Sorensen's and Hope Valley

Sorensen’s in Hope Valley was our home base for many snow trips

Once we caught the High Sierra’s bug, we started to branch out from the Lake Tahoe basin. Our first winter trip outside of our typical Tahoe ski excursion was to Sorensen’s in Hope Valley. Hope Valley is a great base camp for Kirkwood in the winter or some amazing hiking and fishing in the summer.

Sorensen’s felt like Santa’s Village. With tiny cabins painted red with tall peaks and warm fires within.

Our children were still very young, 4 and 7 years old. So the compact feel of the resort was perfect for free play and lots of family fun in the snow.

Right in the heart of Hope Valley is (or was) Sorensen’s Resort. Now called Wylder Hotel, it remains a quaint place to rest after a day enjoying the countryside. We holed up in a cabin called “Snowshoe Thompson”, named after a U.S. Postal deliveryman who was famous for delivering the mail no matter how deep the snow was or how hard the wind blew. We spent one week every winter in our adorable cabin, making daily trips to nearby Kirkwood then sledding, snowshoeing, hiking or relaxing around the grounds of the resort.

Not far from Wylder Hotel is Grover Hot Springs in Markleeville. The hot springs are developed, unlike others along Rt 395 like Travertine or Buckeye, Grover Hot Springs charges an entrance fee, has lockers and a limit on the number of people who can come in. Oh, and you’ve got to bring your swim suit. It’s not clothing optional like the natural locations! After a great day on the slopes, there’s nothing like soaking in the springs.

Note: Due to the Tamarack Fires, Grover Hot Springs and the surrounding state park are closed for the foreseeable future. Crews are working on restoration.

If you go to the area during the summer months, you may want to try your hand at fly fishing. I personally have no luck as I have no know-how, but if you know what you are doing, I hear the Carson River is just about the best spot you can find.

One year there was a massive blizzard during the week of our trip. The snow was incredible and the sound of the avalanche crews blasting the cornices off the peaks was both menacing and exhilarating all at once! That year, we did a lot more snowshoeing and snowman building than anything else. Carson Pass (Rt 88) was closed most of the time so we couldn’t get to Kirkwood. The day we left, the clouds turned dark quickly at the peak and we found ourselves in a white out at the very top of the pass! At the time, we drove an old Toyota Camry which is NOT made for deep snow like this. At the height of the storm, our snow chains broke and the sound of the snow chains hitting the car mixed with the sheer terror of white out conditions at 8,574 feet was terrifying!

Very shortly after this we invested in a 4 wheel drive SUV. No more trips over the pass in an old sedan!!

I’ve uploaded a video of our terrifying experience. Although I’m laughing, I promise that’s nervous laughter. My husband wasn’t too happy I was recording what I thought was most definitely our demise.

My kids however were brave and took it pretty well. In the video, you can hear the snow chains hitting the car. Isn’t it awful?!

Since then, we haven’t had another experience like that. We now travel over Donner Pass (Rt 80) to get to our cabin, which is just a mile or so from the pass. Actually, it’s right before the pass so even in the worst weather we can get to our beautiful cabin!

The other pass you may be familiar with is on Route 50. The highest point before you descend into South Lake Tahoe is called Echo Summit.

This area has had its share of tough times over the past couple of years. COVID shut down many businesses then the fires swept through and destroyed Grover Hot Springs and many other beloved locations. This past year, Markeeville experienced flash flooding which hit the town very hard. If you are traveling down 395 or in the Hope Valley area, pay a visit to Markleeville and give their businesses some love.