Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen, together with Weissensee in Austria and Lago di Carezza in Italy. However, it has some pretty unique features, among which an average dept of 989ft, with the deepest point at 1460ft. Hard to imagine. It's of a deep blue hue and swimmable, the surface temperature in summer is 68ºF. Some fun facts: every day 1.4 million cubic feet of water evaporate from it, yet the lake remains at a fairly constant level, varying by only a few inches between summer and winter. Average snowfall in the area is about 500" - which makes skiers like us as happy as clams. Another incredible trivia: the amount of water it contains is enough to fill a canal built around the equator of the same width and depth of the Panama Canal, yet you would have enough water left over to fill another canal of the same dimensions running from S. Francisco to New York City. How's that!
We stopped in the town of Stateline, home to the Heavenly ski resort - which holds true to its name, a ski resort in the winter and a fun summer destination. Despite the few casinos in the downtown, the snow village is cute and very compact. The gondola is easily accessible from the main street. Luckily the gondola was still open, this is the last weekend of its operation until ski season, and we were able to take it to the top of the mountain, enjoying some incredible views of the lake from atop and the mountains around it. We went for a hike along some ski trails - already dusted with snow - and given the altitude we were quite short of breath despite the gentle incline. We had lunch at the grill and decided that this is something sooner or later we will have to ski. Continuing our loop around the lake we hit some pretty interesting spots, including a bay which houses a small island with a Scandinavian mansion, which given the season is already closed to the public. We could take pictures of it from the cliff. This part of the lake is the steepest and the road winds up through the mountains. Still, the bike loop around the lake is something that I will also need to come back here for. It's about 80 miles in total and I believe that it's a bit easier in a clockwise direction. Towards the northern rim there is an estate, closed to the public, which is the location for filming the Godfather II. Some mansions around here are amazing, judging from the few glimpses you can steal from the street. Very small communities dot the shoreline, especially on the California side, which is a bit less developed. The northern part borders some famous ski resorts, like Squaw Valley and Mt. Rose, yet the Nevada side is more spectacular to see, the mountains are higher and already snow-capped.
First view of Lake Tahoe as we approached it. We hiked down to some sacred rocks the power of which was only known to the local shamans.
The blue color is almost unreal.
And in stark contrast with the snowy mountains and the green of trees.
In Heavenly, we took the gondola to the top of the ski resort.
Going up...
and up... Luckily we are both used to this from the Alps, it's really really steep!
Here we are at an intermediate stop with a lookout veranda.
And we can't keep our eyes off of the lake below.
Our hike takes us to Hidden Lake. I bet it's frozen during the winter.
Another view of Lake Tahoe as we circle it.
This small bay has a tiny island with a Viking castle on it.
Trying to get a closer look at it, since it's closed for the season.
On our way back to Carson City, what a barren landscape.
Approaching Carson City at the end of the day.