In January of 2024, I headed to Kirkwood, CA with a group of guys to experience all that Kirkwood had to offer. Having been to Heavenly just down the road, we were interested to see how Kirkwood would compare.
Getting There
We traveled from Sacramento and made the drive in the evening along the fog filled mountain roads. This 2:15 drive in good weather took us closer to 3:30, slowing considerably due to the limited visibility along the curvy slippery mountain roads. I would very much recommend having a 4WD vehicle to make this trek, and believe there are chains required in areas along the path, depending on your route.
Lodging
We had a rather large group of guys for this trip (8), so we needed a place to stay with plenty of spaces to sleep. Luckily our Air BnB was wonderful. It was within walking distance to the lift, the bars/restaurants, and ski-out at the end of the day. Our lodging was near the central part of the village, providing 3 bedrooms and enough places to sleep that everyone had their own space. The kitchen had everything we needed for our stay and let us cook a number of meals with the additional food we brought with. Our hosts were great and we would return to this rental again in a heartbeat! We even had indoor parking for 2 vehicles, though there was plenty of parking right down the street if necessary. We could ski right to the end of our driveway via 'Lower Olympic' which was a nice addition.
Skiing
I first have to start with a huge disclaimer, we had some incredibly unseasonable warm weather during our stay. We had temps in late January into the 60's down in the village. This made for incredibly soft and wet conditions most afternoons, and very icy conditions in the mornings. The lifts open in a phased sequence, and during our time, we found it best to start out to the east (left looking up the mountain) in the morning. This was the first area to get direct sun. In our case, this was required to break the crust of ice that formed overnight. There are large open skiable areas off the 'Sunrise' lift, and we found ourselves lapping this area each morning as things, and our legs, were warming up. The ridge along 'The Wave' and 'Devil's Straw' provides a largely open ski area that funnels you right back down to the lift. Due to the multiple lifts necessary to access this area, it was never very busy. Heading the other direction when exiting 'Sunrise' toward 'Larry's Lip', thou mountain offers numerous options to drop down into the chutes below Cirque. Here we enjoyed 'Hells Delight', a double black diamond which we did a couple time during our stay, as there was good snow coverage.
Back toward the middle of the resort, the most well known run, 'The Wall', towers above all else. Accessible by 'The Wall' lift, be sure to heed the warnings at the loading area, this area is an Expert Only area and you will certainly have a bad time if you do not possess the skills to traverse this terrain. It is steep!. Once the sun hit this snow, we had a great time on the double black sections up top, feeding into the single black sections all the way down to the base. This lift also services 'The Sisters' and their chutes that feed into the Wagon Wheel Bowl but may require a hike (though an easy one) to get there, depending on conditions.
Heading even further to the west, the 'Cornice Express' lift feeds the rest of the upper mountain. Follow the cat track along the ridge and around 'Glove Rock' and there are some other less traveled areas even further west that provide some interesting areas to explore. This area didn't get as much sun during our stay, so we had to make sure to time the conditions correctly. This area empties out near the main parking area, where you can catch a wagon back toward the village, or in our case, our rental.
Village
We were actually quite surprised at how small the village is in Kirkwood. As with all resorts, there are rentals available and couple shops that sell gear as well. There are really only two restaurants, one being The Cornice, which is a beer and pizza kind of place. This is probably the busiest place in town due to it being in the center or everything. The other option in town is 7800' Bar & Grill which is a little further walk, but has a huge fireplace, which is necessary because it is cold (I am not certain there is actually heat in the building). Back out at the main highway is the Kirkwood Inn and Saloon, which is nicer place (comparably speaking) to grab a bite. This BBQ and burger restaurant gets busy, and they may run out of certain things depending on the day, so don't be disappointed if this is the case. Service here was good, and we enjoyed our meal, even with the limited menu options. One other notable place to check out if you need a warmer during the ski day is the hut in the middle of the Kirkwood Village Plaza, where you can get a glass of mulled wine with a shot of whiskey. This is a popular place as well, and can be crowded depending on the day. The bartender here was a blast, and we visited multiple days during our trip.
Overall
Our group enjoyed Kirkwood, but the conditions definitely didn't allow us to get the best from the mountains. The limited options in town impacted the social aspect of the trip, as many visitors come up from Tahoe for the day it seemed. A day in Tahoe isn't a bad idea when staying in Kirkwood to provide those social aspects the small mountain town cannot.
Travel: 7/10
In good weather, an easy drive up from Sacramento with our 4WD pickup.
Skiing: 6/10
Large ski area providing multiple days of exploration with plenty of difficult terrain.
Village: 4/10
Very limited options across the board. If you are looking for a relaxing ski vacation, this might fit the bill perfectly, though the lack of food and beverage is a considerable limiting factor.
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