort history pages or the Olympic Committee).
Which runs are best for which ability: we do not rank terrain; use the official trail map.

More to Explore

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Palisades Tahoe the same as Squaw Valley?

Yes. The resort dropped the Squaw name; the new name was formalized in 2021 according to Wikipedia. See our history page for the sourcing.

How far is Palisades Tahoe from Reno?

The resort says 42 miles. We estimate about 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min of driving in good conditions.

Are Palisades and Alpine Meadows connected?

The resort’s own statistics page lists the two mountains separately and as a combined 6,000 acres. Check its trail map for how you move between them.

Sources

Cite this page: It’s Reno editorial team, “Palisades Tahoe,” itsreno.com, checked November 2, 2026.

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