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There really is something for everyone in South Lake Tahoe. Only minutes from the Nevada border and Casinos, it is more suited to lovers of nature's wonders and beauty.
The Lake itself is spectacular from any angle. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake on the North American continent. It is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. The average depth of the lake is 989 feet, but at its deepest point is 1,645 feet. During the summer, the upper 12 feet of the lake can reach temperatures near 68 degrees, but in the winter and at depths below 700 feet, the temperature is a constant 39 degrees. Lake Tahoe is 6,226.95 feet above sea level. The highest peak, which actually rises directly from the lake is Mt. Tallac and is 9,735 feet high. The summit is Freel Peak. It is 10,881 feet high. The climate at Lake Tahoe creates not one, but two tourist seasons for the resort. Winter weather can be unpredictable and snow has been recorded in every month of the year! As expected, snow skiing is the main attraction in the winter months. Summer offers everything from water sports to hiking, biking, and sailing overhead in hot air balloons.
There are actually three "sections" to South Lake Tahoe. Emerald Bay in on the southwest side of the lake. The name of the bay should give you a clue as to the color of the water there. Heading toward Stateline you will find Tahoe Beach. There is a Marina and ski areas at the beach. You will also find sporting goods stores in the area. Tahoe Keys boasts a Marina and several fine restaurants. Any place you choose, most any day you're there will provide your sight sense with a most beautiful sunset. Don't forget an extra roll of film!
Lake Tahoe was formed by a series of geological events over many years. These events included a split along the north-south axis of the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Hugh blocks and boulders fell into the canyon that was formed. The volcanos that followed, erupting in the north and south brought new mountain peaks and raised the crests around the rim of the canyon. It also closed the open end of the valley. Lastly, snow and ice covered the whole of the area, glaciers formed, moved, melted, froze once more and melted again. As they melted and moved down, the result was Lake Tahoe, the mountains that envelope it and the hundreds of smaller lakes that we see today.At one time the surface of the lake was hundreds of feet higher than it is today. No one is sure when it reached the level it remains at today. There are nearly 100 lakes and rivers surrounding the lake and all of them flow into it, as does the melting snow each year. Since the soil is low in water retention and plant life, it helps to keep the water pure. It is so clear that it has been reported that one can see objects 150 feet below the surface.
The Lake Tahoe Basin is now protected by three national forests and the U.S. Forest Service. Centuries before Native Americans lived in the area surrounding the lake during the summers. But more is known about more recent groups who occupied this area. The Washoe of Nevada are the most recognizable. There is also evidence of other groups like Shoshone, Paiute, Miwok and others. These early native groups caught fish and game, harvested naturally growing grain, they picked berries and used reeds to make baskets. In the autumn the would move to the warmer climates in what is now the Carson Valley and other nearby valleys.
It wasn't until one hundred and fifty years ago that this ancient cycle was changed forever with the arrival of the first Euro-American pioneers. In 1844, John C. Fremont, the leader of a company of explorers, was heading home after having explored the Utah Territory, Oregon and the Great Basin. When they reached The Carson River, they hired Washoe Indian scouts to help them on their search for a big lake in the mountains that they had heard many reports about along the way.
The group stopped to rest after weeks of freezing and tromping through the snow. Some of their animals had frozen, and they had had a rough time of it. Taking his cartographer, Charles Preuss with him, Fremont climbed a nearby peak to determine exactly where they were. It was February 14, 1844, they were atop Red Lake Peak, and it was then that they became the first white men to see this legend, the hidden lake now called Tahoe. Because the weather worsened they were the only two men in their party to see the lake on that journey.
It wasn't for ten months that another white man saw the lake. A group of six riders from the Stevens, Townsend, and Murphy wagon train. These riders arrived at Sacramento before the rest of their group, which had gone through what is known today as Donner Pass. In December 1844, this small break-off group became the first white Americans to reach the shore of Lake Tahoe.
Life remained much as it had been for centuries. There were only a few visitors during the next few years. Things would change forever in 1848, with the dicovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Although the trails made by natives and explorers passed both to the north and the south of the lake, not many stopped to enjoy the view. Gold was ALL most of them were thinking about.The first wo settlers in the Lake Valley were Mart Smith and Asa Hawley. Both started similar businesses hauling in supplies that included everything from food to tools and animals. They both did very well until the waning of the Gold Rush in the middle 1850s.
In 1859, Nevada was now the site of discovery. This time it was silver. Traffic had been coming from the west to Tahoe and now it was moving to the east. Nearly all supplies to Virginia City came from Sacramento and San Francisco through the southern end of Lake Tahoe and to the Comstock Lode of Nevada. By the late 1870s, permanent towns had been established around the basin, Tahoe City, Glenbrook among them. Like the Indians before them, though they all left for the winter.
Because of the type of ore, the mines in Virginia City needed a great deal of shoring up in the tunnels. They found so much of exactly what they needed in the Tahoe Basin, they did not look elsewhere. The stripping of the trees from the surrounding area stopped only when the demand for the lumber subsided. Lumbering was not limited or regulated. Millions of trees were lost. It was thought of as only a necessary evil for the prosperity that came with it.
In 1915, with much hooplah, a tour route was opened. Travelers from Sacramento could take a week's journey to Truckee, on to Tahoe City and the south shore of the lake. The road rounded past Emerald Bay and Tallac, along to Lake Valley, Meyers Grade, Echo Summit, back to Hwy 50 and returned to Sacramento.
In 1931, Nevada legalized gambling. A few places opened just across the state line offering the chance to gamble. One of these bragged that they were the only gas pump in the basin. By 1940, Tahoe was a well known place to vacation, but World War II put a stop to all growth for the next four years. The Basin became deserted. After the war, Americans were anxious to get relief from the four years of sacrfice and back to the business of enjoying life. Lake Tahoe was once again alive with activity. Life there was also becoming a year round experience. Businesses came, services opened and local governments were formed.
Squaw Valley hosted the Winter Olympics in 1960. It wasn't until after this event that the many skiing areas began to be developed.
Lake Tahoe has only been settled for one hundred and fifty years, but its history is multi-faceted and very exciting. It has been home to Native Americans for centuries, the route to gold and silver. It has been a logging area and today is a resort with a summer and winter season. The beauty that is lake Tahoe, is unequaled. Everywhere you look is another picture, just waiting to be taken.