Lake Tahoe South Shore

Year-round mountain playground

FROM SERENE VIEWS over mirror-flat morning waters of Lake Tahoe and the gentle footfall of hikers on pine needlecovered forest paths, to the jangle of slot machines and the pumping bass of a casino dance club, Lake Tahoe South Shore (what the marketers call Tahoe South) is a destination hosting a unique mix of wilderness and wild-ness, an indoor and outdoor playground with equal measures of altitude and attitude. Visitors can follow their desires to find peace and solitude on back country hikes or ski runs, or dive into a swirling social scene at a packed summer beach, holler at a crowded craps table or slurp microbrews at an après ski bar complete with go-go dancers. It’s dealer’s choice on the South Shore. And South Lake is continuing its renaissance with ongoing openings and renovations of hotels, restaurants and retail spaces across the area. Summer activity around the South Shore is understandably focused on the beautiful waters of spectacular Lake Tahoe. Beaches are packed with summer revelers, while the waters are filled with every type of floating vessel imaginable—from kayaks and standup paddle boards to small sailboats, fishing cruisers, water-ski boats, luxury cruising vessels and even the 500-passenger paddlewheel ship M.S. Dixie II that runs daily Emerald Bay sightseeing trips and sunset dinner cruises.

For fun out of the water, the South Shore is a hiker’s paradise with journeys ranging from multi-day treks into the Desolation Wilderness and a steep day’s climb up to the awe-inspiring views of Mount Tallac, to relaxed family strolls in flat meadows at Camp Richardson and around the Tallac Historic Site or just lazing at the beach. Cyclists can take advantage of a network of