Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. We had just reached Emerald Bay when a stranger on our cruise boat gasped: “It never gets old.
” The “it” in this instance was the view along Lake Tahoe’s southwest shore. Shimmering water, all green, crystal clear and pure, as the relentless midday Nevada desert sun lit up the mountain-range backdrop, its glacier-polished rock and coniferous trees completing the postcard. If our lungs had already tightened thanks to being more than 1,800 metres above sea level, this view would momentarily take our remaining breaths.
As our paddlewheel vessel passed Fannette Island and its stone-structure teahouse, the boatload of beauty before us was truly that inspiring. The stunning scenery never gets old here and everywhere else in this road-trip-ready Nevada region straddling the California border. Those who drive the 233-km Reno-to-Lake Tahoe loop can take in 360 degrees of nature accessible through hotel and restaurant windows, roadside lookouts and by staring straight ahead.
There’s a reason some 15 million visitors come to what’s known as the “Jewel of the Sierra Nevada” each year. Ski resorts circle the alpine lake, which is so deep it never freezes, and beaches dot the shoreline. For outdoor enthusiasts, it’s an all-seasons heaven on earth, including in fall when the crowds thi.
