Winter Van Life: Lake Tahoe
If you’re into winter RV and van life travel, Lake Tahoe should be on your bucket list if you ski or snowboard. The region has more than a dozen ski resorts, each with unique features and character. It’s not uncommon to measure snowstorms in feet. And after fresh powder falls, bluebird skies follow.
If you know our story, we lived in Tahoe for over 20 years. It was hard to sell our condo and leave, even though I was excited to start our van life adventure. When I moved there, I wasn’t committed to staying for a specified amount of time. But after about ten years, I thought I’d be there forever.
During our final years living and working there, congestion in the Tahoe Basin became worse year after year. Going anywhere required careful planning to avoid traffic, find parking, skip long lines, and find some peace. When I first came to Tahoe, the local pace helped me to slow down. But in my final years, it wore on my nerves. Kyle and I would travel in a new direction each weekend to escape the crowds.
Regardless, I still love Lake Tahoe. And I know how to make the most of our time whenever we visit. Experiencing Tahoe living in a van is different than living in a condo. Here’s what you need to know to plan your epic Tahoe RV and van life ski and snowboard adventure…
Get the Lay of the Land
All the ski resorts below are lumped into the Tahoe region, depending on the resource you reference. Most fall within the Lake Tahoe Basin, while others fall right outside. If you traveled the most direct route to touch all of them, your driving distance would be close to 190 miles.
North Shore, South Shore, East Shore, and West Shore are commonly used to distinguish between the areas of Lake Tahoe. But for this guide, I’ve split the Tahoe region in half horizontally and divided it into North and South. The lake also straddles two states – California and Nevada. So, in addition to North and South, the state is noted as well.
North Tahoe – California
- Homewood
- Granlibakken
- Palisades Tahoe (Ikon Pass 2023/24)
- Sugar Bowl (Mountain Collective 2023/24)
- Donner Ski Ranch
- Soda Springs
- Boreal
- Tahoe Donner
- Northstar (Epic Pass 2023/24)
North Tahoe – Nevada
South Tahoe – California
- Heavenly – CA & NV (Epic Pass 2023/24)
- Sierra-at-Tahoe (Powder Alliance 2023/24)
- Kirkwood (Epic Pass 2023/24)
Overnight RV Camping Options
There is no dispersed camping permitted in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Please visit the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit website for more information.
You cannot sleep overnight in a tent, RV, or another vehicle in California SNO-PARKS in the Lake Tahoe Basin and Donner Summit either, based on phone inquiries I made in December 2019.
Any options outside of the Lake Tahoe Basin may result in longer commute times to the ski resorts. If you choose public lands in places like Carson Valley, roads may be muddy, snow-covered, and inaccessible.
Options in the Lake Tahoe Basin
Coachland RV Resort (Truckee, CA)
Recommended for: North Tahoe – California resorts
We arrived after hours in December 2019. Per the instructions posted, we had to complete a booking online before occupying a site.
It was helpful to look at the physical sites before committing. A number were unplowed, icy, and slushy. The RV park has a lot of trees. Great for shelter from wind, but not for melting snow. I wondered how well the sites are maintained when the area receives a storm measuring several feet.
If you stay here, arrive at the designated check-in time so the RV park has time to address any issues. You don’t want to show up after hours to an unplowed site!
While we had no trouble getting a site by walking in, I would recommend having reservations. Tahoe gets very busy, especially during holiday periods and when there’s powder. I’ve called this RV park before when they had no availability.
The showers were clean, and the water was hot. However, the facility itself was kind of cold.
Zephyr Cove Resort’s RV Park & Campground (Zephyr Cove, NV)
Recommended for:
- South Tahoe – California resorts
- North Tahoe – Nevada resorts
Coachland RV Park is closer to the North Tahoe – Nevada resorts than Zephyr Cove if you’re looking at mileage. However, we prefer staying in Zephyr Cove to avoid Northstar and Kings Beach traffic.
We have been to this RV park a handful of times totaling around two months. See our full review.
Tahoe Valley Campground (South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Recommended for: South Tahoe – California resorts
We have not stayed here. However, it is one of three places we have filled up on propane in Tahoe’s South Shore.
Outside of the Lake Tahoe Basin
A significant benefit of being in Carson Valley, Washoe Valley, or the Sierra foothills in El Dorado, is that you will shovel less snow, if at all.
