Circumnavigating Lake Tahoe in Nevada and California
If you’re visiting Lake Tahoe, be sure to rent a car. A scenic two-hour drive on Highways 89, 50, and 28 will take you around the alpine lake. Head clockwise so your passenger can snap pictures out the window. While the view from Emerald Bay might get you the money shots, the pictures from Zephyr Cove, Meeks Bay, and the Tahoe State Recreation Area showcase a different perspective. Grab a bite in Incline Village on the north shore, and put your toes in the icy waters at Kings Beach.
I love Tahoe. There I've said it. I love it through every season and every color change and temp change. There is beauty in all of it. Mountain biking, hiking, picnicking, bbq'ing, snow skiing, snowmobiling...I could go on and on. There is a personal peace I find when I am in Tahoe. It just makes me feel alive...and isn't that what it's all about anyway?
Tahoe is for family vacations. Do not blame me because our family includes beautiful young ingenues lying around at the water's edge while I can barely lift my camera lounging in my beach chair. If you want to relax, play board games, watch your sons and daughters and their pals grow up, drink wine and eat cheese at 5:00, hike just enough to justify long afternoons in the sun...there is no place better than Lake Tahoe.
Lake Tahoe could be the most under-rated must-go destination in California. 11 miles long and three miles wide at 5,000 feet in the Sierras, splitting California and Nevada down the middle. Skiers fill it up in the winter. Summertime is all about families, long days at the beach and brilliant nights gazing at the Milky Way. And there are plenty of beaches around the lake, some hidden on the NE side. Cannot think of a better late afternoon in July or August than being in a low slung beach chair reading a book with a glass of wine, recovering from a devastating nap.
It took a minute for my breath to return. A light breeze from the crisp night had taken it away. I had a sweater wrapped around me, shielding my skin from chilling temperatures… all of 65 degrees I assumed. I sat on the dock and let my bare feet dangle over the water. Somewhere in the folds of its depth The Lake had captured heat from the sun. It rose to my feet, warming them as the coolness of night caressed my shoulders. The air swept over my body and into my lungs, reminding me that I was truly living. The contrast of between being alive and actually living... the contrast of night falling on Lake Tahoe.
I can see it coming and there is nothing I can do to stop it. My husband has just flown by me on his skis in an effortless "swoosh, swoosh" motion. I am, of course, gasping to catch my breath in the middle of the slope when I see it out of the corner of my eye: our friend Donnie wildly out of control, careening towards Jasen who has just come to a stop. I start to yell a warning-but all that comes out of my mouth is..."looaaahh!" But alas, it is too late. Both Donnie and Jasen are sprawled out, shaking with laughter at the collision. Who knew an involuntary face plant in the freezing cold snow could be so good for the soul?
Lake Tahoe's not the place to go if you want to just sit around—there’s a wealth of things to do and see, whether they are centered on the dazzling lake itself or in the fabulously forested mountain environment that girdles the remarkably deep body of water. Whether winter or summer, water sport or land, there's so much activity in, on and around the lake that you'll have to come back again and again to do it all. (And if you just want to sit around near the lake, that´s OK too.)
The pristine shores of Lake Tahoe offer an unparalleled majesty that will make the naturalist swoon and the urbanite gasp. Nestled conveniently between Sacramento and Reno Airport, this idyllic destination is well known for its powdery winter snowfall but for many, it is the sizzling summer months that keep visitors returning to cozy vacation homes flanking the cool waters. There is an endless array of activities to entertain yourself and loved ones including watersporting with the family and romantic hikes to find the perfect sunset view. Lake Tahoe will steal your heart and capture memories to last a lifetime.
If you’re visiting Lake Tahoe, be sure to rent a car. A scenic two-hour drive on Highways 89, 50, and 28 will take you around the alpine lake. Head clockwise so your passenger can snap pictures out the window. While the view from Emerald Bay might get you the money shots, the pictures from Zephyr Cove, Meeks Bay, and the Tahoe State Recreation Area showcase a different perspective. Grab a bite in Incline Village on the north shore, and put your toes in the icy waters at Kings Beach.
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