Winter in California is varied and beautiful. I stood amidst the snowfall after driving a couple of hours on one weekend and cherished a pleasant and sunny winter afternoon at the beach on another weekend.
If you are in a mood to explore the beautiful corners of California in winter, during or after the holiday season, there are a plethora of options.
Each has its unique lure. Since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am fortunate to have experienced them all. So let me help you plan some wonderful winter weekend gateways in California.
Winter in California is varied and beautiful. Explore snow-filled winter getaways in California from the San Francisco Bay Area. #Travel #VisitCalifornia Click To TweetMap of winter getaways in California
Snow-filled winter getaways in California
When winter arrives I love frolicking in the white snow. I enjoy when a familiar landscape becomes new overnight and slowly a world of monochrome unfurls.
In California, it just takes a drive of a couple of hours to arrive at a snow-filled landscape. Snowfall amidst the woods, beside a lake, or in the mountains, all have a different ethos.
All landscapes transcend the ordinary. Come along with me and take a look at all the snow-filled winter getaways in California and choose the one that suits you.
Come along with me and take a look at all the snow-filled winter getaways in California and choose the one that suits you. #VisitCalifornia #California Click To TweetIn California, it just takes a drive of a couple of hours to arrive at a snow-filled landscape. Snowfall amidst the woods, beside a lake, or in the mountains, all have a different ethos. All landscapes transcend the ordinary. #Travel… Click To TweetLive in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry David Thoreau
Visit Sequoia National Park – A perfect winter getaway in California
Greet winter amidst the giant sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park. Under the snowy boughs and branches of the big trees, go for snowshoeing.
Take a short hike to the biggest tree in the world –The General Sherman. You will find well-marked trails to crunch through groves of big trees in this pristine winter wonderland.
If you have time, head over to Wolverton Meadow in Sequoia National Park. Once you reach the large snow play area, there are plenty of options to go for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and sledding.
There’s no admission charge to Wolverton’s snow play and sledding area. I remember building a snowman with my little one. She also loved making a snow angel in the lovely Wolverton Meadow.
The glee and glitter in her eyes was perhaps the best reward. When the snow was falling incessantly, we both tried catching the snowflakes on our tongues. No calories after all 😉!
Hotel for overnight stays: Comfort Inn & Suites Sequoia Kings Canyon – Three Rivers
Take a virtual tour of Sequoia National Park in the winter!
If we didn’t think of spring in winter, or search winter to find some new emotion of its own to make up for the absent ones, half of the keyboard of life would be missing. We would be playing life with no flats or sharps, on a piano with no black keys.
Adam Gopnik
Visit Bear Valley – A snow-filled winter getaway in California
On a crisp, cold Saturday, with the skies a pure, cerulean blue, meet winter amidst snow-capped mountains and valley.
Drive a couple of hours from the San Francisco Bay Area and reach Bear Valley, located in the beautiful Central Sierra Mountains.
Check in to the beautiful Bear Valley Lodge and spend a perfect winter weekend. You can choose to slow down and savor the Sierra.
At night remain cocooned with extra blankets and duvets, fires and candles and mulled wine, and perhaps one of your favorite travel books.
Given an option, I would have opted for Thoreau’s journal. You can also choose to get your heart racing at Bear Valley Resort.
Bear Valley Mountain is the place to be for some epic skiing or snowboarding, other winter activities such as sledding or cross country skiing can be found in the Bear Valley Village.
My visit to Bear Valley was full of fun and I would love to visit this place every winter. This little corner of California, away from skyscrapers, gave me my much-needed solitude amidst nature while my daughter enjoyed making a snowman with her daddy.
I also enjoyed looking at people doing different winter activities. People-watching during travel is one of my favorite travel activities from my Switzerland days.
Memories that we make in the grey of the winter with Santa, snowman, snowflakes and pine trees, keep our hearts warm for the rest of our lives.
Chirasree Banerjee
Visit Lake Tahoe – A magical weekend getaway in California
I visit Lake Tahoe often to celebrate winter. The gorgeous blue-robed lake and the surrounding snow-peaks is a perfect sorbet for my eyes.
Whenever I feel like going on the top of the mountains, I embark on a Gondola and soak in breathtaking views of the mountain.
The Heavenly Gondola ride and the one in Squaw valley, both offer spectacular views. If you want to go for skiing then the options are plenty – the Heavenly ski resort, the Squaw Valley ski resort, the Kirkwood ski resort, and the Northstar ski resort.
Another activity that I like when I visit Lake Tahoe is the horse carriage ride. It feels like traveling back in time, meandering through scenic landscapes while listening to the rhymic clippy-clop of the horse!
A magical experience. During the winter vacation, if you don’t feel like driving all the way to beautiful Lake Tahoe from the bay area, then take the train from San Francisco to South Lake Tahoe.
Hotels for overnight stays: Tahoma Meadows Cottages
The sunshine and cold, the sparkle and the ice, somehow warm even when the north wind bites.
