Places to Go

Reno


North Lake Tahoe


South Lake Tahoe

Blue is a universal color, a natural color, from the blue of sky and water. Blue is calming. Almost everyone likes some shade of blue. And almost everyone is bound to find something they like about Lake Tahoe - The Blue World, as described by a talked-about new marketing campaign. If you've been to Tahoe you know that the lake is indeed the heart of this overwhelmingly beautiful region. The lake is also ringed by more than a dozen ski resorts, half of which are major destination resorts.

Located on the California/Nevada border at 6,225 feet above sea level, Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide, with 72 miles of shoreline. The highest lake of its size in the United States, it is also the tenth deepest lake in the world, and among the purest. Tahoe's upper elevations get between 300 and 500 inches of snow a year, feeding the lake - and feeding the habit of skiers and boarders from around the world.

The Tahoe area consists of three main regions. Of the three, Tahoe City probably bears the greatest resemblance to the mountain towns with which most of us are familiar. True to form, it is home to some of the best skiing and terrain in North America thanks to Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley resorts. Nearby Homewood Resort is a local's favorite, offering dramatic lake views that make it seem like you might end up swimming if you blow a turn.

The North Shore, home to Incline Village, Crystal Bay, and the Northstar-at-Tahoe and Diamond Peak ski resorts, is also small and quiet. Thanks to the Nevada state line however, it also offers gambling, most notably at the classy Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino.

Last, but nowhere near least, there's party central: the 2-in-1 towns of Stateline, Nevada and South Lake Tahoe, California. High-rise casinos and non-stop action are the story on this part of the lake. South Lake is also home to the enormous, Vail Resorts-owned Heavenly Mountain Resort. Heavenly sports 4,800 acres of skiing in two states, epic views of the lake, and a new gondola that descends right into the heart of the Stateline casino-district. For world-class skiing and 24-hour sensory overload, Heavenly and South Shore are a can't-miss combination.