Silver City RV Resort (Minden, NV – Carson Valley)
Recommended for:
- North Tahoe – Nevada resorts
- South Tahoe – California resorts
When we lived in Tahoe full time and took our RV out on weekends, we stopped at Silver City to use their dump station and fill up on water and propane. The staff was always friendly, and they used to resell donuts from Donuts to Go. Yum! But we have never stayed there overnight. We drove through the RV park once in 2017, and it was clean at the time.
Carson Valley Inn RV Resort (Minden, NV – Carson Valley)
Recommended for: South Tahoe – California resorts
We have never stayed at this RV resort. CVI used to be a local’s hangout when I worked in Carson Valley years ago.
Washoe Lake State Park (Carson City, NV – Washoe Valley)
Recommended for: North Tahoe – Nevada resorts
We’ve stayed here a few times for leisure, but I also used it as a home base for a one-week job in Reno.
Unless you plan on taking your chances navigating dirt road conditions on public lands, it’s one of the most inexpensive places to stay with showers and a communal dump. It’s also farther from the ski resorts, so you’ll be spending more on fuel.
While the shower’s water temperature has always been hot for me, it doesn’t seem there is a heat source for the room itself. It may be chilly depending on what’s going on outside.
It can get extremely windy here. The state park sits directly east of Highway 395 in Washoe Valley, and that section of highway closes to big rigs all of the time due to high winds. I wouldn’t stay here if a storm is blowing in.
El Dorado County Fairgrounds (Placerville, CA – Sierra foothills in El Dorado County)
Recommended for: Sierra-at-Tahoe
The fairgrounds might be an option if you are going to be on the Sacramento side of Highway 50’s Echo Summit. We have not stayed there.
Weather
My favorite weather app year-round is NOAA Weather Radar Live. I find it to be the most accurate, and I like the weather alerts it pushes as we travel from point A to B. I can also specify location favorites.
However, for ski weather, OpenSnow is the only tool I use.
In their app, you can view forecasted snow totals by day for each of your favorite ski resorts or ski resorts included in a specific season pass like Loveland’s. While in Tahoe, you can view all the local resorts side-by-side, so you always know who is likely to get the most snow.
Their weather forecasts for ski regions across the country are highly detailed. Bryan Allegretto covers the Tahoe region, and he is my favorite snow forecaster. He doesn’t merely share whether or not it’s going to be sunny or snowy and the forecasted temperature. Bryan provides a thoughtful and visual story of incoming storms. He also holds himself accountable by writing a post-storm update comparing his predicted snow totals to actual snow totals for each Tahoe ski resort.
Monitoring the weather is crucial if you’re looking for a powder day, but you also want to know if roads are going to be affected and if there is going to be significant wind. Tahoe storms can generate wind over 100 mph, putting many ski lifts on wind hold.
Also, there is such a thing as too much snow. When Tahoe is getting pounded, mountain resorts may just stay closed or have a delayed start as they dig out and complete avalanche safety protocols.
Road Conditions
Tahoe sees a lot of traffic incidents and other significant delays in the winter that are far less common at other ski areas we have visited. The only other area we’ve seen the same or worse is traveling I-70 in Colorado between Denver and the ski resorts in Summit and Eagle Counties.
When Tahoe roads are snow-covered, travel time can take twice as long or longer than indicated by any mapping app. Conditions can deteriorate quickly. We pay close attention to road conditions through as many channels as possible, even on good weather days. Severe or fatal collisions are not uncommon when the weather is beautiful, and roads can end up closed for hours.
DO NOT try to leave South Tahoe via Highway 50 over Echo Summit toward Sacramento and San Francisco on a Sunday when weekend warriors are migrating home. If you must, depart early in the AM.
Pioneer Trail in South Lake Tahoe heading in the direction of Highway 50 in Meyers, may also become congested.
Don’t try to take alternate routes through local neighborhoods. Everyone still has to funnel back onto Highway 50 on the way out of town so it won’t be any faster. If law enforcement is redirecting traffic, your situation will not improve.
Check out this thorough Winter Driving guide from Tahoe South.
Don’t Miss Out on Fresh Tracks!
If I want to get fresh powder at any Tahoe ski resort, or parking for that matter, I plan on being there AT LEAST one hour before lifts start spinning. If Google Maps is telling me it’s going to take 35 minutes to get there, I plan on drive time taking 70 minutes or more. On weekends and during holiday periods, I add a half hour to our departure time. If it’s a powder day, I add more. Ultimately, I try to avoid weekends and holidays. Some resorts will be less busy than others, but they all get busy.
