Dude! There's plenty of places to ski or surfboard in California.

Although most noted for its sandy beaches where surfers come to play, winter sports fans about in the Golden State with plenty of opportunities to find acres of white stuff at higher elevations.

In world-class ski resorts like South Lake Tahoe and Yosemite in northern California, the Sierras in central California, and even the snow covered San Bernardino Mountains in southern California local ski and snowboarding buffs can hit the slopes from early winter to late spring.

Los Angeles, in fact, is famous among fun lovers as the place where you can go surfing in the morning, and head up to the mountains to ski or snowboard by lunchtime, sipping on hot cocoa in front of a blazing fireplace by dusk.

Getting to LA area ski or snowboarding resorts:

Bear Mountain - 43101 Goldmine Drive, Big Bear Lake; (909) 866-5766. Take the 210 Freeway east to state highway 30, to the 330, to 18 heading east into Big Bear Lake. Drive time: 2 hours.

Snow Summit - Very near Bear Mountain. 880 Summit Blvd., Big Bear Lake; (909) 866-5766. Directions and drive time same as for Bear Mountain.

Snow Valley - 35100 California Highway 18, Running Springs; (909) 867-2751. Take Interstate 210 east from Los Angeles to 30, continue east to 330, then to 18 heading east. Follow signs to the resort on the right. Drive time: 1 1/2 hours.

Mt. Baldy - Mt. Baldy Road, Mt. Baldy; (866) 754-2253. From Interstate 210 east, exit Mountain Avenue. Go north on Mountain to resort. Drive time: 1 hour.

Mountain High - 24510 California 2, Wrightwood; (888) 754-7878, Take 210 east to Interstate 15 north, then California Highway 138 west, turn left on 2. Drive time: approx. 1 hour.

California ski resorts map:

More about California ski resorts around the Web:

California Snow.com - No. 1 Web destination for all things skiing and snowboarding including live webcams, snow reports, resort guides, feature articles & virtual skiing lessons, event calendar.

Ski & Winter Vacations from Los Angeles and Southern California - LA Times guide to popular ski resorts and snowboarding areas with star-rated reviews, related feature travel stories, snow reports, related message boards and resources.

Bay Area Ski Connection - A complete guide to northern California ski & snowboarding resorts including information on terrains, amenities, ticket prices, current weather & snow reports in Lake Tahoe, Mammoth/June Mountain and other regional mountain ski areas.

California Snowboarding.com - Complete guide to resorts throughout the state with basic overviews & locations, types of skiing and snowboarding available, stats and elevations, and related ease/difficulty ratings.

Snow Conditions & Ski Report for California - Weather & snow conditions with extended forecasts, from the Weather Underground.

also see -> Washington State Ski Resorts | Oregon Ski Resorts