TAHOE WINTER ATTRACTIONS

Here Are Tahoe’s Greatest Winter Hits!

Olympic Valley/Village at Palisades Tahoe

This scenic mountain valley was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. The pedestrian base village has a unique variety of shops, restaurants, bars, and outdoor seating near firepits. Beautiful sightseeing rides are offered on the aerial tram, with children under-12 riding free. Weather permitting, nearby Resort at Squaw Creek offers dog sledding, cross-country skiing and ice skating.

Heavenly Village/Stateline

Heavenly Village and four nearby casino towers at Stateline are a world-class nucleus of fun. Shops and dining spots line both sides of Highway 50, linked by wide sidewalks and open areas. Heavenly Village has ice skating and sightseeing rides on its aerial gondola, carrying passengers up to 9,123-foot elevation and spectacular views.

Gondola rides from Heavenly Village

Tahoe City dam and park

Tahoe City/Truckee River Outlet State Park

Tahoe City clears snow from a network of sidewalks and bike paths overlooking the lake, linking one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants. Gatekeeper Museum and its Native American basket collection are part of Truckee River Outlet State Park, as is the dam that controls the top six feet of the lake (with the river only a trickle here this fall).

Downtown Truckee/Donner Memorial State Park

Truckee’s charming, “Old West” downtown district is bisected by the Transcontinental Railroad and the Truckee River. The many historic buildings house a variety of quality restaurants, shops, galleries and brew pubs. Donner Memorial State Park is less than three miles to the west, its museum telling the stories of the infamous Donner Party and other Western pioneers.

Truckee's historic Downtown

Hope Valley/Kirkwood

Highways 89 and 88 lead south from Tahoe through scenic Hope Valley and over the Sierra Crest to Kirkwood ski resort. Hope Valley is popular for snowmobiling and snowshoeing. Sections of the forest between Carson Summit and Kirkwood were unfortunately burned in the 2021 Caldor Fire.

Emerald Bay

Tahoe’s most photographed spot, Emerald Bay resembles a Norwegian fjord surrounded by steep mountainsides, dotted with an island topped by a stone tea house. Parking can be extremely limited in winter, however, and this section of Highway 89 will often be closed for multiple days after large snowstorms.

Mt. Rose Highway Viewpoint

A short drive above Incline Village on Nevada Highway 431 is a scenic pull-off with unobstructed views of the Lake Tahoe Basin, its parking spots usually cleared of snow. The highway heads north from there, traversing a 8,911 foot elevation pass and then winding down the mountainside to Reno.

Virginia City

This 1860s silver boomtown was pivotal to helping the Union finance the Civil War. Its town center is well-preserved, with wooden boardwalks fronting shops and “watering holes.” The high-desert drive to and from the town completes the Old West journey.