We're planning a birthday celebration / long weekend in Tahoe in January 2008 for a small (6-8) group of friends. We're thinking we would like to rent a luxury home on the west or north shore, but would definitely like to plan at least one night out at one of the big casinos in State Line, as well as a nice dinner out, and possibly a spa trip during the day. Will the driving around the lake at this time of year prove daunting? Also, would we be able to find a car service to drive us back and forth on a night we don't want to have to choose a designated driver?

you will need a car with 4-wheel drive and chains. not sure how likely or inexpensive it will be to get a cab. depends on where you're going and how long the drive will be back to your rental.

The road between the west and south shores is pretty curvey and narrow, so I wouldn't stay on the west shore. North shore might be ok, depending on the weather conditions. That time of year, I would probably rent a place pretty close to whatever activities I wanted to do.

You are definitely going at things the hard way by staying in North/West shore and planning activities on South shore. It depends very much on the weather. The section of hwy 89 from West to South is frequently closed during storms and for days afterwards because it is rather a challenging road; going the other way around can be quite slow on a busy ski weekend, especially with chain controls.

My line on Tahoe in winter: North Shore for skiers, South Shore for partyers.

You might get there and find that there has been no snow on the roads in weeks, but I would still suggest looking for your luxury home in South shore.

Weather in January can be ?????? I would pick a location and plan on staying there. If youg get there and find the roads are open, great, if not then your are not locked in to driving in snow and ice on dark dark roads.

My picks would be either South Shore at Stateline or north shore at Incline Village.

There are no big casinos in Lake Tahoe if you are thinking in terms of Vegas style. It's a mountian location and you should think really scaled back as far as the casinos go. There are 3 casinos in south lake tahoe that would be consider to be the biggest there, Harrahs, Harvey and Mont Bleu. The others at stateline are smaller.

It will either be snowing are blue skies and sunny. HArd ot know which you'll encounter. A 4 wheel drive vehicle will allow you to avoid stopping to put on chains. Some people will say that occasionally even 4 wheel drive are required to have chains. I say that anyone driving in that kind of weather needs more than chains.

My favorite north and west luxury rental agency is the Tahoe City based www.tluxp.com

I like the spa at the Hyatt if you are on the north shore.

Dinner out on the north and west:

Sunnyside Resort, Garwoods and Lone Eagel Grille at the Hyatt.

If you stay in North Lake TAhoe and you're dying to go to a big casino type hotel, you could always go into Reno -- it's somewhere in between the glitz of Las Vegas and the low-keyness of Tahoe.

The problem w/ January is -- it is January. The roads could be clear and dry - or hwy 89, 50, or even parts of I-80 could be closed due to snow, avalance control or anything.

There is no way to tell which it will be until a few days before your trip. And that is much too late to make plans.

I would plan on a single location stay - Incline or Kings Beach in the North - or - Southshore. And not plan any round-the-lake jaunts. Then IF you are lucky and the weather is great, tour around all you want.

BTW - are you renting cars? Most car companies will not allow chains on rental cars.

The drive to the West Shore from the South Shore is daunting in the middle of a sunny summer day if you are an east coaster used to flat terrain. The road is narrow, curvy, has no guard rails and at times it feels like you are driving at the edge of a cliff.

Unless you are accustomed to driving in this type of terrain, I would not recommend a late night drive back, regardless of the weather or time of year.

But then again, maybe I am just a big baby.

Thanks for the great advice. We're used to upstate NY winter driving, but based on your descriptions of the weather and the lay of the land, it doesn't sound like my original plan is something we'll want to deal with on vacation. I guess I should focus more on the south shore. www.tluxp.com was the website I was looking at that inspired the idea to rent on the west or north shore. They listed some beautiful properties with great views and tasteful and updated furnishings and kitchens. I wasn't able to find anything comparable on the websites I found with south shore house rentals. Since we are generally a bunch of night owls, likely to stay up till all hours playing cards and gabbing, and since our group contains some of what Jerry Seinfeld would classify as "Loud Talkers", a single family house with no shared walls with other units would be ideal for us. Any ideas on where to find such a place on the south shore? Or should we stick with the big hotels, and hope they don't throw us out at 4 o'clock in the morning!

Have you checked VRBO -- you can go directly to South Lake Tahoe homes on that site, and there seem to be a few that would fit your criteria (and allow everyone else a good night's sleep )

http://tinyurl.com/25u5bp

This south lake thaoe agency rentals luxury properties:

http://www.tahoelodging.com/

check out the properties on the right column under "Luxury"

By the way, I applaud you for at least considering your fellow travelers in deciding to look for a private home with no adjoining walls.