Northstar California Resort - Ski resort in Truckee - 5001 Northstar Dr, USA

This review is targeted at skiers/snowboarders. While the location of the resort is very picturesque and the main village itself is cozy and nice to relax at, overall Northstar is totally not worth your time. Here’s why. For starters, the runs are not overwhelmingly great. Blacks feel like blues, blues feel like greens, and greens are cakewalks. The runs do not offer much of a challenge for the experienced skier/snowboarder. The only thing the mountain does particularly well is provide good trees to ride through. However, many people don’t stick to doing that the whole time and spend a large portion of their time on main runs—which to say are busy…is an extreme understatement. Every run seems to be filled with everyone from experienced riders to people who take up the entire run performing an s-turn. Secondly, the resort gets more and more crowded each year. Don’t get me wrong, when I first came here I was looking forward to going on many runs and having a great time with the people I was with. Suffice to say, the majority of the memories I have from that trip were sitting in line waiting for lifts. Do NOT expect to come here and not deal with huge lines. It’s simply unavoidable. The resort just doesn’t have the capacity to deal with the crowds it attracts. Third, the customer service of the workers at the resort is awful. I try to have sympathy for them, maybe it’s just the fact that they are being overworked because of the sheer number of people at Northstar each day. But at the end of the day, their service still isn’t good and they consistently seem to have negative attitudes. Finally, and arguably most importantly, everything is so so overpriced. And I mean EVERYTHING. From food to apparel to lift tickets. On top of having to deal with crowds both on lifts and on the runs, poor customer support, and generally underwhelming runs, you’re having to pay up to twice as much for a lift ticket or pass as you would at another resort. Overall, if you can go to another resort, just go. Northstar is overrated and overpriced.

This ski resort is a great place for beginners they have lots of trails, and while they look busy, the lines move quickly. The big easy and village run are the best for beginners. I enjoyed my time there and will definitely come back.

Nice mountain for family skiing -- especially mid-week and non-holidays. It doesn't handle a crowd well, so try and avoid the popular days. The runs themselves won't intimidate you, but you can get some decent snow on occasion.

Big thanks to the Ski Patrol at Northstar. Not only did they find my lost phone, they shipped it back to me the next day! The resort itself was also remarkable. Great views on the ridge trails, lots of amenities down at the village, and of course the Gondola is perfect for bringing up new snowboarders who may not quite be ready to ride the lift yet.

The stores and atmosphere are amazing. The lifts are pretty straightforward and convenient to use. I appreciated the restaurant and bathrooms up midway of the mountain.

Perfectly positioned right off of 267 between Tahoe and Truckee. Great parking options, friendly staff, and clean amenities. We enjoy Northstar a couple of times a year.

Nice resort but not the most epic of resorts in the sierras for skiing, locals call it flat star. The parking lot feels like it’s miles from the resort, then you have to walk through the village and get on the gondola. After riding the gondola Then you can ride a lift up to ski. The village has lots of shopping, restaurants and amenities. Traffic is honestly getting out of control. Trying to leave On a weekend it could take you an hour and a half or more just to get from northstar to the freeway. This should only take 20 min but it’s a one lane road and the stop lights back up very far. If you want to ski here I recommend getting an air bnb or renting a condo to avoid the unnecessary wait times. Good for beginners but advanced riders would probably want more. Leave early getting there and coming back. Be sure to Pack your patience.

Rooms are great and a step above. Staff is super helpful. The view is pretty. Need to come back during winter.....and I live in the mountains normally, but it's pretty here. Would live to hit the shops being so close to the resort.