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Lake Tahoe

Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe, California

Description

Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake at 1,800m altitude in the Sierra Nevada, straddling the states of California and Nevada. It is the largest alpine lake in North America and the 2nd deepest in the country (501m) after Crater Lake in Oregon. Most of the lake's watershed is national forest land but that doesn't detract it from being a major tourist attraction both in summer (outdoor and nautical activities) and winter (several ski resorts). The Nevada side also offers several lakeside casino-resorts. The major tourist centers are South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City, Stateline and Kings Beach whilst from a natural attraction perspective the most popular site is arguably Emerald Bay in the southwest.

Access & Transport

Truckee, 20km away from King's Beach and Tahoe City has an Amtrack train station and airport but the closest major air gateway is Reno, Nevada about 60km away. Sacramento is 160km to the southwest via CA-50.

Instructions & Recommendations

We strongly suggest outdoor enthusiasts to spend at least one night and combining a visit of the lakeshores with a hike in Eldorado National Forest.

Meta review

Tahoe is polyvalent and most online travel forums suggest spending 2-4 days there, if possible. Popular activities include hiking and canoeing in the summer, noting that water may be too cold for many until at least May. Driving to Emerald Bay for the views is also highly rated with an original local attraction.

Environmental & Social

This is a green activity unless you are planning to use a motorboat. Revenues from tourism help the rural economy but the commercial pressure for development of the shores is intense so, depending on what you do and where you stay, tourism can have a negative environmental impact.

Conclusion

Tahoe Lake offers travellers not only beautiful views but also a mix of nautical and mountain activities which makes it a great multi-day regional base for families, mixing lakeside time with an exploration of the surrounding moutains and hiking options

Key positive

Gorgeous scenery

Worth visiting in all seasons

Family friendly destination

Key negative

Time consuming to get to

Suitability

Suitable for all ages and the shoreline is accessible to visitors with reduced mobility in many places but not all trails

About this Rating

TYPE

Desktop

RESEARCHED IN

Updated in July 2023

PROVIDER

Koreval

Included Items
None
Timing
Duration of visit

av. transport time:1h 30m

est. visit time:6h

Sunlight based

Sunrise / early morningOk

MorningOk

Lunch timeOk

AfternoonOk

Sunset / eveningOk

Night – bef. midnightNo

Night – aft. midnightNo

Pricing
Free

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