You may often hear people speak (or write) of North or South Lake Tahoe. North Lake Tahoe lies mostly in California, is best accessed via I-80 and is best known for its ski resorts. South Lake Tahoe is the larger area, with more hotels and restaurants. It's partly in each state, with gambling casinos cocentrated on the Nevada side of the border.
Getting to Lake Tahoe by Car
To get to North Lake Tahoe from Reno, Sacramento or the San Francisco Bay area, take I-80 to CA 267. Coming from the west, take CA 89 to get to Tahoe City or Squaw Valley and US 50 to South Lake Tahoe. Coming from Reno, take US 395 south through Carson City, then US 50 West to South Lake Tahoe.Winter storms can dump massive amounts of snow on the roads leading to Lake Tahoe, making chains a requirement. For current road conditions, check with CalTrans. CalTrans also offers a very helpful winter driving checklist which also explains various levels of chain requirements.
All-Weather highways to South Lake Tahoe (besides I-80) include US 50 East over Echo Summit, CA 88 North from Stockton, CA 207 Over Kingsbury Grade, US 395 to 50 West at Carson City and Hwy 431 Over Mount Rose from Reno.
If you'd like to carpool to Lake Tahoe, AlterNetRides offers a voluntary rideshare program.
Getting to Lake Tahoe by Bus
During ski season, the drive to Lake Tahoe can turn into a never-ending, slogging crawl. Taking a bus is one way you can relax and let someone else deal with it.Bay Area Ski Bus picks up in Belmont, Corte Madera, Novato, Oakland, Pleasanton, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Walnut Creek, leaving early (around 4:00 a.m.) and returning the same evening. It runs to Northstar, Sierra at Tahoe, Kirkwood, Alpine and Squaw Valley, with different destinations scheduled each week.
NAC SKI picks up from Berkeley, Concord, Dublin, Milpitas, Pleasanton, Redwood City, San Francsico, San Jose, San Mateo and sometimes in Sacramento. They go to different destinations each week.
Getting to Lake Tahoe by Airplane
The nearest commercial airports are Sacramento (about 2 hours away) and Reno, NV (30 minutes away).Big Foot Air offers charter flights direct to Lake Tahoe from San Francisco. Gary Air offers air taxi service from several California airports.
Private pilots can fly into South Lake Tahoe Airport (KTVL) or Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK). Some of the ski resorts, such as Squaw Creek and Northstar offer transportation to and from the Reno airport. Check when you reserve.
