Wouldn’t it be a fulfilling getaway when you get to learn a bit about of history during your Lake Tahoe vacation? It wouldn’t hurt so much to dig in to the culture or know the history of the place you are enjoying your vacation in, since this will provide you with helpful key trivia items that you can boast about with friends when you come back to school or work.

Lake Tahoe’s history is one for the storybooks. It started out as a land mass of shifting, grinding, sliding earth with imperceptible, perpetual movement which later on became the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the massive water basin that came to be knows as Lake Tahoe. Here are some more interesting information about Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe’s elevation is 6,229 feet, making it the highest lake of its size in the United States. The water depth measures 1,645 feet at a portion of the lake in the Crystal Bay area, making it the tenth deepest lake in the world and third deepest in North America.

Lake Tahoe also boasts of water clarity to a depth of 75-feet. The lake covers a surface area of 191 square miles with 71-miles of exquisite shoreline, while the Nevada/California border traverses lengthwise with a greater portion being on the California side.

Average snowfall in some areas is 300-600 inches and melting snow finds its way to the lake via 63 streams entering the basin. But what would strike you as odd is the fact that there is only one outlet, the Truckee River. Because of the huge volume and constant movement of the water, Lake Tahoe never freezes despite the drastic winter temperatures. Back in the old, old days summer vacationers began arriving more than 10,000 years ago when the American Indian Washoe tribe camped along the cool lake shores.

One of their favorite places is known today as Camp Richardson and the men of the tribe were skillful hunters and took advantage of the abundant wildlife. The Washoe women were noted for their intricate and artistic basket weaving and this idyllic lifestyle spanned generations of the peaceful tribe, however, it would not last.

The first European American to see Lake Tahoe was John C. Fremont, whose exploration party was led by Kit Carson in 1844. In 1859, the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, changed the face of the lake would affect it forever. With mines, towns and the railroad invading the territory, wood was the primary fuel source wand was also needed to supply building materials.

The east shore, from what is now Incline Village to Glenbrook, became a vast logging empire and the ravages of clear-cutting would remain evident for years to come. The Comstock silver lode made hundreds of people during the California and Comstock mining days and many were attracted to the pristine lake.

This was how tourism started and the resulting resorts soon to dot the lush landscape.

The Tahoe Basin managed to remain in relative obscurity with only a few people knowing about its existence until the 1950s when Bill Harrah and Harvey Gross built the first casinos on the south shore. With their gaming expertise they learned over the years back in Reno, they knew how to attract business for their establishments and became mainstays up until today, Known as Harvey’s and Harrah’s

Back in 1960, the Winter Olympic Games were hosted at Squaw Valley on the west shore and with the resulting publicity, the area was soon recognized as a world-class winter playground, as well as the premier summer vacation venue. The Olympic Rings still remain at Squaw Valley Resort and the place is renowned for year-round sporting activities.

So does it hurt a bit to learn about pieces of history on your Lake Tahoe vacation? Not a bit.

Tired of the usual and routine humdrum of everyday work? It’s about time to take a Lake Tahoe vacation. Whether it be a solitary getaway, a family weekend, a couple’s retreat or a few days of sporting adventure, then Lake Tahoe has it all.

Lake Tahoe is popularly known as the perfect year round vacation and wedding destination with relatively stable weather conditions, breathtaking scenery and a variety of environments suitable for a wide range of sporting activities.

Located between the borders of California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe boasts of over 300 days of warm sunshine,  396 inches of annual snowfall, 18 world-class ski and snowboarding resorts, incredible golf courses,  fantastic hotels, casinos and many, many more.

For a relaxing and romantic getaway, one can find many romantic destinations that boast of world-class service, elegant decors and scenery, superb cuisine and a wide array of choices to select from. From five star to first class, standard and deluxe, even economy accommodations, a large number of hotel and motel establishments are more than willing to provide free information about Lake Tahoe and how it could be best enjoyed.

For the chivalrous, Lake Tahoe is also a romantic and serene getaway destination, to rekindle the spirit of romance. There are several hotels, parks and resorts that provide an atmosphere of calm and peaceful respites.

