Visiting Lake Tahoe

The border of California and Nevada is home to one of America’s most beautiful lakes. Lake Tahoe lies mostly on the California side, which also includes one of the most photographed areas of the entire lake: Emerald Bay. The bay is surrounded by dark green forests and has tiny Fannette Island sitting near its center. During the late 1800s, an Englishman named Captain Dick Barter became known as the “Hermit of Emerald Bay.” He lived in the area for years and even built himself a small chapel and tomb where he planned to be buried. He later died during a storm while sailing on Lake Tahoe, and his body was never found.

The roads surrounding Lake Tahoe can occasionally be a little intimidating, especially where they follow steep mountainsides without much separating the road from the drop below. The road above was one of my favorite sections. It passes across a high area with steep terrain and water on either side. These higher sections also provide some of the best views around the lake, including Emerald Bay and the shoreline seen above.

Lots of wildlife lives around Lake Tahoe, including some much larger animals such as black bears and mountain lions. I still have yet to see a mountain lion in the wild and rarely come across bears, but finding lizards never seems to be a challenge for me anywhere in the world. I’m not sure what species the lizard above was, but he had plenty of friends in the area where I went hiking. On the right is some type of high-altitude moss similar to what I’ve seen in other western states like Idaho.

The forests surrounding Lake Tahoe are filled with enormous evergreen trees, including the one above. Right beside these giants you’ll find the next generation starting out, like the tiny tree in the second photo.

With Nevada’s image dominated by hot deserts and casinos, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the state shares one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in the country. Lake Tahoe sits directly on the California-Nevada border at an elevation of 6,225 feet (1,897 meters). The lake is surrounded by mountains that rise several thousand feet higher and remain snow covered for much of the year. During winter, deep snow can transform the entire region, while summer brings warm days and seemingly endless opportunities for hiking and exploring the shoreline.

I actually ended up taking more photos on the California side of Lake Tahoe, but I’ve visited the lake several times from both states. Lake Tahoe was also the first place I ever went snowboarding, way back in 2003. On my most recent visit in April, daytime temperatures were already in the 70s Fahrenheit (around 20°C), yet there was still plenty of snow covering the surrounding mountains.

The water itself is incredibly clear and beautiful, although it’s also very cold. While exploring along the shoreline I came across these crawfish in the shallow water among schools of small fish. Between the clear alpine water, forests, mountains, wildlife, hiking, and winter skiing, Lake Tahoe is easily one of my favorite natural areas along the California-Nevada border.