I have a friend coming from out of town who has never seen snow.  I am
looking for a recreational area to nearby that has or will have snow
on the weekend of Jan 12th, 2003.  I am trying to limit driving to
less than 2 hrs each way (that puts Lake Tahoe out of range).  Any
suggestions?

For example, 

Mt. Hamilton would have been nice:
http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/public/pictures/snowpics/

But it's not snowy there right now though:
http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/hamcam/

Hello legomaniac-ga,

If you’re lucky, there might be snow on Mt. Diablo. Just two years ago
it got 26 inches in February. Since you can’t count on that, I
recommend you study the Ski Area Comparisons chart from The Online
Guide to Skiing in Northern California. If you want a quick and easy
drive and reliable snow, Boreal on Highway 80 is very good. If you
want spectacular scenery slightly off the beaten path, Kirkwood is
exceptional. Dodge Ridge and Bear Valley are known for family-oriented
facilities.

I wish you and your friend fun in the snow.

cazh

http://beta.kpix.com/news/local/2001/02/14/Mt._Diablo_Draws_Crowds_for_Fun_in_the_Snow.html
02-14-2001 -- Mt. Diablo Draws Crowds for Fun in the Snow
Twenty-six inches of snow fell on the summit of Mount Diablo, which
breaks a fifty-year record.

http://www.jaws.com/baski_sf/skiarea/compare/Distance.html
The Online Guide to Skiing in Northern California
 Ski Area Comparison - Distance from SFO
Winter driving distances from San Francisco International Airport in
miles.

http://www.borealski.com/tahoe/SITE/top/listing.cfm/other/5922/0/direct?c=1
Boreal is the closest and easiest resort to access from all parts of
Northern California and Reno, Nevada. Conveniently located off
Interstate 80, take the Boreal / Castle Peak Exit and you are in the
parking lot.

http://www.kirkwood.com/index.shtml
Krkwood Photo Gallery

http://www.bearvalley.com/snow_index.htm
Bear Valley Mountain Resort

http://www.dodgeridge.com/newtododgeridge.html
New to Dodge Ridge?

SEARCH STRATEGY
Personal knowledge of Bay Area and environs.

---

Clarification of Answer by czh-ga on 03 Jan 2003 11:36 PST

Dear legomaniac-ga,
I'm sorry you're unhappy with my answer and that you didn't use the
clarification function so I could help you further with what you need.
If you had clicked on
http://www.jaws.com/baski_sf/skiarea/compare/Distance.html The Online
Guide to Skiing in Northern California that I included, you would have
seen the links to ALL possible snow areas (and the distance you'll
have to drive) in any direction you choose. The resorts and play areas
are suggested are each on a different highway, so they're all
different options and different types of snow experiences. Only Boreal
(189 miles) is on the way to Tahoe. Kirkwood (167 miles) is on Hwy 88
to Carson Pass, Didge Ridge (162 miles) is on Hwy 108 in the Gold
Country, as is Bear Valley (182 miles) on Hwy 4. These are the closest
places to find snow near the Bay Area unless you luck out with Mt.
Diablo or Mt. Hamilton (your great hope).

Maybe you could get someone to truck in some snow for you. :-)

Good luck for finding a fun place to play in the snow.

czh

No search strategy used.   All of the "ski resorts" listed were near
the Tahoe area, which I specifically stated were out of range.  While
it's possible that there is no snow within 2 hrs. drive from San
Francisco, it would have been nice if the researcher said so rather
than having to further research it myself to find out.

162 miles to the nearest place with snow is quite a fast car ride to
take in 2 hours :P.