What to Know
- June Lake
- Saturday, Dec. 21
- Kids 12-and-under ski for free, all winter long
How have you spent winter solstices in the past?
You might have run to the store for apples. You could have been at your desk, answering emails. Perhaps you cleaned out the garage or reorganized the closet.
For the winter solstice often finds us engaged in decidedly un-winter-like pursuits, especially if it falls on a weekday.
But you could fully embrace the icy, chill-down, sweater-up spirit of the day in 2019, if you make your way to the Eastern Sierra, and Mono County, and June Lake, which is, of course, The Switzerland of California.
For that's where June Mountain is located, and slopes at the family-popular ski destination will heat up on Saturday, Dec. 21 with opening-day activities.
That's the just-announced kick-off date for the season, and, no, we didn't mean "heat up" as in actual heat. Rather, plenty of people, including lots of tots, will be out in their goggles and knit caps, ready to ski.
The Scene
Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.
Why do we say "lots of tots"? Because this pretty place, in the Golden State's own version of the Alps, is famous for a very fun fact: Kids 12-and-under ski for free.
And that's all season long, not just on opening day, hooray.
Thank June Mountain's "easygoing atmosphere and shorter lift lines" for its family-strong vibe, as well as access to undaunting terrain that's just right for beginners.
And frequent cameos by Bucky, the antler-rocking June Mountain mascot, also makes for a kid-sweet day out in the snow.
There's been some fresh sights to see popping up around June Lake, which is just a short drive from the mountain.
What's new around the village? Look for The Lift, which serves coffee, wine, and tasty bites is checkout-able, while the T-Bar Social Club will have the live tunes and board games come the eveningtime.
