Staying Home Sucks, home
Donner Ski Ranch 1
Near Boreal Mountain Resort, 2 km away. Photo: NativeForeigner, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Boreal Mountain Resort

Ski resort · United States

Is it worth the trip?

Every day scores the same

Boreal Mountain Resort is closed for the season on these dates.

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
5 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0.1 m, base 0.1 m
Coldest
-2°C
Wind
6 kn

Tue 3 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
6 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0.1 m, base 0.1 m
Coldest
-1°C
Wind
17 kn

Wed 4 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
4 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0.1 m, base 0.1 m
Coldest
-3°C
Wind
6 kn

Thu 5 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
4 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0.1 m, base 0.1 m
Coldest
-1°C
Wind
5 kn

Fri 6 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
0 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0.1 m, base 0.1 m
Coldest
3°C
Wind
5 kn

Sat 7 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
0 cm
Depth
0.1 mmid 0.1 m, base 0.1 m
Coldest
7°C
Wind
6 kn

Sun 8 · 0 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Tap a day for snow, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 8 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 10, poor
  2. Mon 20, poor
  3. Tue 30, poor
  4. Wed 40, poor
  5. Thu 50, poor
  6. Fri 60, poor
  7. Sat 70, poor
  8. Sun 80, poor

The resort in three facts

  • Top 2,347 mvillage 2,225 m
  • 14 km of runsevery grade
  • Open December–Aprilusually

Full forecast

every day, every number

Lifts closed for the season. They usually open about 25 November.

We don't know the avalanche risk here. Check Sierra Avalanche Center.

Forecast and score for each day at Boreal Mountain Resort
DayScoreFresh72 hDepthtop, mid, baseColdestat topWindat top
Sun 1Nov0, poor5 cm0.1 mmid 0.1 mbase 0.1 m-3°Cwind, 6 knots
Mon 2Nov0, poor5 cm0.1 mmid 0.1 mbase 0.1 m-2°Cwind, 6 knots
Tue 3Nov0, poor6 cm0.1 mmid 0.1 mbase 0.1 m-1°Cwind, 17 knots
Wed 4Nov0, poor4 cm0.1 mmid 0.1 mbase 0.1 m-3°Cwind, 6 knots
Thu 5Nov0, poor4 cm0.1 mmid 0.1 mbase 0.1 m-1°Cwind, 5 knots
Fri 6Nov0, poor0 cm0.1 mmid 0.1 mbase 0.1 m3°Cwind, 5 knots
Sat 7Nov0, poor0 cm0.1 mmid 0.1 mbase 0.1 m7°Cwind, 6 knots
Sun 8Nov0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m8°Cwind, 6 knots

Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to. Snow depth starts from today's reading at Css Lab, 2100 m. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best in Mar

Good ski days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).

  1. Jan3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May0of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep0of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov0of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Snow by month

Typical snow on the ground and coldest daytime temperature by month
MonthBase2,225 mMid2,286 mTop2,347 mColdestat the top
Dec0.3 m0.3 m0.3 m-4°C
Jan0.8 m0.8 m0.8 m-5°C
Feb1.0 m1.0 m1.0 m-5°C
Mar1.4 m1.4 m1.4 m-4°C
Apr1.2 m1.2 m1.2 m0°C
May0.2 m0.2 m0.2 m5°C

Typical snow on the ground in the village, halfway up and at the top: the middle value over 2016 to 2025, from ERA5-Land reanalysis at the grid cell nearest each height. Not a forecast, and not the groomed pistes: resorts make snow lower down.

Map

the resort, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors, terrain © Mapterhorn.

Photos of Boreal Mountain Resort

Sugar Bowl 2 2013-01-05
Near Boreal Mountain Resort, 2 km away. Photo: F ASTILY, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Van covered by snow in Boreal California
Photo: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Norden -Donner , From California Zephyr - panoramio
Near Boreal Mountain Resort, 2 km away. Photo: Loco Steve, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

More skiing near here

3 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Boreal Mountain Resort

Village 2,225 m.

A ski resort with its village at 2,225 m and its top at 2,347 m. It has 14 km of runs and 7 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap. The runs drop 161 m, from 2,347 m to 2,186 m. For beginners and families: 72% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate). For experts: 3 km of advanced, expert and freeride runs. Within 5 km of the village: a ski school. It is usually in season from December to April. The snow is usually deepest in March, about 1.4 m at the top (2,347 m). For skiers the best month is usually March, with about 5 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Truckee. Within 5 km we also list 2 ski resorts and 1 climbing area.

Boreal Mountain California is a ski area in Soda Springs, near the Lake Tahoe area of California. It has six chairlifts and two surface lifts, and offers the only night skiing in Tahoe, until 8 pm. It is owned by Powdr Corporation.

Located on Interstate 80, West of Truckee, California, Boreal is typically the first area to open for skiing and snowboarding in Northern California. For the 2017-2018 season, Boreal was the first resort to open in all of California, opening on November 8, 2017. Although it is relatively small compared to other Tahoe area resorts, Boreal hosted the US Snowboarding Grand Prix in 2009.

From the Wikipedia article Boreal Mountain Resort by Wikipedia contributors, shortened by us. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

The ski area

Runs from 2,186 m to 2,347 m: 161 m of vertical. 14 km of runs and 7 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap for Boreal Mountain Resort.

Runs
Beginner3.5 km
Easy0.9 km
Intermediate5.5 km
Advanced2.7 km
Ski routes and freeride0.1 km
Not graded1.1 km
Lifts
Chairlifts6
Magic carpets1

Measured along each mapped run, so it can differ from the resort's own figure. Ski area: Data from OpenSkiData / OpenSkiMap.org, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Skimap.org, Who's On First, © Mapterhorn.

For families

72% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate).

Within 5 km of the village:

  • a ski school: Sugar Bowl Academy, 2.9 km

The Family filter counts these. Places from the Overture Maps Foundation, from Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare and AllThePlaces. Foursquare data © 2024 Foursquare Labs, Inc., Apache 2.0. Check opening times before you go.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$2,510–US$3,950 each

about US$2,510–US$3,950 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, transfer, stay, food, lift pass, ski hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to RNO, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$241–US$502
Transfershared airport transfer, returnabout US$94–US$161
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$288–US$482
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Lift pass5 days at about US$312 a day, country averageabout US$1,330–US$1,800
Ski hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$221–US$368
Totalabout US$2,510–US$3,950

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 2 towns

Closest

Soda Springs

5 min by car · 3 places to stay

about US$107/nightcountry average

See 3 places to stay in Soda Springs · Booking.com

About Soda Springs its beds, food and every spot near it

Nearest beds: Truckee, 17 km (about 35 min by car)

About US$107 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 7h 20m

About 7h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → RNO, direct, then 1h 20m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.