Lake Tahoe Travel Guide

A freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the United States, just along the border between California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, and is one of the major attractions for California and Nevada due to the variety of ski resorts, access to casinos, and the hiking, biking, camping, and other outdoor activities throughout the surrounding mountains. In particular, the Nevada side of the lake includes a variety of casinos, as well as access to Reno and Carson City.

Lake Tahoe has been a fairly important tourist destination for American… read more travelers for over 100 years, although it was the 1960 Olympics which popularized winter sports in the area and transformed many of the surrounding hotels into ski resorts. When looking at the lake from a traveler's perspective, the northern shore is filled with more reserved and peaceful resorts, while the southern shore is lined with casinos. The eastern shore is still fairly undeveloped, and the western side is the rugged and historic section. Considering the entire lakeshore is around 72 miles in length, there's plenty to take in regardless of your preferences.

There are several towns, with Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe the main ones, although there are a variety of other smaller towns scattered around the lake. Keep in mind that this is a ski resort area, which means heavy snow can be a possibility even as late as June, so if you are driving up on your own, pay attention to the weather or you could find yourself stuck unless you are driving a vehicle that can handle snowy conditions.

Hiking, boating, world class golf courses and outdoor activities are the main reasons for coming here in the summer months, and skiing in the winter, so the experience you have in Lake Tahoe depends entirely on what time of year you come and what you want to see and do. Gambling is year-round.