The Best Way To Enjoy Tahoe Is Not What You Think

Everybody wants to know the best place to stay, the best place to eat, the best beach, the best hike, the best boat excursion, the best view. All good questions. But there is one decision you can make about Tahoe that will affect your experience more than any other.

 

That single choice is this: Don't come in July or August.

Everything you might want to do in Tahoe is available from September through June. Great weather, great experiences, great exploration. But without such a crush of tourists.

On Thursday, I made a bookstore/gift store circuit around the lake, including Truckee. I was checking in at the places that sell my books. As a 31-year local, I know how to go everywhere with right turns for ease of getting through intersections. I know the back roads, and I know where to find parking when all the lots are full. I know the best times for driving.

I've done this more times than I can count. But this trip, I noticed a change. The lake is still gorgeous. The lakeshore communities, especially Tahoe City, Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach, Truckee, and a few sections of South Lake Tahoe are still as charming as any Hawaii beach town.

But there are more people than ever. 

There aren't more hotel rooms. That number is largely capped by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. The difference is that the vacation homes and cabins that used to have low occupancy or were vacant are now full with Airbnb rentals. In my neighborhood, for example, we used to have 5 out of 35 houses occupied full time. Now it's closer to 25 or 30 houses occupied full time. 

The pandemic is probably to blame. People who couldn't go to their jobs or their favorite restaurants in the city realized that they had to stay home. In that case, why not make home up in the beautiful mountains?

Add to that the post-pandemic swell of visitors in July and August, and you have gridlock. A visitor who makes the mistake of trying to drive someplace between 9 am and 7 pm will run the risk of running out of gas on the road, waiting in a long line of stopped traffic. And if that visitor gets to their destination, they will absolutely-guaranteed be frustrated that they are fighting hundreds of thousands of other visitors, none of whom can find a parking place, a restaurant that can seat them, a deli counter that doesn't have a line that will last until tomorrow.

Bottom line? If you want to visit Tahoe, you will be much happier doing it from September to June.