California
Lake Tahoe is a unique travel destination because summers and winters equally and reliably host a playful array of outdoor recreation. With summer temperatures averaging 70-80 degrees, cold lake waters rejuvenate nature-goers after days spent hiking, cycling or paddling.
Lake Tahoe is home to Incline Village – one of the US's most wealthy zip codes – and elegant estates that once belonged to California's social elite. That doesn’t mean access to the lake’s natural beauty and recreational fun is just for the rich and famous. Visitors might have to look a little harder to escape all the parking and entrance fees, or be more strategic about where to go and what to do, but Lake Tahoe is still Lake Tahoe no matter where you dip your toes. There are numerous community organizations that are warm, welcoming and downright enthusiastic to share their historical, cultural or environmental knowledge – at no cost. From local history to scenic road trips, here are some of the places to catch Lake Tahoe’s good vibes for free.
Lake Tahoe is a one-of-a-kind destination famous not only for its world-renowned alpine ski resorts but also its beautiful beaches. It is the largest alpine lake in North America and spans two states, Nevada and California.
Lake Tahoe, which straddles the two different states of California and Nevada, is North America’s largest alpine lake with a depth of 1,645 feet – making it the second deepest in the United States.
Big Sur easily qualifies as one America’s most iconic road trips, but to truly appreciate this impossibly dramatic juxtaposition of land and sea, you need to get out of the car and onto the trails. It’s a good thing that there are so many of them, allowing hikers to access deep canyons, dense forests and mountain meadows that can’t be seen from the road.
Located inland from the coast, San Jose isn’t exactly known for its beaches, but it’s the perfect base from which to explore a piece of California’s scenic coastline along Highway 1. The 70-mile stretch of coast that runs south of San Francisco to Santa Cruz is where you’ll find some of the most picturesque beaches in Northern California.
