As long as Tahoe attracts big crowds, the Lake is threatened by traffic impacts.
Stormwater pollution from roads and urban areas is the biggest threats to Lake Tahoe’s clarity. Auto emissions fuel climate change which is driving longer droughts and more extreme wildfires, destabilizing the Lake’s natural ecology, and making room for harmful invasive species to move in.
Do your part to Keep Tahoe Blue by using alternative forms of transportation to get to and around the Lake. The League to Save Lake Tahoe is leading the charge to improve alternative transportation in Tahoe. Please donate to support our work.
We encourage you to:
- Organize your own carpool.
- Come early (Thursday, not Friday) and stay late (Monday, not Sunday) to avoid congestion.
- Remove your tire chains and cables when they’re not needed. They create debris that pollutes the Lake.
TAHOE REGION
- Linking Tahoe should be your first stop when determining how to get to, from and around Tahoe without your car.
- If you’re feeling brisk, this Tahoe bike path map shows which of the Lake’s many paths are plowed during the winter.
SOUTH SHORE
- Lake Link is a free, on-demand ride service serving a wide swath of the south shore. Download the app and call for a free ride between 7am and 9pm daily.
- The Tahoe Transportation District offers service from the South Lake Tahoe “Y” to Carson City and across the South Shore.
- Heavenly Mountain Resort offers free shuttles from their parking areas and free parking throughout the winter season.
- The South Shore Transportation Management Association has trip planning tools, current road conditions, webcams and ski resort updates.
- The Tahoe Backcountry Alliance is starting up a ski shuttle pilot program on the south shore in February 2023. It complements their north shore offering that has been running for several years. Check the TBA’s site for the dates of operation and how to catch a ride.
NORTH SHORE
- TART Connect is a free, on-demand, app-based shuttle service spanning Tahoe’s north and west shores, from Incline Village to Homewood, including service to Northstar and Olympic Valley (Friday and Saturday evenings only), as well within the Town of Truckee. Winter service runs from December 15, 2022 through April 2, 2023. Download the app, request a ride and keep the car parked. See the “Peak Season” service map here.
- Mountaineer is just like TART Connect – offering free, on-demand rides – but it caters specifically to Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows. The service runs December 9, 2022 through April 9, 2023.
- The Tahoe Backcountry Alliance offers a free ski shuttle to popular backcountry ski areas, with pickup and dropoff from Tahoe’s north and west shores, for 4-6 people per group. The shuttle operates on a first come, first served basis.
- Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART) buses provide regular service to Palisades, Northstar and locations across the north and west shores. Check here for TART’s winter travel schedule, which begins on December 15, 2022.
- Northstar operates shuttle services around the resort throughout the winter, beginning on or around November 18.
- Diamond Peak has a free local shuttle running daily during the winter.
BAY AREA
- SnowPals is a grassroots ridesharing organization that connects Bay Area skiers and snowboarders looking for rides to and from Lake Tahoe. The costs of the carpool are shared among riders.
- Tahoe Convoy is a Bay Area to Lake Tahoe weekend shuttle service picking up in San Francisco, the East Bay, and the Central Valley and dropping off across the north shore. Winter service begins in January 2023.
- The Sports Basement Ski Bus offers roundtrip Saturday bus service to Palisades Tahoe, departing from three Bay Area locations.
- Tahoe Ski Trips offers bus service from multiple Bay Area locations to resorts around the Tahoe Basin.
RENO
- The South Tahoe Airporter will pick you up terminal-side at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and drop you at a number of south shore hotels with multiple daily routes.
- North Lake Tahoe Express offers scheduled service between Reno-Tahoe International Airport and the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee region with local transit connections. Stops include Incline Village, Tahoe Vista, Truckee, Northstar, Olympic Valley, Alpine Meadows and Tahoe City.
SACRAMENTO
- Alpine Adventures has round-trip bus service every Wednesday beginning in December to a rotating selection of Tahoe ski areas.
- El Dorado Transit provides daily roundtrip bus service between Sacramento, Cameron Park, Placerville and South Lake Tahoe, with stops at the Tahoe “Y” Transit Center and the Stateline Transit Center on the south shore.
If you operate or know of a group transportation option running to or around Lake Tahoe this winter, please contact us to be added here - media@keeptahoeblue.org.