Top Things to do in Soda Springs
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Top 10 Things to do in Soda Springs, United States
Discover the best top things to do in Soda Springs, United States including Royal Gorge USA Cross Country Ski Resort, Sugar Bowl Resort, Donner Memorial State Park and Emigrant Trail Museum, Matt Heron Fly Fishing, Woodward Tahoe, Donner Summit Historical Museum, Squaw Valley Ski Area, Desert Studies Center, Donner Ski Ranch, Historic Downtown Truckee.
Restaurants in Soda Springs
1. Royal Gorge USA Cross Country Ski Resort
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 24 reviews
The largest cross-country ski resort in the United States, Royal Gorge challenges both beginner and advanced Nordic skiers and telemarkers.
Reviewed By Sylvialuna - West Menlo Park, California
It is great to see that Royal Gorge is now being managed well and that it still exists. I have been cross country skiing here for over 20 years and love the huge area to ski. Yesterday I skied on trails that I had never yet traversed. After a great three hour ski it is enjoyable to hang out in the Summit Station lodge for some tasty soup. Staff are helpful and friendly. When I was there many of the trails were not yet open due to not enough snow, but staff were ready to help me map out a route for my day. I do wish that the Wilderness Lodge would reopen since the fire and that the cafe would serve food again on the deck as there is nothing like skiing and having a sunny lunch down at the Wilderness Lodge.
2. Sugar Bowl Resort
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 61 reviews
For passionate skiing families and adventure enthusiasts alike, Sugar Bowl-Royal Gorge offers an extraordinary mountain resort experience with four great peaks, endless cross country trails, a world-class ski team and academy, and a magical snowbound village.
Reviewed By hausenpepper - Dorado, Puerto Rico
Its a lot of fun taking the gondola in to the old resort, it feels very nostalgic. The resort itself is in need of an upgrade, but super cute. Good restaurant with mediocre hours :)
3. Donner Memorial State Park and Emigrant Trail Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 430 reviews
This museum documents the fascinating and tragic history of the Donner Party's journey to the west coast.
Reviewed By RISA L - Briarcliff Manor, New York
Fabulous! The trails are beautiful and the Emigrant Trail Museum is not to be missed. It is a wonderful place for children to see the wagon trains and the hardships that people had to go through.
4. Matt Heron Fly Fishing
Overall Ratings
5 based on 67 reviews
Matt Heron Fly Fishing is an all inclusive fly fishing school and outfitter in North Lake Tahoe, CA. Our school is widely regarded as one of the best in the country, offering daily classes on our private stocked ponds, spring through fall. Our year round outfitter is based out of Truckee CA, and provides trips on the Truckee River, Little Truckee River and Sawmill Lake. We also have access to many other creeks and lakes, as well as private water options. During the winter, we host trips to some of the worlds finest saltwater destinations and lodges. Next time you're in Tahoe, let our talented team of experienced guides and instructors show you an amazing experience on the water!
Reviewed By wolfturbo - Laguna Niguel, California
Wow - I just got back from 3 days on the Truckee and Little Truckee with Matt and I couldn't be happier. I have fly fished extensively throughout the Western United States and two things about this trip stuck out with me: I can't believe how fabulous these wild trout are and Matt Heron is in the top 1% of all the guides I have ever used!
He knows these rivers like the back of his hand and he is tenacious in making sure his clients have the best experience possible. He has a positive attitude, he is fun and he knows just the right balance between instructing versus letting you do you own thing. Your worst case scenario with Matt is you'll have a great day on the river. But if you want to learn, we will gladly make you a better angler.
I also like to fish with my teenage daughter, so I greatly appreciate the fact that Matt is polite, doesn't use profanity and isn't sneaking a smoke whenever I'm not looking. Sadly, I've had more than a few guides who don't fit this description.
I've already scheduled my next trip so I can settle a score with a few fish that broke my heart on this trip. I give Matt my highest recommendation without reservation!
5. Woodward Tahoe
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5 reviews
Reviewed By Tayler G
Boreal / Woodward facilities offered Sacramento State Ski and Snowboarding Team the best experience out of all the mountains. Their mountain is the closest to our campus and provides not only training on mountain but also woodward facilities with skate, snowboard, and skier training. GREAT vibes and GREAT people. This facility truly inspires new and current members to become better riders and have fun!
