Lake Tahoe - Ski Resorts - Resorts Guide

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Overview: Beautiful, bright blue, mile-high Lake Tahoe, straddling the border of California and Nevada in the United States, is the second largest alpine lake in the world. The lake, perched atop the Sierra Nevada, is surrounded on all sides by world-class ski resorts, magnificent golf courses, first class hotels and casinos, which cater for millions of holidaymakers every year. Although the area's scenery and facilities draw visitors year round, it is as a skiing and snowboarding destination that Lake Tahoe really thrives. Recently most of the popular resorts, with appealing names like Alpine Meadows, Heavenly and Squaw Valley, have undergone extensions and face-lifts. The comfortable resorts, bolstered by the fact that Lake Tahoe guarantees 300 days of sunshine a year, 33ft (10m) of annual snowfall, unrivalled scenery and more than 17,500 acres of terrain to explore, make it well nigh irresistible for anyone contemplating a winter sports holiday. Visitors can fly in to the nearby Reno/Tahoe Airport, or drive on all-weather highways from Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles in just a few hours for a dose of fun in the pure mountain air.

Shopping: There is an abundance of shops in the resorts and towns around Lake Tahoe, and it is easy to explore them all by making use of the free trolley shuttles and cheap surface transportation options in the area. Great bargains are to be had at the 16 factory shops in South Lake Tahoe, situated at the junction of Highway 50 and 89. The bustling Swiss-style Cobblestone Center in the centre of Tahoe City and The Boatworks Mall at Tahoe City Marina, North Lake Boulevard, are treasure-troves of interesting stores and galleries. Good buys in the area are gold and silver jewellery, Native American art, crafts, gifts and souvenirs, and of course, outdoor recreational clothing and equipment.