With its mesmerizing blue waters, tall mountains and endless activities,
Lake Tahoe is an immensely popular summer vacation destination. There are many things to do when visiting South Lake Tahoe, California, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly how to spend your time
at Tahoe, but the experts at Zephyr Cove Resort, Lake Tahoe Cruises and
Heavenly Mountain Resort have teamed up to develop this list of the top
ten things to do at South Lake Tahoe. Before we informs the tourist attraction in South Lake Tahoe, California, let we informs how the city itself.
South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada. The east end of the city, on the California-Nevada state line, is mainly geared towards tourism, with T-shirt shops, restaurants, hotels, and Heavenly Mountain Resort with the Nevada casinos just across the state line in Stateline, Nevada. The city extends about 5 miles (8 km) west-southwest along U.S. Route 50, also known as Lake Tahoe Boulevard. The western end of town is mainly residential, and clusters around "The Y" (new intersection October 2008), the X-shaped intersection of US 50, State Route 89, and the continuation of Lake Tahoe Boulevard after it loses its federal highway designation. As its name suggests, it is located on the southern shore of Lake Tahoe, right next to the Nevada border and the town of Stateline, Nevada.
1. Heavenly Mountain Resort
Heavenly Mountain Resort is a ski resort located on the California-Nevada border in South Lake Tahoe. It has 97 runs and 30 lifts that are spread between California and Nevada and four base facilities. The resort has 4,800 acres (1,900 ha) within its permit area, with approximately 33% currently developed for skiing, boasting the highest elevation of the Lake Tahoe area resorts with a peak elevation of 10,067 ft (3,068 m), and a peak lift-service elevation of 10,040 ft (3,060 m). Since 2002, Heavenly has been owned by Vail Resorts, which also operates Northstar California and Kirkwood Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe and four other ski resorts in Colorado (Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Beaver Creek). With an average of 360 in (910 cm) of snow annually, and one of America's largest snowmaking systems, their ski season usually runs from mid November to mid April. Heavenly is notable as the resort where Congressman Sonny Bono died after hitting a tree on January 5, 1998.
2. Squaw Valley Ski Resort
Squaw Valley Ski Resort in Olympic Valley, California, is one of the largest ski areas in the United States, and was the host site of the entire 1960 Winter Olympics. It is the second-largest ski area in Lake Tahoe after Heavenly, with 30 chairlifts, 3,600 acres (15 km2) and the only funitel in the U.S. Since Squaw Valley joined forces with Alpine Meadows in 2012, the resorts offer joint access to 6,200 acres (25 km2), 43 lifts and over 270 trails. The resort attracts approximately 600,000 skiers a year. Located west of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada with a base of 6,200 ft (1,890 m) and a skiable 3,600 acres (15 km2) across six peaks, the resort tops out at 9,050 ft (2,760 m) at Granite Chief. Not far from Donner Pass, the area receives heavy maritime snowfall, frequently receiving 40 feet (12 m) or more in a winter.
3. Northstar California
Northstar California (previously Northstar-at-Tahoe) is a mountain resort situated near the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Placer County, California, approximately 200 mi (320 km) from the San Francisco Bay Area. The 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) resort features 2,280 ft (690 m) vertical drop downhill terrain accessed by 19 lifts, a snowmaking system, a cross-country center, a village, on-site lodging and summer activities including an 18-hole golf course and a lift-served mountain bike park. Northstar was a former lumber site once owned by the Douglas Lumber Co of Truckee, CA and was acquired by Fibreboard when they purchased Douglas in 1967. Its original name was Timber Farm, but was changed to Northstar-at-Tahoe when the mountain opened in December of 1972.
4. Emerald Bay State Park
Emerald Bay State Park is a state park of California, USA, preserving Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay, a National Natural Landmark. Park features include Eagle Falls and Vikingsholm, a 38-room mansion that is considered one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the United States. The architect was Leonard Palme, who was hired by his aunt Laura Knight to design and build Vikingsholm. The park contains the only island in Lake Tahoe, Fannette Island. The park is accessible by California State Route 89 near the southwest shore of the lake. Emerald Bay is one of Lake Tahoe's most photographed and popular locations.
5. Vikingsholm
Vikingsholm is a 38-room mansion on the shore of Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe, in El Dorado County, California, U.S., and on the National Register of Historic Places. The Vikingsholm foundation was laid in 1928, but the building was constructed in 1929 by 200 workers. Vikingsholm was built by Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight as a summer home. Some parts of the structure contain no nails or spikes, as a result of old-fashioned construction methods. Most of the building was made from materials found at Lake Tahoe. Mrs. Knight is best known for building Vikingsholm, but she and her husband were primary backers of Charles Lindbergh's non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927.
6. Tahoe Donner
Tahoe Donner is a ski resort five miles from Donner Lake and less than 20 miles from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. It usually opens 24–36 hours after receiving 2–3 feet of snow. Tahoe Donner Downhill Ski Area is owned and operated by the Tahoe Donner Association, one of America’s largest homeowner’s associations, with nearly 5,800 properties and 25,000 members enjoying over 7,000 acres in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Marketed as a great place to learn to ski, the Tahoe Donner Downhill Ski Area includes two chairlifts, three surface lifts, and more than a dozen trails. It is located in the western part of the town of Truckee.
7. Homewood Mountain Resort
Homewood Mountain Resort is a ski area located on the west shore of Lake Tahoe in the state of California, a few miles south of Tahoe City in the town of Homewood. It has 1,260 acres (510 ha) of skiable terrain and seven lifts. While it currently does not offer lodging on site, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been submitted to the regional planning commission to allow for the development of a resort inclusive of a hotel, condominiums, and various other additions. Since 2006, JMA Ventures, a San Francisco Bay Area developer, has owned and operated the ski area.
8. Fallen Leaf Lake
Fallen Leaf Lake is about one mile south of the much larger Lake Tahoe, near the California-Nevada state border. It is approximately aligned north-to-south and oval in shape, measuring approximately 2.9 miles (4.6 km) on the long axis and 0.9 miles (1.4 km) on the short axis. The lake was created by at least two glaciers which traveled northward down the Glen Alpine Valley. If the glacier had continued instead of stopping, Fallen Leaf Lake would be a bay similar to nearby Emerald Bay. A terminal moraine is visible at the north end of the lake on the northeast edge
9. The Eagle Falls Trailhead
The Eagle Falls Trailhead or Eagle Lake Trailhead is located in the Sierra Nevada, within Emerald Bay State Park, on the western shore of Lake Tahoe, California. It is on California State Route 89, a few miles north of the town of South Lake Tahoe. Some of the destinations most accessed by the trailhead are in the Desolation Wilderness, including Eagle Lake and the Velma Lakes. The trailhead provides winter access to the wilderness. The Beyers Lakes in the Tahoe National Forest are reached by trail from here also.
10. Donner Memorial State Park
Donner Memorial State Park is a state park of California, USA, preserving the site of the Donner Camp, where members of the ill-fated Donner Party were trapped by weather during the winter of 1846–1847. Caught without shelter or adequate supplies, members of the group resorted to cannibalism to survive. The Sierra Nevada site has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The state park contains the Emigrant Trail Museum and the Pioneer Monument dedicated to the travelers of the Emigrant Trail. Donner Memorial State Park is located outside Truckee, California. It has 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of hiking trails, campgrounds, and 3 miles (4.8 km) of lake frontage on Donner Lake. The 3,293-acre (1,333 ha) park was established in 1928.
