Winter Driving Tips/Caltrans Road Conditions
Before you plan your trip, check out our fav weather forecasting services below for the most accurate Lake Tahoe area weather, road and snow conditions:
- South Lake Tahoe, CA – 7 Day Forecast by the National Weather Service
- North Lake Tahoe, CA – 7 Day Forecast by the National Weather Service
- Snow forecast for the Lake Tahoe Area by Tahoe Weather Discussion aka “No hype Lake Tahoe Weather”
- Tahoe Weather Geek – an easy to read weather forecast for Lake Tahoe; forecast updated daily, and more often as conditions change.
Map of Lake Tahoe Area Ski Resorts – click here for an interactive map & get directions to your resort of choice.
*Estimated driving time around the lake: North Shore to South Shore(or vice versa) will take approximately 1 hour drive depending on Snow &
Road/Traffic Conditiontds. Chain control and holidays
will most likely result in longer drive times; plan your trip accordingly.
Lake Tahoe Interactive Google Map:
Be prepared: how to drive safely on roads with snow and ice:
Before driving to Tahoe, check with the Caltrans Highway Information Network (CHIN) 800.427.7623 (a good number to store on your phone) for up to the minute road, traffic conditions and chain control check points when you are driving to Tahoe.
*If you don’t know how or don’t want to install your snow chains, there will be snow chain installers at chain control checkpoints; it costs $30 for an installation and $15 for snow chain removal. Caltrans sets the prices and provides permits but the installers are their own bosses.
Tip: if you need snow chains, look on craigslist.org for good deals; make sure chains fit your tires.
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Types of Tahoe Area Chain Controls/Requirements (always carry tire snow chains, Tahoe mountain weather conditions change rapidly)
- View a visual regional map of the Lake Tahoe/Reno Area with live updates on chain controls and road conditions.
- View Cal Trans Live Streaming Web Cams of Traffic Areas for Tahoe roads and highways.
- View SF Bay Area Traffic; store the 511 number to your phone
- View Caltrans QuickMaps: access real-time traffic information
Tip #1: Check out SnowPals’ guide to Tahoe area lift ticket deals, promotions & discounts to save money.
Tip #2: Don’t want to drive to Tahoe or deal with installing snow tire chains? Take the Tahoe Ski Bus and save $6 on one day trips, $10 on two day trips, and save $40 on Ski/Ride Travel Vacations to Utah, Colorado, Montana, British Columbia and Austria.
Tahoe Snow News
– Got POWDER?
View a summary of Tahoe resorts’ reported 24 hour snowfall total in inches. What does a la nina or el nino year mean for Tahoe snow?
Get the most up to date snowfall news: check out the live Twitter Lake Tahoe snow alerts
Want to see what it looks like at your favorite Tahoe resort? View Tahoe ski resorts live webcams all on one page.
View a 24 hour loop from a NOAA live infared satellite of the US/Western Pacific Basin Animated Weather Imagery.
This loop contains the past 24 hours of images of the United States, one image per hour taken from a NOAA satellite.
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