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Welcome to Lake Tahoe!
It's a heavenly
view from the slopes looking down at the lake below.
Framed by the towering peaks of the Sierra
Nevada mountain range and centered around a gorgeous blue body of water,
Lake Tahoe is a place of majestic beauty. Home to several ski and snowboard
resorts, it's also a nature-lovers paradise in the summer. In fact,
the celebrity golf tournament is in July. The biggest winter event is
Boarding for Breast Cancer, a snowboard music festival set for Sunday,
April 13 (the Beastie Boys have performed in the past)
Arrival and Orientation
Lake Tahoe is actually not a single destination
but rather a collection of small towns and ski resorts ringed around
the massive lake. In fact, there are 14 places to ski and board in the
area.
When most people speak of Tahoe, they are referring to the South
Shore of the lake, which consists of the biggest casinos and the
most activity. The North Shore is far more remote, making it a treasured
destination for those seeking solitude instead of slots. The towns are
small and rustic; there are no water shows, pirate battle reincarnations
or exploding volcanos to lure people into massive casinos, as is the
norm in Las Vegas. Instead, one gets the feeling the old mining days
have never really gone.
To the north, Tahoe City has no gambling but is more of a town
with restaurants and a few bars. Best of all is easy access to three
top resorts, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and Northstar.
The lake – one of the deepest in the world – is 22 miles
long and 12 miles wide with 72 miles of shoreline. It is circled by
Highways 50, 89 and 28, slow-moving two-lane roads with abundant views.
It is so large it takes two states to contain it, California and Nevada.
The airport is located in Reno 60 miles away. A comfortable
bus departs about every hour to the South Shore casinos. It travels
through the capitol of Carson City and even includes an informative
tour guide as the driver points out facts and area history during the
hour and 15-minute ride ($19 one-way, $34 R/T). Tickets can be bought
in the baggage claim area. A limo is $120.
The South Shore
 The
South Shore – again, the destination for most travelers and especially
the revelers – is on the California/Nevada state line. Most of
the activity is right on the border. Four casinos – Caesar's, Harrah's,
Harvey's and the tiny Bill's – are concentrated in a two-block
area. A new mini-village, which will contain shops, restaurants and
a new dance club – is under construction. It is built around the
Marriott and the gondola entrance to Heavenly ski resort. That's right,
you can walk straight from the casinos to the mountain.
About a mile to the north are a few local bars and restaurants as well
as a dock access to the lake. There's little activity outside of the
casinos (and soon to be the village). The few local bars and restaurants
are tiny.
For meals, the casinos each have several restaurants; the steakhouses
are all so good they attract even locals. The Swiss Chalet is
the best non-casino restaurant in town, serving a variety of dinners
in the mid-to upper-teens price range. The Tahoe Pub, across
from the Heavenly gondola, has acceptable burgers and such, plus a tasty
but a bit overpriced clam chowder ($10 for the bread bowl). It's best
as a pub, though and speaking of which, keep reading or scrolling for
our bar and nightlife guide to the South Shore.
For breakfast, the choices are extremely limited. There's the
cozy Driftwood Cafe behind Harvey's with its signature potato
pancakes, and Carrow's, a California chain restaurant a couple
of blocks past the gondola in California.
Walking around town – basically just a few blocks on one street
– can be a real trip in the winter. Literally. That's because the
sidewalks not in front of the casinos and village are not cleared and
are packed ice several inches thick. If you've got snow picks for shoes,
bring them.
Just three hours from San Francisco, the South Shore attracts a good
bit of its crowd from the Bay Area and Sacramento. Southern Californians,
arriving by plane or long car journey (9 hours from L.A.) join with
people from the nearby Pacific Northwest as well as a sprinkling of
people from all over the country and the globe.
The Ski Resorts
The Lake Tahoe area consists of several
resorts. Here are the major ones with daily lift ticket prices in parenthesis
(for a complete look at lift ticket prices,
click here). Kirkwood, Northstar and Sierra at Tahoe offer
shuttle pickups at the casinos. Departures are between 7:30-8 a.m.,
with the return leaving the mountains between 4-5.( $5 Kirkwood, free
Sierra)
• Heavenly ($70). Located right in the South Shore, it's
the most convenient of all the resorts. This also makes it the most
crowded. Heavenly is divided into two areas, the California side and
the Nevada side; the in-town gondola drops skiers and boarders right
on the border. The California side is by far the most popular but has
just two main lifts and that creates massive lift lines. The Nevada
side is far more forgiving and also contains the black-diamonds. Getting
from one side to the other is Heavenly's biggest headache – it
requires poleing and trailing, and going from Nevada to the gondola
is so indirect and poorly marked it takes more than an hour. Still,
this is the Official Ski Resort of the U.S. Ski Team and the views looking
down at Lake Tahoe below are spectacular.