6. Donner Summit Historical Museum
Overall Ratings
4 based on 9 reviews
Reviewed By EffStop - Meadow Vista, California
Run by a One Man Band, Norm Sayler, and The Donner Summit Historical Society this place is a cornucopia of Donner Summit History. Photos, displays, artifacts, books for sale, and a very generous brochure rack. Piles of things known only to Norm creep in from place to place along with a central area from which he holds court. It's all in one room, you can carry on a conversation while checking out the displays. A friendly and informational place.
One of the brochures to be sure to pick up is on The 20 Mile Museum, it gives the location of a growing collection of 30+ roadside signs along the Historic Route 40 which parallels I80. There's a brochure on Historic Route 40 from Rocklin to Truckee as it crosses the Sierras.
The Society is concerned with all things about Donner Summit from skiing to The Transcontinental Railroad. If you want to search out something specific to the summit they probably have an idea about the topic.
Norm also sells coffee, so even though the official hours are 1000am-400pm on Saturday and Sunday you never know when else you'll find him there. He's always ready to entertain a visitor, one visit and you'll feel like an old friend.
7. Squaw Valley Ski Area
Overall Ratings
4 based on 517 reviews
Famous ski area with Olympic memories.
Reviewed By Keith D - Atlanta, Georgia
I skied at Squaw Valley March 4 - 10 and we had sunshine filled days in the Mid 30’s and 100 plus inches of base snow. These days were 11’s on a scale of 1 to 10 and we felt like we were lucky to be skiing at this resort. I used the Squaw app but Squaw needs trail markers and signs on every run like they do in Colo.
KeithDeCay
8. Desert Studies Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6 reviews
Reviewed By etweeden - London, United Kingdom
This is the location of the California State University's Desert Research Station, funded and staffed by a consortium of seven CSU campuses. The Research Station was formerly a Spa and Resort in the 1930s and 40s (Soda Springs Spa). It was also famous as (1) the last word in the English language, and (2) the only place in California unable to receive TV or Radio signals due to the surrounding topography (a situation eventually resolved by satellite broadcasting). It is accessible by exiting I-15 at exit 239 and travelling south on 'Zzyzx Road' for 4.5 miles to the Center. There are picnic tables, a small parking lot and toilets on site open to the public, and the public may drive around the area freely. Enjoy!
9. Donner Ski Ranch
Overall Ratings
3 based on 26 reviews
Opened in 1937, this popular ski area offers 400 dynamic acres with the longest run measuring 1.20 miles in length.
Reviewed By cml94618 - Oakland, California
Came here on December 30, after waiting an hour in line at boreal, and then getting turned away!!! While boreal was mobbed, Donner ski ranch was not too crowded. It's not a large place but has a reasonable variety of nice trails. The lift lines were never very long. The lift ticket prices were more much reasonable than other nearby resorts. However the layout of the best and trails is not optimal. To access one area on the backside you end up doing some cross country skiing (that's not downhill getting there or back). Once there, there are some nice trails and you have the mountain almost to yourself, but getting back is there and back is a bit of a pain. They close the backside lifts early, about 3 PM, and it can be a pain getting back from there to the front side.
The lodge, however, was way over crowded and it took nearly an hour in line to get lunch, even though we didn't eat till 2 PM. We found out later on a second visit though, that there is a second lodge on the back side of the mountain accessible only by skiing in. It's small and has a more limited menu, but may be less crowded since the trails on the backside of the mountain were less crowded.
No snowboard park, so there are a lot fewer snowboarders at Donner.
10. Historic Downtown Truckee
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 109 reviews
Reviewed By Helen W
Historic Downtown Truckee is a great place to visit and browse. You can easily spend several hours here, with a couple of museums, art galleries, breweries and restaurants, and boutique shopping. Be prepared to spend some time looking for parking, though, and most of the parking is pay and display. Focused mainly on a single street, it’s easily navigable on foot — once you’ve found someplace to leave the car. It runs parallel to the train line, so children might get to see a passing train. Amtrak also stops here about once a day. It’s well worth a visit.
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