There's nothing like a world pandemic to convince me to start blogging again... the deeper we get into this situation, the more I find myself day dreaming of outdoor activities, travel, and exploration, so why not indulge myself and write a series of new blog posts to pass the time...
In all seriousness though, I sincerely hope that you, your families, and friends are coping as best you can in the current environment, and staying happy and healthy. These times are unprecedented, scary, stressful, and so many more emotions. We are coping as best we can over here, and just remaining thankful for our health.
Now onto the travel distraction -- I realized that I never wrote a blog post about Lake Tahoe. After living here for almost 5 years now, Tahoe has become a fun weekend getaway destination for us. We started by going up with friends for ski trips the first few years, and then discovered that Tahoe is even more magical in the summer! We travel to Tahoe probably between 3-4 times each year. It takes around 4 hours to drive from our house to Tahoe without traffic, which is rare, so we typically try to leave at odd days/times to avoid the rush.
First a few fun facts:
- Lake Tahoe is huge! It is the second deepest lake in the US and the tenth in the world, with a maximum depth measured at 1,645 ft, and average depth of 1,000 ft (305 m). To put that into perspective, you could completely submerge the famous Empire State Building in New York into Lake Tahoe.
- There’s approximately 36.15 cubic miles of water in Lake Tahoe — or approximately 39 trillion gallons. That’s enough water to cover a flat area the size of California with 14 inches of water. It’s also enough to supply everyone in the United States with 50 gallons of water per day for five years.
- The water is also 99.994% pure, making it one of the purest large lakes in the world and giving it a Carribbean like color to it.
- Lake Tahoe sees an average of 408 inches of snow a year, or approximately 34 feet. Generally, a story is about 10 feet, which means there’s enough snow annually to cover a three-story building. But, that’s just the average — 500+ inches of snow has happened in a few of the years we have lived here. In general, snow storms pack a much more serious punch in Lake Tahoe compared to other areas we have frequently skiied, which means the snow also lasts a lot longer into the spring and summer.
Since Tahoe is such a large area, it took us awhile to figure out what spots we liked best. Generally the south park of the lake (South Lake Tahoe) is in Nevada and is more commercial, and has lots of casinos, so we don't prefer it as much, but its cheaper and there are more available accommodations for a last minute trip. North Lake Tahoe is quieter and family oriented, with smaller downtowns and nice restaurants. We like the town of Truckee in particular in the winter, and Tahoe City in the summer. The areas in between South Lake Tahoe and North Lake Tahoe are fairly deserted, as most of it is protected land and/or roads are often closed in the winter. These areas make for a gorgeous drive in the summer.
Below are a few memories that we have from Lake Tahoe over the past few years.
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| Skiing on July 4 at Squaw after a particularly heavy snow season |
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| Skiing with friends at Heavenly |
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| Skiing at Heavenly |
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| July 4 skiing -- the pool at the summit was open at the same time that people were skiing by! |
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| Hiking at the top of Squaw in September -- still some snow in the background! |
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| Beautiful waters of Lake Tahoe, unique boulders |
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| Andrew on the boulders going for a swim |
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| Paddleboarding on the lake |
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| Picnic dinner with the Kwist family on the shores of the lake |
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| Views from the top of Northstar resort in the summer |
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| Dinner at Sunnyside lodge, gorgeous sunsets |
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| Hanging out on the patio of the cutest AirBnb |
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| The cutest Airbnb |
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| Photo time with the Snows at the gorgeous Emerald Bay |
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| Beautiful clear water |
STAY: We always stay at different AirBnB's when in Tahoe.
This one was particularly charming (see pictures above).
PLAY: We like to ski at Squaw and Heavenly, mostly because that's where our friends typically have ski passes and they are at higher elevations = better snow. I have also heard NorthStar is very nice, albeit lower elevation. We also did a boat cruise in the summer into Emerald Bay and this was a lovely day trip.
EAT:
Sunnyside Lodge has amazing ambiance and food, Chamber's Landing is a fun boat-up lakeside bar, Coffeebar has amazing coffee/teas/breakfast in Truckee. Christy Hill for a nice dinner overlooking the lake.
