The Guide

Every listing that made the cut, across the whole basin.

50 listings

Eat4.5

Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge

The deck that defines summer on the West Shore.

West Shore

Eat4.6

Lone Eagle Grille

Fine dining with the lake as your wallpaper.

East Shore

Eat4.5

Gar Woods Grill & Pier

Woody boats, wet woodies, and a pier over Carnelian Bay.

North Tahoe

Eat4.4

Wolfdale's Cuisine Unique

Forty years of Asian-inflected California cooking in Tahoe City.

North Tahoe

Eat4.5

Christy Hill

Modern American plates above the Tahoe City shoreline.

North Tahoe

Eat4.4

West Shore Café & Inn

A mahogany runabout of a restaurant in Homewood.

West Shore

Eat4.4

Bridgetender Tavern & Grill

The locals' burger joint beside the Truckee River.

North Tahoe

Eat4.6

T's Mesquite Rotisserie

Incline's cult counter for rotisserie chicken and tri-tip.

East Shore

Eat4.6

Fire Sign Café

Scratch breakfast worth the wait since 1978.

West Shore

Eat4.4

Moody's Bistro Bar & Beats

Truckee's jazz-club dining room in the historic Truckee Hotel.

Truckee

Eat4.5

Pianeta

Handmade pasta in a brick-lined Truckee basement.

Truckee

Eat4.5

Squeeze In

Sixty-plus omelettes in a room the size of a hallway.

Truckee

Eat4.6

Dark Horse Coffee Roasters

The coffee that fuels Truckee mornings.

Truckee

Eat4.5

Base Camp Pizza Co.

Heavenly Village's reliably excellent pie and patio.

South Tahoe

Eat4.6

Sprouts Café

South Shore's long-running natural foods café.

South Tahoe

Do4.8

Sand Harbor State Park

The postcard: boulders, turquoise shallows, and summer Shakespeare.

East Shore

Do4.8

Emerald Bay State Park

The view that launched a thousand road trips.

West Shore

Do4.7

Eagle Falls Trail

The best effort-to-reward hike in the basin.

West Shore

Do4.8

Rubicon Trail

Lakeside singletrack between D.L. Bliss and Emerald Bay.

West Shore

Do4.5

Palisades Tahoe

The 1960 Olympic mountain, still the Sierra's flagship ski resort.

North Tahoe

Do4.5

Heavenly Mountain Resort

Ski a ridge line with Nevada on your left and the lake on your right.

South Tahoe

Do4.7

Donner Memorial State Park

A sobering history museum wrapped around a beautiful swimming lake.

Truckee

Do4.8

Tahoe City Kayak & Paddleboard

The friendliest launch point onto the north end of the lake.

North Tahoe

Do4.5

Truckee River Rafting

The lazy five-mile float every Tahoe summer needs.

North Tahoe

Do4.5

Kings Beach State Recreation Area

The North Shore's big sunny sandbox.

North Tahoe

Do4.9

Donner Summit Via Ferrata

Clip in and climb the granite above Donner Pass.

Truckee

Stay4.6

The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe

Mid-mountain luxury above Northstar.

Truckee

Stay4.4

Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort

A private beach and the friendliest full-service resort in Incline.

East Shore

Stay4.7

Cedar Glen Lodge

A lovingly restored 1930s cottage colony in Tahoe Vista.

West Shore

Stay4.5

Basecamp Tahoe City

Boutique camp vibes a block from the lake.

North Tahoe

Stay4.5

The Coachman Hotel

South Shore's design-forward motel reborn.

South Tahoe

Stay4.6

Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort

Family-run beachfront cabins in Tahoe Vista since 1962.

North Tahoe

Give4.8

Tahoe Fund

Funding the projects that keep Tahoe blue, wild, and open to all.

Nonprofit

North Tahoe

Give4.9

League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue)

The sticker on every local's bumper, since 1957.

Nonprofit

South Tahoe

Give4.8

Sierra Community House

The safety net for North Tahoe and Truckee families.

Nonprofit

North Tahoe

Give4.7

Truckee River Watershed Council

Restoring the river and meadows that feed the lake.

Nonprofit

Truckee

Give4.9

High Fives Foundation

Helping injured mountain athletes get back to the life they love.

Nonprofit

Truckee

Give4.7

SOS Outreach Lake Tahoe

Teaching kids to snowboard, and everything that comes with it.

Nonprofit

South Tahoe

Give4.8

Sugar Pine Foundation

Replanting the Sierra's most beloved tree, one seedling at a time.

Nonprofit

South Tahoe

Give4.8

Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe

Finding homes for the Sierra's hardest-luck animals.

Nonprofit

Truckee

Give4.8

Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation

The grantmaker behind a hundred local good works.

Nonprofit

Truckee

Give4.7

Clean Tahoe

The crew that picks up after 15 million visitors a year.

Nonprofit

South Tahoe

Events4.8

Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

Shakespeare on the beach at Sand Harbor under the stars.

East Shore

Events4.6

Truckee Thursdays

Downtown Truckee becomes a street party every summer week.

Truckee

Events4.7

Live at Lakeview Summer Music Series

Free Thursday concerts where the beach meets the band.

South Tahoe

Events4.5

Palisades Tahoe Summer Events

Yoga, music, and mountain air in Olympic Valley.

North Tahoe

Shop4.9

Alpenglow Sports

Tahoe City's mountain shop since 1979.

North Tahoe

Shop4.8

The Backcountry

Truckee's gear exchange and mountain culture hub.

Truckee

Shop4.8

Kalifornia Jean Bar

Kings Beach's denim-and-lifestyle boutique.

North Tahoe

Shop4.9

Riverside Studios

Art, gifts, and workshops in downtown Truckee.

Truckee

Prefer the lay of the land? See these on the map.