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  • Filled with over 39 trillion gallons

  • of pure Sierra snowmelt and pushed

  • a mile into the Californian and Nevada skies,

  • Lake Tahoe is the USA’s largest alpine lake,

  • and one of the country’s oldest, year-round vacation playgrounds.

  • Lake Tahoe has forever drawn travellers to its shores,

  • from the Native Americans who call this place Big Water,

  • to the trappers, timber cutters and pioneers who followed.

  • In the 1870s, an awestruck Mark Twain wrote,

  • to breathe the same air as angels, you must go to Tahoe”.

  • By the time the 20th century rolledround,

  • lodges, taverns and casinos had sprung up all around Tahoe’s shoreline

  • catering to legions of weary city folk,

  • keen to experience that heavenly air for themselves.

  • When youre ready for a little alpine magic,

  • take the four-hour drive from San Francisco

  • to the sunlit shores of Kings Beach.

  • Set on Tahoe’s northern end,

  • this beach was named after local card shark, Joe King,

  • who used his winnings to develop some of the lake’s earliest lodgings.

  • On the lake’s southern shore, is Pope Beach,

  • where youll find another Tahoe institution.

  • At historic Camp Richardson,

  • generations of families return year after year to create life-long

  • vacation memories under the towering pines.

  • From Pope Beach, saddle up,

  • and follow the bike path to the Taylor Creek Visitor Center.

  • An open-air classroom for the entire family,

  • the center features fabulous interpretative walks,

  • such as the Rainbow Trail.

  • This wetland loop even features an underground chamber,

  • giving visitors a unique salmon-eye view of this incredible environment.

  • Once youve warmed up your legs at Taylor Creek,

  • take in the majesty of the surrounding state parks.

  • Nearby, at DL Bliss State Park,

  • follow the spectacular Rubicon Trail,

  • which runs high above Tahoe’s deepest waters

  • and dips down to quiet, secluded coves.

  • The six and a half-mile trail twists through forests of aspen,

  • cedar and mountain dogwood,

  • past the country’s highest lighthouse,

  • before crossing into neighboring Emerald Bay State Park.

  • This park is home to the Eagle Falls Trail,

  • a moderate two-mile hike that takes in some of the Sierra high country’s finest views.

  • Down by the shore, visit Tahoe’s hidden castle.

  • Inspired by the legends and architecture of Scandinavia,

  • in 1929, heiress Lora J. Knight,

  • brought in an army of 200 craftsmen to build this 38-room summer home

  • from the lake’s timber and stone.

  • Today, Vikingsholm is cared for by the Sierra State Parks Foundation,

  • and operates as a museum and fairy-tale window into Tahoe’s past.

  • Emerald Bay is also home to the lake’s only island,

  • once the abode of another local character,

  • Captain Dick,

  • who delighted in showing visitors a wooden box containing, his toes.

  • The old sea dog lost his toes to frostbite after capsizing his boat one dark winter night,

  • on a long row home from a far-off tavern.

  • These days, Tahoe’s 72-mile ring road makes getting around the lake far less perilous.

  • And even if youre not up to paddling or hiking,

  • you can still enjoy the breathtaking vistas from its many roadside stops,

  • like Inspiration Point.

  • Just 10-miles east of Emerald Bay is the lake’s largest town,

  • South Lake Tahoe.

  • Hang out on the beaches, enjoy the creature comforts,

  • then rise above it all on Heavenly Mountain,

  • a world-class ski resort in winter,

  • and adventure playground throughout the summer months.

  • Lake Tahoe is a place of ever-shifting moods.

  • When youre ready to experience this raw beauty,

  • take a drive up the eastern shoreline,

  • which is wilder and less developed than her other shores.

  • When the ponderosa pines bend with the season’s first snow,

  • Tahoe transforms into a winter wonderland.

  • Towns like Tahoe City and nearby

  • Truckee become the perfect snow-bound escapes,

  • while the lake’s ski resorts turn Tahoe into the nation’s favorite winter playground.

  • As far back as 1856,

  • mountain men like Snowshoe Thompson

  • were traversing these slopes on wooden skis,

  • but it was the Winter Olympics that really put Tahoe’s runs on the map.

  • In 1960, skeptical teams and officials from 30 countries

  • descended on a fledgling resort called Squaw Valley,

  • and they were soon won over.

  • In the decades since, over 20 world-class downhill

  • and cross country resorts have opened,

  • taking advantage of the region’s 300 days of sunshine per year,

  • 450 inches of annual snowfall,

  • and that incredible Tahoe scenery.

  • Whether youre looking for snow-capped peaks or crystal clear coves,

  • places to bond with loved ones or pockets of pure solitude,

  • The Lake in the Sky, has it all.

  • As naturalist John Muir wrote over a century ago,

  • Tahoe is surely not one, but many,

  • …I am reminded of all the mountain lakes I ever knew,

  • as if this were a kind of water heaven

  • to which they all had come.”

Filled with over 39 trillion gallons

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