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UNITED STATES | Lake Tahoe, California Travel Guide
Saturday, December 21, 2024
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Tahoe City and Squaw Valley
Lake Tahoe Dam at Tahoe City, Lake Tahoe (cc)
Photo: Little Mountain 5
Tahoe City
Tahoe City is a charming little resort town, originally settled in the 1860s. It is situated at the northwest corner of Lake Tahoe, where the lake waters spill over into the Truckee River, with its small, colorful business district lying largely along the periphery of the lake, lined with shops, boutiques, galleries, restaurants and cafés.
Around Town
Places of interest in Tahoe City include the Gatekeeper’s Cabin Museum, located adjacent to the Outlet Gates (which is where the lake waters pour into the Truckee River), where you can view old photographs and artifacts depicting Lake Tahoe’s past, including a prized Washoe Indian basket collection; and historic Watson’s Cabin on the town’s main street, dating from 1880 and housing museum artifacts of local interest.
Also of interest in town are historic Victoria Station, which now houses a restaurant; the Cobblestone Mall, a replica of an old Bavarian Alpine Village Square, filled with speacialty shops and boutiques; and the Boathouse and Roundhouse malls, fronting on the Tahoe City Marina, the latter housed in a beatifully restored, 1890s Southern Pacific Railroad building. There is also a beach here, the Tahoe City Commons, with a playground and kayak rentals.
Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows
Squaw Valley, famous as the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, and now the most prestigious ski resort at Lake Tahoe, is situated approximately 5 miles northwest of Tahoe City. It is best described as a natural amphitheater, surrounded by noble mountains, the highest of them Granite Chief (elevation 9,050 feet). The original Olympic Village, redeveloped and now housing multimillion-dollar condominiums, is located near the base of the mountains, and a more recent, full-fledged luxury resort, Squaw Creek Resort, lies a little further into the valley. Be assured that this is a pricey, first-class area, with upscale shops and restaurants, and homes with price tags that never drop below $1 million.
The skiing at Squaw Valley is equally superb, with lift prices to match. There are over 100 ski runs and nearly 40 ski lifts, inlcuding a goldola that whisks you up to the Granite Chief Restaurant, some 2,000 feet above the valley floor. Squaw Valley also enjoys some of the heaviest snowfall - around 450 inches annually - and one of the longest ski seasons in the area.
Another that offers equally good skiing and an equally long ski season is nearby Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, located some 4 miles northwest of Tahoe City, at the end of Alpine Meadows Road which goes off Highway 89 at the historic River Ranch Restaurant and Inn.
Last updated April 1, 2012
Posted in United States | Lake Tahoe
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