Lake Tahoe - jumping into North America's largest Alpine lake!

Located on the border of California and Sierra Nevada, a Lake Tahoe is the largest freshwater lake in the state and is also the largest Alpine lake in North America. Staying with the statistics, it's also the second deepest lake in United States. But these aren't the reasons why Lake Tahoe is such a popular tourist destination - it's the unparalleled beauty of the mountains around and the near transparent turquoise-blue water of the lake which makes its an missable destination.

Pristine blue Lakr Tahoe

And that's me coming out it :)

But what does Lake Tahoe mean?

Well just like the rest of America, this region was also inhabited by native Americans before the Europeans came. It was a tribe called Washoe, and in their language the word for a lake was 'da'aw', which then became Tahoe.

So Lake Tahoe literally means 'Lake Lake' :)

A bit of history

Though the native Americans lived here for at least 6000 years, it was discovered by the Europeans fairly recently, only in the year 1844.

However the lake and the region became popular during the gold rush and many Europeans settled here. This comes as no surprise because it's such a gorgeous place and no one who visits it once can go back without the temptation to make it into a permanent home!

Colors of Lake Tahoe

Washoe people resisted the settlement of outsiders on their land but it proved futile. The last conflict was the Potato War in 1857 when starving Washoes were killed for gathering potatoes from a European-American farm. Over the next century they were killed or died due to new diseases introduced by the Europeans, and now their population is a measly 1500.

With time the area developed both for business as well as a tourist destination. Now it's a popular destination all through the year, but especially during winters for skiing. The Nevada side of the lake also has numerous casinos so there is quite a bit of gambling (legal, of course) as well.

Our jump into Lake Tahoe!

I spent a day here during a weeklong road-trip but the memories of my dive into its pristine clean and frozen water is fresh in my mind even today.

Our first jump - didn't think we would get wet!

Now I am not a great swimmer, but I won't drown so easily as well. So every time I get an opportunity to dive into unusual places, I take the plunge - whether it's the frozen waters of a fjord in Norway or a natural lake by the roadside in Switzerland. But this was different, not only did I jump myself, I made all my friends jump in as well. Haha :)

Since we were such a weird bunch of people, the first time we jumped in we didn't change into our swimming clothes as we hadn't planned for complete immersion. We got wet nevertheless so later went to another beach and actually swam. It was great but water was a bit too cold for my liking.

Anyway, we were too cold to continue to be in water and so went into a cafe for some hot coffee and chocolates. These two always manage to life my spirits and make me warm :)

The lovely cage which kept us warm...

To reach Lake Tahoe

Like most other places in US, the best way to reach here is by driving yourself. There are buses also especially during winters when many more tourists visit for skiing.

Other stories from United States

Enjoyed the story of my jump into Lake Tahoe? Read more stories from America below :)

Wine tasting in Napa Valley
Bay to Breakers in San Francisco
A drive from San Francisco to Stinson Beach 
A day with New York's street musicians
Point Lobos - an unforgettable experience 
A trip on California Zephyr