Lake Tahoe ​

Lake Tahoe is the lake that makes you understand why people spend $5 million on a cabin they use three weeks a year. The water is an absurd shade of blue that your camera will spend the entire trip failing to capture accurately — you'll take 200 photos and every one of them will look like you cranked the saturation up, but nope, it actually looks like that. At 1,645 feet deep and sitting at 6,225 feet elevation, it's basically a massive pool of liquid sapphire surrounded by granite peaks, which is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds.

Summer Tahoe is beaches, kayaking, and convincing yourself the water is "refreshing" rather than "hypothermia-adjacent." Winter Tahoe is world-class skiing at a dozen resorts, plus the occasional white-knuckle I-80 drive that makes you reconsider whether fresh powder is worth risking your car. Both versions are spectacular. The drive around the lake itself — all 72 miles of it — is one of the best scenic drives in the state, with Emerald Bay being the kind of view that makes you pull over and just stare for a while.

Photo Gallery ​

Good to Know ​

Winter Chains: Keep chains in your car November through April. CalTrans will turn you around on I-80 and US-50 without them, and you'll have earned that L.

South vs North Shore: South Shore (Stateline) has the casinos, nightlife, and Heavenly. North Shore (Tahoe City / Truckee) is more laid-back with Palisades and Northstar. Both are great, different vibes.

Emerald Bay: Don't skip it. The Vikingsholm hike down is short, and Fannette Island is the only island in the entire lake.