For the avid and risky sports enthusiast, Lake Tahoe also offers a wide variety of venues for a broad range of events and alternative sports. There are hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails all around the lake, ranging in length, difficulty, and popularity.

One of these is the Granite Chief Wilderness, which provides great hiking and wilderness camping, if roughing it is your kind of vacation. Meanwhile to the southwest is the very popular Desolation Wilderness, from where one of the most popular Tahoe trails, the Tahoe Rim Trail, is located. The Tahoe Rim Trail is a 165 mile or 270 kilometer trail that circumnavigates the lake.

Directly to the west of the lake is the Eagle Lake Trailhead, where one could find several paved off-road bicycle paths. To get started off with looking for the right place to stay and activity to enjoy, look up reliable and established travel and tourism guides.

You might be surprised that with a place as popular as Lake Tahoe, you could find good deals and affordable packages that would suit your budget. There are hundreds of lodging options to choose from that include economy to moderate hotels and motels, casinos, inns, cabins, full service luxury resorts, and luxury vacation rentals.

One could also find five star or world- class amenities and accommodations that one could choose from, with mostly almost all establishments equipped with windows, terraces or balconies facing a magnificent view of breathtaking scenery and majestic natural beauty.

All over Lake Tahoe you could also find resorts with plenty to do be it skiing adventures, golf courses, beaches, hiking & biking trails, camping, fishing and boating options and restaurants.

With all this and more, it’s no wonder people from all over the world make Lake Tahoe one of the most popular year-round vacation destinations in the world today. So now, don’t you think it’s about high time to take a lake tahoe vacation?

Image by Leto A. via Flickr

Who would ever have thought that you can have a taste of Hollywood on your Lake Tahoe vacation? A lot of big screen films and television shows have been to various filming locations in the majestic Lake Tahoe, and who among Hollywood’s biggest names in tinseltown could resist the beauty of Lake Tahoe.

Indeed, only to name some, the famous Ponderosa Ranch of the TV series Bonanza is actually located on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. And another bit of film trivia is that the opening sequence of the famed TV series was filmed at the McFaul Creek Meadow with the beautiful Mount Tallac in the background.

In the highly acclaimed motion picture The Godfather Part II, the Corleone family lived in a compound on the shores of the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. In one of the famous scenes during the final minutes of the film, Fredo Corleone is taken out onto the lake for a fishing trip, on the orders of his brother Michael (Al Pacino) to be executed for treachery, where Michael stands by the shore watching the deed being done.

The house and grounds portrayed in the film are also located on the California side of Lake Tahoe in the summer estate of Henry Kaiser known as Fleur du Lac. The only structures used in the movie that still remain are the complex of old native stone boathouses with wrought iron gates. And although Fleur du Lac is private property and no one is allowed ashore there, the boathouses and multi-million dollar condominiums are easily viewed from the lake.

In the film Smoking Aces, most of the scenes were filmed in South Lake Tahoe and Stateline.

Many of the hotels and casinos are visible in the film with their older names. The climactic scenes of the 1987 Charles Bronson film Assassination were filmed around Lake Tahoe.

Top Gear a British TV program on state-of-the-art cars and gadgetry filmed one entire episode at Lake Tahoe sometime this year.

Located between the borders of California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe boasts of over 300 days of warm sunshine,  396 inches of annual snowfall, 18 world-class ski and snowboarding resorts, incredible golf courses,  fantastic hotels, casinos and many, many more.

For a relaxing and romantic getaway, one can find many romantic destinations that boast of world-class service, elegant decors and scenery, superb cuisine and a wide array of choices to select from. From five star to first class, standard and deluxe, even economy accommodations, a large number of hotel and motel establishments are more than willing to provide free information about Lake Tahoe and how it could be best enjoyed.

And this is how Lake Tahoe has indeed captivated filmmakers and movie buffs alike. So now you can also have a teste of Hollywood in your Lake Tahoe vacation.