Palisades Tahoe is a ski resort in the Western United States, located in Olympic Valley, California, northwest of Tahoe City in the Sierra Nevada range. Founded 77 years ago in 1949 as Squaw Valley, it changed its name in 2021 due to the derogatory connotations of the word "squaw". It was the host site for the 1960 Winter Olympics.
The resort is the largest skiing complex in the Lake Tahoe region, and is known for its challenging terrain. Palisades Tahoe (not including Alpine Meadows) has a base elevation of 6,200 feet (1,890 m) and a skiable 3,600 acres (5.6 sq mi; 14.6 km2) across six peaks, employing 23 chairlifts, 4 carpet lifts, a tramway, a gondola connecting it to Alpine Meadows, and the only funitel in the United States. It tops out at 9,010 feet (2,746 m) at Granite Chief, and averages 400 inches (33.3 ft; 10.2 m) of annual snowfall. The resort attracts approximately 600,000 skiers a year, and is also home to several annual summer events.
The spotlight of the 1960 Olympics raised the resort's profile, and it went through several ownership changes beginning in the 1970s. In 2012, it merged with nearby Alpine Meadows, and became Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, to offer joint access to 6,000 acres (9.4 sq mi; 24.3 km2), 43 lifts, and over 270 runs. However, a constructed gondola connection between the resorts, as well as a proposed development at its base, has met with controversy from environmentalists.
