SugarBowl

SugarBowl

The ski bus to Sugar Bowl from the Bay Area

Round-trip bus from San Jose, San Francisco and Walnut Creek to Sugar Bowl, on Donner Summit off Interstate 80, near Norden. One of the oldest ski resorts in California, and first in line when Pacific storms roll in.

Bus only, $119 round trip. Sugar Bowl trips on sale are listed at the bottom of this page.

Summit
8,383 ft
Base
6,883 ft
 
 
Sugar Bowl, to scaleGolden Gate Bridge towers, 746 ft each

1,500 feet of vertical. Stack two Golden Gate Bridge towers and you are still 8 feet short.

Sugar Bowl by the numbers

1,650skiable acres
105trails
12lifts
500"average snowfall a year

Terrain mix

 
 
 
14.7% beginner
41.2% intermediate
44.1% advanced and expert

Riding to Sugar Bowl with us

Pickups are in San Jose, San Francisco and Walnut Creek. Each trip page lists its exact pickup times.

Bus leaves Sugar Bowl at 4:30pm sharp
Ride home, typical drop-off times
7:45 to 8:00pmWalnut Creek
8:30 to 8:45pmSan Francisco
9:15 to 9:30pmSan Jose

Drop-off times depend on traffic.

Good to know

  • 1,650 acres spread across four peaks.
  • Terrain parks expanded for 2026-27.
  • New for 2026-27: an 8-person Village Gondola replaces the 4-person gondola that ran since 1983.
  • Sugar Bowl built California's first chairlift and the West's first ski gondola.
  • Lift tickets, rentals and lessons are not included. Buy tickets and book lessons with Sugar Bowl. For rentals, use rentskis.com or Last Minute Gear.

Watch

Mountain stats: Sugar Bowl resort stats page and Ski California 2026-27 season preview.