Tubing in Tahoe
Since we don’t see snow where I live unless you drive there, I’ve been looking forward to taking the kids on a this-is-what-winter-is-supposed-to-look-like weekend trip. For us, that means a two hour (on a good day) drive to Lake Tahoe. Last year my little one (then 2 yrs) wouldn’t set foot on snow. He was happy to stay on solid ground, i.e. the parking lot, or have us carry him around while we navigated going up and down snow hills. Regardless, this year I went ahead and made plans for an overnight trip in Truckee, the hub of the north Tahoe region. My plan was to check out some tubing places. I’ve never been tubing before, but it sounded fun, safe, and easy; no special fitting required. We scoped out and visited three different tubing locations, each a short distance from Truckee. I would say each one was quite a different experience. I’ll give you my take on them below.
Planet Kids at Soda Springs
The cost is $25 per child. Planet Kids is targeted to the beginning winter adventurer. It is located in an area to the side of the Soda Springs ski resort. To get there is a short walk from the resort entrance where you buy the tickets, or you can take a snowmobile “sleigh ride” from the ski resort to Planet Kids. As you enter, the right side of the park features two tube carousels. A tube carousel looks like this: three small tubes are each secured to a metal pole and four of these poles are attached like arms to each side of a spinning square. Essentially the tubes slide around in a circle at a speed that isn’t incredibly fast, but still gives that wind-in-your-hair kind of rush. On the other side of the park is a hill with a very gradual slope. One part of the hill is designated for the young tuber, a middle area is for the beginning skier, and the farthest part of the hill is where kids can learn to snowboard. 
A short ride on a moving walkway gets you from the bottom of the hill to the top. Adults don’t really participate in the activities, but can coax, cheer, and help the kids from nearby. Equipment rental or private lessons can be purchased near the entrance. Also within Planet Kids is a steep hill of snow for climbing up, sliding down, or just having some old-fashioned snowball fights. This seems like a great place to take young kids or those just starting to navigate going downhill. This also seems like an ideal location if you are with grandparents or other adults who are mostly interested in watching the kids.
Playland at Boreal
The cost is $25 for a 2-hour tubing session for those 42″ and above. Kids under 42″ cost $15 and have a separate mini tube area that does not include a “magic carpet” (a moving walkway that goes uphill). The tubing area is a separate area of the ski resort. There are five lanes that the full-priced tuber can choose from. Some have more bumps to catch air on than others. I have learned that you can control the speed (slightly) by choosing tubes that are less inflated. My 5-year-old had a great time going down by himself. The tubes were a little difficult for him to manage when he was not riding them, especially getting onto the magic carpet, but overall he was able to take on the hills independently.
The mini tubers have access to a portion of the hill directly next to the tubers. There are small tubes freely available for you to haul your little one up a short distance and let him slide down the hill on his own. As much as Joshua enjoyed this, I could not physically haul him up the hill very many times in a row. Also, the area designated for mini tubers is not very wide, so we often had to wait for meanderers to clear out of the sliding path. After the downhill slide, if you didn’t jog down the hill and tow your kid-in-a-tube out of the way quickly, he may get bumped by the next parent sending his kidlet down the hill. All in all, we found this to be a fun place to go tubing, but particularly if your kids are over 42″.
Kingvale
The cost is $18 for ages 3-12 and $20 for ages 13 and up for 2 hours. Kingvale, which is not attached to any ski resort, is much smaller than the above-listed tubing places. It has two lanes, but these two are longer and to me were more funthan the ones at Boreal. (Though the ride at Boreal was steeper, Kingvale had more ups and downs and a bend in the course.) The ride up the hill was also a bit different than the magic carpet we had seen at the earlier two places. Here you give your tow rope to the employee at the bottom of the hill, then sit in your tube as he attaches it to a tow cable. Your tube is then pulled up the hill until you reach the top, when the tow cable automatically releases. This in itself made for an enjoyable ride to the top of the hill. What I liked most about Kingvale was that you could hook two tubes together and ride tandem. That made it possible for all of us to enjoy the hills together. Our 3-year old sat in a full-sized tube in front, while one of us adults looped our tow rope to his tube and rode tummy down. My face was close enough to Joshua’s that he felt safe as we took our first trip down the hill. This kid, who will not set foot on a carnival ride that leaves the ground, was asking for more! Our 5-year old had no problem navigating the tubing park from beginning to end. After the first run, he more or less decided he didn’t need either of us around and took himself up and down the hill. In a large, crowded place this independent streak might make me worry. Kingvale, however, seemed an appropriate place for him to get his snow legs. I must say we arrived late in the afternoon on a weekend that was predicted to have miserable weather. The crowds were light. With only two runs, I wonder if it quickly reaches capacity here. Still, out of the three tubing places we tried, I would say this one was a great fit for our family.
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Note: I received complimentary passes to each of the three tubing locations. The review is a true reflection of our family’s experience.
Great list of places for tubing! We’re skiers, so we haven’t tried the tubing places at ski resorts yet!
that looks like great fun! it seems expensive – in michigan here it’s only a few $ an hour.