Unknown
Visit Donner Lake – A beautiful winter getaway in California
If you want to avoid crowds and savor some solitude then visit Donner Lake. I love the quiet and calm atmosphere here.
The lake reflects the snow-clad mountains and pine trees and is perfect if you love to experiment with your camera like me.
Spend time in nature in the Donner Memorial State Park. Here you can engage in lots of activities or forgo a things-to-do list and just relax to enjoy the pleasures of solitude, to dream, and contemplate.
For me, winter opens up a space in which I restore and repair my energy for the rest of the year. Everything about me changes in winter – and I let it happen.
Donner Lake is a perfect gem for my precious solitude.
Hotels for overnight stays: Donner Lake Village
This winter day – grim, yet so delicate-looking, so spiritual – striking emotional, impalpable depths, subtler than all the poems, paintings, music I have ever read, seen, heard.
Walt Whitman
Visit Mammoth Lakes – An amazing winter getaway in California
Savor the gorgeous winter scenes in Mammoth Lakes – the beautiful mountain resort town! Mammoth Lakes means a line of jutting peaks, clusters of crystalline Alpine lakes, and the dense Inyo National Forest.
The snow, the lake, and the forest – feel the harmony here! Adventure awaits at the top of the mountains. Pack or rent all the gear for skiing and get inside the Gondola.
The wooden chalets, small shops, and the grand mountain surrounding the Mammoth Village are spectacular.
I remember sitting beside Lake Mary in Mammoth Lakes and listening to beautiful birds. Mammoth Lakes is indeed a perfect winter getaway in California.
I visited Mammoth Lakes on my way to Death Valley National Park, and I would love to revisit it again.
Hotels for overnight stays: Alpenhof Lodge
I remember the long drive to Mammoth Lakes like one remembers a beautiful serenade. Snow-clad Eastern Sierra mountains, the winter grey, and the sun peeking through the clouds were mystical and magical.
Visit Yosemite National Park – Enjoy a winter weekend in California
Say hello to winter amidst the wilderness in the Yosemite National Park. Marvel at the snow-clad iconic granite domes and enjoy the unrivaled thrill of time spent at one with nature.
Choose to go ice-skating at the Curry Village Ice Rink, a spectacular family-friendly outdoor skating rink in the heart of Yosemite Valley.
You can also opt for cross-country skiing to the scenic Glacier Point, which towers 3,200 feet above the valley floor and offers some of the most beautiful views in all of Yosemite — including Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, and the Yosemite High Country.
Embrace winter vibes and enjoy the sight and sound everywhere. Yosemite National Park, one of the oldest national parks, makes a magical winter getaway for sure!
Hotel for overnight stays: Yosemite View Lodge
The snow is melting into music.
John Muir
Similar articles from Travel Realizations
I love weaving the outdoors into the fabric of daily life. Sometimes a week-long road trip, sometimes just a day trip, and sometimes weekend escapes.
I travel. I write. I celebrate the experiences. And I hope I inspire you too! Take a cup of coffee or a strong black tea with a smidge of sweetener and a kiss of milk and read along.
Which article below piques your interest?
I love weaving the outdoors into the fabric of daily life. Sometimes a week-long road trip, sometimes just a day trip, and sometimes weekend escapes. #Wanderlust #Travel Click To Tweet
Travel Realizations
I rejoice in the glorious brightness of frosty mornings. I don’t sleep the white months away. Every season, every day, is an opportunity to live and celebrate life.
Nature’s infinite industry and love of hard work in creating beauty is my inspiration.
During the winter, when days are full of sunshine and the nights all starry and calm, I explore, contemplate, click photographs and write.
Each and every destination I visit becomes a part of my being. If you are here searching for a beautiful winter getaway, then pick any of these destinations, explore and enjoy.
Celebrate winter and your experiences.
If you are here searching for a beautiful winter getaway in California, pick any of these destinations, explore and enjoy. Celebrate winter and your experiences. #Travel #Winter #California #BayArea Click To TweetWhy do you flee so soon, sir, to the theaters, lecture-rooms, and museums of the city? If you will stay here awhile I will promise you strange sights. You shall walk on water; all these brooks and rivers and ponds shall be your highway. You shall see the whole earth covered a foot or more deep with purest white crystals . . . and all the trees and stubble glittering in icy armor.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Until my next post, adieu!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to Winter in California – Weekend Getaways. You may also enjoy these other Bay Area and California travel guides.
- 35 Best Lakes in Northern California to add to Your Bucket List
- 36 Top California National Parks, Monuments, and Historic Sites – A comprehensive guide!
- Bay Area weekend getaways on California Highway 1
- Top 8 scenic drives in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Spring break in California – Best places to visit
- Easy Day Trips from San Francisco
- 11 Best Bed and Breakfasts in Napa Valley
- 30 Best Day Trips from San Jose, California
- 40 Top Things to Do in San Jose – The Ultimate Bucket List
- 21 Top things to do in San Ramon, California
- 18 Romantic Coastal Towns in California within a Short Drive from the San Francisco Bay Area
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