Skiing! second best to Squaw Valley.. IMO and in some aspects better..

Great ski resort. Not to big but there are plenty of backcountry options.

There are several kickers, rails etc. throughout the resort and not only in the park.

You can easily reach it from South Tahoe.

www.kirkwood.com

Great little ski/snowboard resort 30 minutes outside Lake Tahoe. Your best choice if you want to save some bucks and get away from the crowds, but still ski a quality mountain. Chances are that you'll be staying at a hotel in South Lake. For $5 roundtrip hop on the South Lake Tahoe shuttle service which goes from South Lake to Kirkwood.

The ski resort in Kirkwood is kick ass number one.

They have obstacles, kickers and a lot of other stuff built up in the whole resort so every slope you take will be a freestyle experience.

I would recomend to go there if you want to escape the crowds at Lake Tahoe, Heavenly etc.

I am so bummed that it took 31 years before I was made aware of Silver Lake. It is closest to (or in, I guess) Kit Carson, Amador, California, near Kirkwood on 88. What an amazing place for a camping trip. We went on Labor Day weekend, which should have been the most crowded weekend of the year, and it still felt like we had the lake to ourselves.
The fishing is decent, the swimming is excellent, but for those who hike, it's tough to beat. We spent a full day just hiking the mountains around the lake, finding other little lakes in the higher areas and taking in some breathtaking views. Based on that one day, I think it would take a good month of constant hiking to have covered all of the forests, hills, mountains, lakes, and caves surrounding Silver Lake.
Skip Yosemite for a year, and go to Silver Lake. You won't regret it.