Lake Tahoe, a week in summer

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Lake Tahoe, 12 miles wide, 22 miles long, nearly 1,700 feet deep - as seen from space. Water from this lake never reaches the ocean.

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Lake Tahoe is situated on the Nevada-California border in the western United States, where both borders form an oblique angle.  The nearest airport is Reno, Nevada (RNO) some 58 miles away, although Sacramento, California   (SMF) is also within driving distance at 105 miles.  The lake itself is 12 miles by 22 miles, with a shoreline of 72 miles.  It is very, very deep, its 1,700 feet of depth making it the second deepest lake in the U.S.  The altitude of the lake is about 6,300 feet, contributing to cool, pleasant summer days.  While we were there, the temperature routinely stayed about 15 degrees cooler than Reno, nearly 2,000 feet lower in elevation.

This is a trip we planned very quickly and very late, to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary.  My husband was doing some research work in western Nevada, so it seemed logical to visit Lake Tahoe. 

I conducted some RealTravel research to find out just where to stay along the beautiful lake, and chose Incline Village, Nevada.  It has a casino but is not dominated by casinos, and is small enough that I could walk to both the village center, and to the lake.  At the suggestion of some RealTravelers, I found great places to stay through "Vacation Rentals by Owner" (www.vrbo.com), selecting a townhouse in a condo complex only a quarter mile from the lake.