California Ski Season Gets a Boost Thanks to Massive Spring Snowfall in Lake Tahoe

It's beginning to look a lot like winter again at ski resorts across California as a storm dumped fresh powder on the Sierra Nevada mountains and Lake Tahoe, giving the spring ski season a much-needed boost.

In total, the storm dropped more than 3 feet of snow over seven days on some area mountains, according to the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. And it's not done, with the lab predicting over the weekend that "more is on the way this week!"

For its part, Mammoth Mountain saw between 14 inches and 16 inches of snow, according to the resort, which is typically open for its "Second Season" through Memorial Day Weekend.

Further north, resorts in Lake Tahoe also saw significant snowfall, The Associated Press reported. At Kirkwood, 21 inches fell over the last seven days, according to the resort, padding a spring season that had already been extended until May 1.

Similarly, the Sugar Bowl Resort celebrated its last ski day of the season on Sunday with 7 inches of fresh powder and a sunny, bluebird day.

Going into the week, the West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada is forecast to get a few more inches of snow in the higher elevations on Monday night, according to the National Weather Service, along with up to 7 more inches on Tuesday. Lake Tahoe is expected to get another few inches of snow on Tuesday, followed by up to a foot of snow from Wednesday night through Thursday, the NWS noted.

The snow may have continued the season for some resorts, but that doesn't mean it's not coming to an inevitable close.

"This isn't a season saver by any means, it's just nice to see precipitation," a snow expert told NBC Bay Area. "We've seen 25 inches, but it's light and dry, it's not that heavy, wet base maker that we get as we go into the season."

But even when the snow melts, there are still plenty of ways to have fun in places like Lake Tahoe from swimming and boating to hiking and mountain biking.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.