hope valley outdoors

My friend and I wanted to try cross country skiing and decided on this place, which is a close and pretty drive from South Lake Tahoe. This was my first time on skis of any kind and my nerves were immediately calmed by the friendly and fun staff, which were not intimidating at all. The hour lesson was well worth the money and off we were to experience the fun. Each time we stopped by at the yurt for some water or snack they would encourage us and give tips even though the lesson was over. We also saw some coyotes when we first arrived and it was nice to see them playing in the snow. Make sure you bring cash. We forgot and there are no nearby towns with an ATM. You would have to backtrack at South Lake Tahoe. There are bathroom facilities, which consist of a portajon, or the greats outdoors.

We visited during October hoping to see some of the fall colors. We were about a week late to get the best view but we still got to see some of the fall. We went to several of the lakes and through a lot of mountains. Very picturesque.

We liked the location and resort for the fishing, scenic meadow, river and mountain vistas. We disliked nothing.

In one word: Awesome! The location is easy to get to. the area is not crowded with hundreds of people. It's dog friendly. And no snow machines, at least on the day we were here. I bought a discount coupling for a lesson and rental for two of us. I made a reservation and broke it a day later. Joyce was very accommodating. I also discussed the options of trying different types of skis during our visit. Again Joyce was great and assured me that we could swap out skis after the lesson. I did not expect to be able to hang out and try skis until my heart was content but that is exactly what we did. My wife and I were introduced to Hannah, our instructor for the lesson. Hannah is a bright, knowledgeable, patient and friendly lady that seems to love what she does. Nothing seemed to fluster her. Most of the group showed up late and without missing a beat Hannah let my wife and I go off on our own to practice what we learned,while the rest of them caught up on the lesson. After the lesson we talked with Joyce and Hannah about equipment, favorite types of skiing, and physical limitations. Then Joyce and Hannah let us try out every ski they had that met our needs. The location itself is great. If you have your own equipment you can just park, put on the skis and go. There are boxes for donations to keep trail open and free of typical Sno Park fees. Most of all it is the people that made this a great day. Joyce and Hannah, Thank You very much.