To most visitors, the Tahoe region is clearly defined by its 22-mile-long, azure-blue lake. The 10th deepest lake in the world--1,645 feet at its deepest point--and third deepest in North America, Lake Tahoe is blessed with remarkable water clarity and a boulder-lined, sandy shoreline that makes it one of the most photogenic lakes in the West. Two-thirds of the lake lie in California, one-third in Nevada, and its 72 miles of shoreline require the majority of a day to drive around. By any measure, Lake Tahoe can be counted among the notable treasures of North America's landscape.
Bordered by three federally designated wilderness areas, plus a huge swath of national forest and multiple California and Nevada state parks, the Tahoe basin is a veritable playground for outdoors enthusiasts. Although a greater number of people visit the lake in summer than in winter, it is Tahoe's wealth of ski resorts that has made this area an internationally recognized destination. More than a dozen alpine resorts circle the lakeshore, the largest concentration anywhere in the United States. A wide range of non-vertical activities are also available in Tahoe's snowy wonderland, including ice-skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, dogsled rides, snowmobile tours, and of course, sipping hot chocolate beside a roaring fire.
Tahoe gets an average of 420 inches of snow a year—and a lot more in some places. That's 35 feet. Kirkwood and Sugar Bowl resorts typically report more than 500 inches per year. Tahoe is known, on a regular basis, to have dumps as large as three or four feet at a time, prompting all the locals to call in sick and head to the slopes for a pristine powder day. In between the storm cycles, the area is blessed with remarkably good weather. On a multi-day Tahoe vacation, you have an excellent chance you’ll be blessed with at least one bluebird day—the calm, sunny period that always arrives just after a big storm. Tahoe sees more than 300 days of sunshine per year.
Unlike, say, Utah, finding Tahoe’s best snow is often a matter of paying attention to details—numerical matters like the base and summit elevations of the resorts. On shoulder days in early winter and late spring it may be raining at the lakeshore at 6,200 feet, sleeting on the lower slopes of Heavenly or Northstar, and the most blinding blizzard you’ve ever seen at the top of Squaw’s or Sugar Bowl’s highest peaks. Even on drizzly winter or spring days, you can always head to the lake’s northeast shore and ski at Mount Rose, or travel southwest to Carson Pass to ski at Kirkwood, where base elevations are nearly 8,000 feet.
In the minds of most visitors, Tahoe has two distinct regions: North Shore and South Shore. Although the mountains are generally taller on the south shore, with several reaching above 10,000 feet in elevation, the North Shore has more ski resorts, including world-famous Squaw Valley USA, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics. If you are visiting Tahoe for a week and you want to ski at a half-dozen different resorts, a stay on the North Shore puts you in easy proximity.
Two mid-sized towns, plus a few smaller ones, service this area. Tahoe City offers plenty of lodgings and restaurants, but after 9 p.m. the sidewalks all but roll up. Nearby is the quaint Old West town of Truckee, which burgeoned during the construction of the transcontinental railroad through Donner Pass in 1868. The original train depot, more than a century old, still serves railway passengers. Truckee’s lovingly restored buildings, charming boutiques, and gentrified hipness attract daytime visitors. A few bars and restaurants stay open late in the evening, but still, Truckee’s not exactly a nightlife spot.
The South Shore is home to the twin cities of South Lake Tahoe and Stateline, perched on either side of the California-Nevada border. Nevada allows gambling, while California doesn’t, so the main drag at Stateline is lined with a half-dozen casinos offering gaming and après-ski action. This isn’t Las Vegas, or even Reno—not by a long shot--but if you want to give your money to a one-armed bandit, drink neon-colored cocktails until 3 a.m., or maybe catch a show, the South Shore is your Tahoe spot. South Shore is also home to Heavenly Ski Resort, the largest ski resort in California, and it serves as the main lodging hub for farther afield Kirkwood and Sierra-at-Tahoe resorts. South Shore’s gestalt is decidedly urban—especially near Heavenly and the casinos. As little as a mile from downtown, the scene is much more sedate.
No matter which region of the lake you choose to make your base of operations, Reno-Tahoe Airport makes traveling to Tahoe a snap. You can step off the plane and be on the slopes of North Shore or South Shore in under two hours.
Bottom photo courtesy of (from top to bottom): Andy Z.; David Safanda; Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce
Related Articles:
