'California's Oldest Ski Resort' Is A National Park Stunner With Tubing And Snowboarding In A Laidback Atmosphere

When you think of Yosemite National Park, you might think first of hiking or rock climbing. But it's also a ski destination. Yosemite is home to Badger Pass Ski Area, which is "California's oldest ski resort." Along with skiing, it has snowboarding, tubing, and snowshoeing, and it's a particularly great place for beginners and families looking for a laid-back place to enjoy the snow during their Yosemite trip.

What would become Badger Pass Ski Area first opened in 1928 as the Yosemite Ski School. It came about after a trip to Switzerland for the 1928 Olympics by Don Tressider, the then-president of Yosemite Park and Curry Company. He wanted to turn Yosemite into the "Switzerland of the West." He and renowned photographer Ansel Adams also tried to get Yosemite named as the location for the 1932 Olympics. They ended up losing out to Lake Placid, New York, but Adams' photos of the park as a veritable winter wonderland for recreation helped promote winter tourism, including skiing in the park. In 1935, it opened as the Badger Pass Ski Area. In its first season, it brought more than 20,000 people to the slopes.

It wasn't just California's first-ever ski resort; it also had the first-ever mechanical ski lift in the West — people were pulled up the hill on a sled-like contraption. While that is long gone, you can now get up the hill via one of five lifts — four chair lifts and a tow loft. These get you to the park's 10 runs. The runs are mostly for beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders. It's not really a place for advanced athletes, though there are a few black diamond runs as well as a small terrain park where you can practice jumps.

You can certainly find bigger and steeper ski resorts in California, but Yosemite's Badger Pass Ski Area can help you work on your snow skills. Adults and kids ages 7 and up can take half- or full-day group lessons for both skiing and snowboarding, and kids ages 4 to 6 can join the Badger Pups classes. There's also the option for private lessons. Lift tickets and gear rental can be pre-purchased online so you don't have to wait in line, but classes are first-come, first-served.  

If you're not into skiing or snowboarding, there is a hill specifically for tubing (no sledding). That way, you don't have to dodge skiers as you zoom down the hill on an inner tube. You can book a tubing session for two hours at a time.

Whatever your activity of choice is for your day at Badger Pass, you'll be able to enjoy it in a beautiful and fairly relaxed setting with few crowds — if you've ever waited in a long lift line, you'll appreciate how quickly things can move here once you've got your gear. One reviewer on Google Maps referred to it as: "magic, MAJESTIC Memories!! Very well maintained, breathtaking scenery. Nobody there this day except two snow groomers grooming the ski slopes."

At Badger Pass Ski Area in Yosemite, the snow is all natural; there's no snowmaking, as you might find at some larger ski resorts. This means it has a comparably shorter season, typically running from around mid-December to March. You can really make a day of it here since there's a restaurant at the day lodge serving food like burgers, hot dogs, and soup. There's no overnight lodging at Badger Pass. The closest accommodations are in Yosemite Valley, which has a couple of year-round hotels.

Badger Pass Ski Area is just off of Glacier Point Road, one of Yosemite's most scenic drives. It's about 20 miles from Yosemite Valley, and depending on the weather, you may need to have chains for your car to get here. You don't have to make the drive up if you don't want; when the ski area is open, there's a free shuttle between Yosemite Valley and Badger Pass. During winter, Badger Pass is as far as you can go on this road via car. It makes a great starting point for a snowshoe or cross-country ski expedition up to Glacier Point. If you don't want to do it alone, there are guided tours available.

Beyond Yosemite, there are only two other national parks in the U.S. that have designated snow ski areas with lifts (via The Wander Club). Washington's Olympic National Park is home to one of the country's largest rainforests as well as Hurricane Ridge, a small, locally run ski hill. Then there's Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley National Park with its Brandywine Ski Resort.