Mountain Retreat

Absolutely some of the most spacious timeshare units you will ever find. You could literally move in and be thrilled to stay forever.

Picturesque location surrounded by one of the most beautiful golf courses you have ever seen. Something for everybody from panning for gold, playing fabulous golf courses at reasonable prices, visiting real gold mines, window shopping in old gold rush towns (nearby Murphys' is a must!), visiting numerous wineries and tasting their great wines, fishing and swimming in pristine Sierra lakes.

And by the way, can you believe that green fees are included so you can play at a nearby golf course for free as a guest at Mountain Retreat !!!

What more does one need, or want???

I own a week here, so I will tell you what our guests said...Didn't know the area existed...This is a little hide-a-way close to the SF Bay area...easy to get there in two to three hours...but a thousand miles away as far as a way of life.

The Big Trees start the process...you quickly realize you are walking in the primal forests of hundreds of years ago...maybe 500 years ago...

The next exploration experience was the Stanislus River basin...It was roaring...and it was only January...before the major snow melt...some experts say you can run this river...not without certification and a local guide say I....Both of these are about ten minutes from the resort...and the further you go up the mountain the more remote it starts to get.

Just 25 minutes away is real Winter, with the largest stretch of unbroken trail any nordic skier would ever want...about 12 miles to South lake Tahoe on the closed route 4 highway with miles of groomed trails alongside... no wonder we heard many European languages at the small cafe for lunch at Bear Valley...the fresh organic food was great....Moderate downhill facility with moderate lift ticket costs.

For a $5 parking pass you can just take the kids to the nearby State recreation area and play all day...snowshoes worked fine for all of us and sledding hills were great fun...then down the mountain to grassy areas with no snow...and the sidewalk cafes and shops in historic Murphys...and a day underground at the Caverns...Big deep caves...had a couple of beers at the local microbrewery...and even Played 9 holes at the club next to the resort one day as well...

OK, where else can you do all that...within 45 minutes of each other...so maybe I shouldn't be writing this but I believe in telling the truth...

John Fornal

I love this place! The ski area is about 20 minutes drive and family friendly. There is a great sledding area about 10 minutes and it rents tubes right there, there is also a place for lunch. The indoor pool and sports area is really nice.

The two bedroom unit we were assigned was quite large, clean and comfortable. The beds in bedroom were comfortable. The two sleeper sofas were impossible to sleep on, however. Since we did not need them it did not make our stay unpleasant but sleeping more than four adults would have been tough. The area is beautiful. Alpine Lake, an hour drive away is a pristine lake that was warm enough to swim that summer. It was a lovely visit.