• Kirkwood ($62). About 45 minutes from the South
Shore, Kirkwood is known for its awesome, deep snow. Tons of powder
and massive snowfall give it what the locals refer to as "the K
factor." Advanced skiers and boarders have ample black-diamond
runs; intermediates have several blue runs on the mountain's back side.
For post-slopes, Kirkwood has horseshoe-shaped village and local accommodations.
• Northstar-At-Tahoe ($63). Almost at the opposite end
of the lake from the South Shore, 50 of Northstar's 70 runs are intermediate
level. There is also ample snowmobiling in the area.
• Squaw Valley ($65). The host of the 1960 Winter Olympics,
Squaw Valley has more winter recreational opportunities than just about
any ski resort in the world. In addition to the slopes - six peaks are
serviced by 33 lifts with a good variety for all levels – it has
an Olympic Ice Pavilion and Olympic museum with a swimming pool and
spa opening later in the season. Located in the North Shore area of
Tahoe, this is primarily – though not exclusively – a
family-oriented area. It has restaurants, shops and accommodations in
and around the Village at Squaw Valley. As mentioned above, it's also
close to Tahoe City. For nightlife, The Auld Dubliner is the place.
• Sierra at Tahoe ($59). Close to Kirkwood, Sierra is a
good learning resort. It has long runs and lots of learning places for
kids.
Ski Apres – Bar and Nightlife Guide
The Tahoe Pub brings
locals and tourist together in a cool and casual bar.
Nightlife in South Lake Tahoe is created around the casinos. There
is of course the gambling and show entertainment – not first-line
acts like Vegas but recognizable names none-the-less – as well
as clubs and lounge bars. Locals have their own spots, largely off the
tourists' mental tables.
One place, however, bridges the two. The Tahoe Pub is a tiny,
well, pub with a small bar and pool tables downstairs and live music
upstairs. Across from the Heavenly gondola, it has a cozy crowd from
post-ski until closing. A large draft beer selection is a welcome sight
after a day on the slopes. A planned night at the casinos could easily
settle into a full evening at "the pub."
By next winter, the pub will also be a club. The owners are building
a restaurant/club across the street. The pub will stay in tact, at least
until the Harrah's Convention Center tears down nearly the entire side
of the street in the next four to five years.
The California Bar dominates Harrah's casino floor, and not
just because of the dueling pianos. The bar itself is a popular hangout
for locals as well as tourists. In the back is the more isolated Rendezvous
Bar, ideal for quiet conversations.
When club fever hits, Altitude in Harrah's and Club Nero
in Caesar's answer the call. Here, the biggest cues of Vegas are recreated
– dancer cages, large dance floors and light shows tuned to tunes.
They go until 4 a.m. The casinos, by the way, never sleep.
For locals, the scene is a bit different, and it reflects the smallness
and simplicity of the South Shore. For instance, one of the most popular
locals spots is Marie Callender's. For anyone from California,
this seems just plain odd. That's because everywhere else the in the
state, Marie Callender's is a family-oriented restaurant known mainly
for the pies it serves. Yet, in Tahoe it's quite often the place go
party. After 11, the small bar about a mile north of the casinos can
get jamming with residents – including escort girls taking a break.
(The odds of a tourist getting a "freebie" are less than even
winning big at the roulette table.)
It's near Tudor's, an English restaurant/bar by the bowling
alley with darts and bands four nights a week. It's located at 1014
Fremont Street. The Turn 3 Sports Bar (2227 Lake Tahoe Blvd.)
has a NASCAR theme, pool tables and peanuts, which has led locals to
call it the Peanut Bar. Steamer's, a sports bar with the best
tacos around, is across the street.
If it's Tuesday, head to Sam's Place, a fun pub packed with
locals. Reputed to be Bill Cosby's favorite bar in Tahoe, it has a beer
garden in the back and awesome pizza. It's about 15 minutes from town
in Zepher Cove, Nevada.
 Ride
the Party Gondola to Mont Tremblant, Canada
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