Kingvale resort, known for winter sledding on way to Lake Tahoe, up for sale: Check it out
A 297-acre winter recreational area off Highway 80 on the way to Lake Tahoe is for sale for $6 million.
Kingvale Recreational Resort, located in Soda Springs, hit the market about a week ago and is primed for expansion, according to listing agent Bruce Renfrew of California Outdoor Properties.
The recreational area is just eight miles from the Donner Summit, giving families “a low-cost alternative to (expensive) resorts in Lake Tahoe, with less driving,” Renfrew said.
“You’ve got a huge population in the Bay Area, a huge population in Sacramento, and not all families can afford to take the kids skiing,” Renfrew said.
Mostly known for sledding and tubing in the winter, Kingvale offers a variety of recreational uses and could get even more popular with additional improvements, he said.
The owners, whose main business is building infrastructure for subdivisions, such as roads, saw an opportunity in buying the property a few years ago. They have since upgraded the resort, Renfrew said. For instance, they developed roads on the land, created summertime campsites available to the public, built a carpet lift for the sledding hill and added a ticket booth.
The property has a year-round concessionaire who operates a snowmobile rental and summertime ATV and dirt-bike rental outfit.
Renfrew said the potential is “incredible.” Even with very little marketing, Kingvale Recreational Resort grossed $500,000 in 2018, he said.
“I think the highest and best use (for the property) is a resort operation,” he said. “It’s a property that fills a great demand.”
Expansion opportunities include a zip-line course, a high ropes course, an e-bike trail system and wedding venue.
The property is home to a former horse rental outfit which used to give guided rides into the neighboring Tahoe National Forest, with destinations to nearby Kidd Lake, Cascade Lakes and Palisade Lake.
In the fall, an e-bike event took place at the property, which was very popular even with minimal advertising, Renfrew said.
The owners also have a 20-year lease on the pizza restaurant at the entrance to the property. The lease of the restaurant is $800 per month.
Some 175 acres of the Kingvale property is zoned as timber preserve and was historically harvested for timber. The owners have a current timber management plan. In addition, the land has a permit to mine surface granite boulders, which can be used for high-end landscaping projects, according to the listing.
Multiple springs feed a 90,000-gallon storage tank, supplying plentiful water. There is also a 50-gallon-per-minute artesian well.
Renfrew also said somebody interested in conserving the land could be a potential buyer.
The property last sold for just over $1 million in 2017, according to realtor.com. The current price tag of $5.99 million reflects land improvements, some additional acreage and includes equipment, such as snowcats, among other things, Renfrew said.
The resort, whose logo is “where snow starts and fun begins,” opens for sledding January 30, 2019, according to its website.
This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 11:31 AM.