Don’t forget the amount of time it may take to shovel yourself out and put chains on before you leave!
Avoid Lines Around Town
At Ski Resorts
Skip Tahoe during weekends and holidays. Weekdays can get crazy, too, especially if there is a powder day. Holidays like Christmas and New Year’s week and Presidents Day week can be misery. If you must go during holiday periods, we’ve seen reduced crowds on the slopes when season pass holders have blackout days.
My top ski resort picks for reduced crowds:
At Restaurants
Make reservations. The further in advance, the better.
If reservations aren’t accepted, go at an off time. We try and eat between about 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. The lunch rush is over, but the dinner service hasn’t started yet. Just make sure the restaurant is open.
If your chosen restaurant serves dinner only and you don’t have reservations, arrive right when they open and be willing to compromise for a seat in the bar area.
Don’t assume you can do takeout instead. When restaurants get exceptionally busy, they stop fulfilling takeout requests.
If it’s a breakfast joint, you may be waiting a couple of hours. You might want to eat something light before you get there. I haven’t figured out a magical time to go. If I don’t end up waiting, I consider myself lucky.
At Grocery Stores
Grocery store checkout lines in Tahoe are often long during prime seasons, and staples can run out. When we still lived there, I tried to complete my shopping in the middle of the week, either mid-morning or mid-afternoon, to avoid weekend warriors. Going during these periods didn’t always work in my favor, but it did most of the time.
I like stocking up in Reno and Carson Valley at Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Target.
Working Remotely in Tahoe
Hopefully, your visit to Lake Tahoe will be work free. But if you do have to work remotely, here is what you need to know.
I think Tahoe is relatively developed compared to other ski communities in the western United States. However, I find cell service reliability around the Tahoe Basin is very poor. It becomes worse with more people in town.
I had slow internet speeds living in our Tahoe condo. And after moving into the van, I spent three months moving around South Shore to find the best places for uploading and downloading video, streaming entertainment, and participating in video conference calls using an AT&T hotspot and WeBoost Drive Sleek to boost my cell signal.
Unfortunately, a few of my favorite places are inaccessible in winter. But I can work remotely and stream entertainment successfully at Zephyr Cove Resort’s RV Park & Campground, Coachland RV Park, and Washoe Lake State Park. I suspect the other locations I mention for overnight RV camping in Carson Valley would also work fine. Grocery store parking lots generally seem to be a good bet.
If you plan on working from your van or RV in a ski resort parking lot, you may run into trouble.
I don’t generally use public WiFi, but Tahoe has several Starbucks and other places that will likely work for you. There are also co-working spaces:
- Tahoe Mill Collective – Alpine Meadows and Tahoe City, CA
- Lift Workspace – Truckee, CA
- The Lounge at 5817′ – Truckee, CA
- Mountain Workspace – Incline Village, NV
- Reno Collective – Reno, NV
- Beacon CoWork – Reno, NV
- Reno Hive – Reno, NV
- Adams Hub – Carson City, NV
- Untethered – Zephyr Cove, NV
- The Mountain Lab – Heavenly Mountain Resort
- Cowork Tahoe – South Lake Tahoe, CA
- The Forest – South Lake Tahoe, CA
- Cuppa Tahoe (a bookstore with food and casual coworking space) – South Lake Tahoe, CA
Events
Tahoe Adventure Film Festival – Stateline, Nevada – My favorite event is typically hosted in Tahoe’s South Shore in a casino showroom. It is the one annual local’s gathering I truly miss after leaving Tahoe. The films inspire me to keep getting outdoors, explore new places, and try new sports. It also reminds me of why I fell in love with the Tahoe mountain culture and lifestyle.
We love Todd Offenbacher, the founder of the film festival, and his humor. We attempt to stream his appearances on Lake Tahoe Television while on the road. We used to watch Todd before riding to get his take on Tahoe ski resort conditions. He offered the following bit of advice for tree skiing once…don’t forget your snake bite kit!
Conclusion
Crowds drove us from living there, but we still hope everyone finds at least one time in their life to experience fresh tracks in feet of snow on a sunny Lake Tahoe day. Avoid holidays and weekends if you can, and arrive at the mountain early. If you’re a full-time van lifer or RVer, park it there for a winter and challenge yourself to ski every resort. I’m still missing a couple!
