Molly08

Hi -

We are planning a family vacation to Lake Tahoe this summer. We plan on renting a house or condo. We will likely cook our meals, and don't like casinos, so proximity to restaurants or other activities is not a priority. We'd rather be in a pretty, but somewhat accessible location (especially to decent grocery store). Where is the best place to stay, and where will we get the most bang for our buck when it comes to rentals? Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks,
Molly in LA

tomfuller

What is your mode of transportation? How many days? Do you want to visit Yosemite on the way or on the return?
You should try VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner)

sf7307

There are several distinct sections of Lake Tahoe each of which has its proponents and its detractors (the lake is equally beautiful in all of them, but the areas are very different). There's South Lake Tahoe/Stateline, which is at the California/Nevada border and sports several large casino hotels, a couple of smaller casinos, many motels, lots of strip malls. There's the west side (see map - Homewood area), which is "old Tahoe" -- very few hotels, lots of rentals, a few restaurants, places to rent boats and bikes and the like. My personal favorite is North Lake Tahoe (Tahoe City to Incline Village), which is somewhat less developed than South Lake Tahoe. Going around the lake from Kings Beach to Tahoe City, there are many condo developments. When our kids were little, we vacationed annually with some other families at Brockway Springs resort and I still highly recommend it. It's in a great location (just east of King's Beach), walking distance to the funky/beachy town of King's Beach, which has a good public beach, restaurants, a Safeway, bakeries, etc., and the best miniature golf course I've ever played! Also, it's only about a 15 minute drive to Truckee which is a former mining town and now sports good shopping and eating. Brockway is very nice, but it's not "luxury". For luxury, look at Rocky Ridge. There's also Chinquapin, Tahoe Taverns and others.

http://www.brockwaysprings.com/

http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/us/ca/tahoesub

milkeway4

I have to agree with everything that the previous post by tomfuller. The North Shore is much more family friendly and natural.
Have fun!

MichelleY

We stay in Truckee in the Tahoe-Donner development for the last 18 years. Love it.

sf7307

Understand, however, that Tahoe-Donner is NOT on Lake Tahoe (we have often stayed at Northstar, but that's not on the lake either, nor is Squaw Valley).

crefloors

I go with the first suggestion for activities, location, and convenience.

We used to rent a lake front cabin at Homewood, years ago, and it's still one of my favorite areas, but it's a bit out of the way.

november_moon

We've stayed at Brockway several times too and really like that area. I also like Zephyr Cove, which is on the east side of the lake. They have cabins in the trees just back from the lake with a nice swimming beach.

janisj

mikeway4: "I have to agree with everything that the previous post by tomfuller. The North Shore is much more family friendly and natural".

To clarify -- I think you meant the previous post by sf7307 Since Tom didn't say anything about North shore (or anything about Tahoe really).

Molly08: sf7307 has laid things out very clearly and I agree that either northshore or parts of the west side would be nicer than South Lake Tahoe. Truckee would be a great day trip -- good shopping and places to eat. Another interesting day trip would be to Virginia City over SE of Reno/NE of Carson City.

tomfuller

I have driven through both Kings Beach/Incline Village and South Lake Tahoe but never stayed in either. I just wanted to know if they were driving their own vehicle or renting a car or some other transport.
From the look I got I would favor Incline Village over anything I saw on the South shore.
There are lots of interesting places to go from Tahoe including the Gold Country and Yosemite by way of Tioga Pass.

elnap29

I agree with sf7307. We spent many summers with our kids at Tahoe, primarily on the North Shore. Their all-time favorite beach (especially as teens) was Kings Beach, even though they had access to some nice private beaches. That said, we had wonderful times staying at South Shore, too. We loved riding our bikes to the various beaches (such as Baldwin and Pope). Most likely the area near Kings Beach would provide what you want, although I'm not sure about bike trails there. There is a terrific one that goes from Tahoe City along the river to the turn-off for Squaw, and there is another one that goes from Tahoe City west along the lake as far as Sugarpine Point. Probably more activities for kids on the north end of the lake.

milkeway4

Yes I meant sf7307. Thank you for correcting that. Definitely North to Northwest shore.

Molly08

Thanks Everyone! There aren't actually any kids - this is an adult family vacation with my parents and sisters coming from Texas to meet us up there. I had a hunch that the South Shore was not our style, but this confirms it and helps me focus in on an area to look for house/condo rentals.

Michael

If staying very close to Lake Tahoe, I think that the area south of Tahoe City on 89 is nicer than the area east of Tahoe City toward the Nevada border.