Truckee, Lake Tahoe, California

East of Donner Lake, north of Lake Tahoe, California, the town of Truckee was incorporated in 1993. It has its own airport. Recorded history spans for over a century and a half. Before the written word, Truckee had ancient ancestors of the Washoe, Paiute, and Maidu tribes. Truckee's name originated from a chief of the Paiute tribe who helped guide the emigrants and white settlers. His name sounded like "Trokay", so he was dubbed Truckee. There was a period of time in the latter half of the 19th century, writers called Truckee, "one of the most raffish underworlds in the West". What led up to this rough and tumble town in the wild west was a series of industry and frontier development. Truckee was a stopping point for stage coaches traveling to and from Virginia City and Sacramento, both lumbering, gold-, and silver-mining towns at the time. Key builders of Truckee were Chinese, and because of fear of their monopoly of the industry in town, several of their homes and buildings were burned down; they then moved to south of the river. Eventually they were driven out of Truckee altogether. The railroad replaced the stage coach. Truckee burgeoned and became a seedy town where you could hear gunfights in the night, see dancing girls in the red light district, and poker hands and thick cigar smoke in the saloons. Churches, school houses, a post office, and all together told of fifty buildings were among the first wave of Truckee town. Yet for most of the latter half of the 19th century, the town burned to ground several times, each year structurally growing bigger and stronger. By the turn of the century, the lumber industry was in decline and, with the Trout Creek Ice Company, Truckee began producing and sending freshwater ice blocks nationwide. Cinematic greats such as Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Will Rogers, John Wayne, among others, filmed over eighty-one pictures here. With the advent of artificial refrigeration, Truckee's ice business waned. The town, described by writers about this time period, grew more respecting, and tightly knit. Though development was slow during and after World War II, by 1960, when Squaw Valley hosted the Olympics, Truckee, California, became the worldwide tourist spot as we know it today.

Population of Truckee is 15,781 residents. Within the town's thirty-four square miles lies a limitless atmosphere of activities and attractions. First, before you hit the slopes, swim in Donner Lake, or camp in the Sierra Mountains, take a quick walking tour of downtown Truckee or visit the th Jail Museum. Get a little info on the backdrop to your vacation. Effervescent lakes and streams fill this mountainous town. The calm waters are as much an attraction as fishing, swimming, and boating. Learn about the Donner Party at the Donner Memorial State Park. Spoiler: the Donner Party were trapped one winter in the 19th century and had to resort to cannibalism. You'll just have to go to the state park, to learn more about it. Truckee's history is enduring, but it is far from being a place stuck in the past. Year-round, there are events going on. Summer holds events, such as the EAA's B-17G Bomber, "Aluminum Overcast", pond jumping known as "Lake Cushing Classic", Waterski/wakeboarding competitions, pancake breakfasts, Best of Tahoe Chefs, live music weekly at the Balboa Café, Northstar-at-Tahoe Golf Course Open, Free Flights for Kids, Wilderness Training events, KidZone Museum Texas-Hold'Em, Mother's Day Special (brunch and discounts on lift for Mom), Trails Training, Truckee Home & Building Show and Regional Green Building Symposium, Truckee Day (clean up and community spirit day), Mini Golf Opening Day Tournament, Truckee Brew Fest, Speakeasy Fundraiser, Squaw Valley Fine Arts Festival; and that's just a bit of the summer festivities. Fall is quieter with the Mountain Mutt Strut, Alpine Wine Festival, Truckee Renaissance Faire, Tahoe Sierra Century Bike Ride, Tahoe Big Blue Sprint and Adventure Races, Village Oktoberfest, Haunted House Activities, The Great Pumpkin Festival, and more. Winter is even quieter. While this list is not comprehensive, it is just to give you an idea as to how many things are happening in Truckee. To know what these events entail, check out the calender when you get to town and drop on by. While you aren't on the slopes, or conquering the North Lake Tahoe countryside, or even if you are with a party but don't like any of those activities, there's shopping; there's loads of shopping. Hundreds of stores range from bath and beauty products, lingerie, automotive sales, to sports gear, local arts and crafts, and pet supplies. Need not worry when you arrive at Truckee, you won't miss out on the latest stuff, nor the sports gear for your winter and summer adventures. A local brewery heartily awaits for the beer-lover. Coffee houses brew their drink and conversation. Fine and casual dining treat your taste buds right. Grocery stores carry your wants and needs. Eat, drink, and be merry on your vacation. Nobody will come away from Truckee hungry; or, without a good story about their favorite meal. What you are in for, what you want most about a vacation to Truckee and North Lake Tahoe, is true: summer and winter sports reign Olympian-style. You can't exhaust Truckee, the Sierra Mountains, Lake Tahoe, and miles upon miles of Ponderosa, Jeffery, fir, and pines. Conjure, if you will, the red sheen of the rising sun, peeking through the Sierras, making the blue Lake Tahoe sparkle. Fresh streams trickle in quiet meditation, wherefrom the trees and flowers drink. Summer comes with its fly-fishing, hiking, camping, mountain biking, tennis, golfing, boating, swimming, hang gliding, skydiving, or just surrendering in a retreat with your favorite author. Casinos dot North Lake Tahoe, California. A night in front of a roulette wheel is, win or lose, a night of fun and chance. With over fifteen ski resorts in the area, winter got a whole lot larger. Private lessons, clinics for men, women, children, beginner, expert, programs for learning how to use your sports equipment more effectively, unlike casinos, leave nothing up to chance. You will have confidence to face down the steep hill or through the winding trails. And if you have that confidence already, you'll be that much more able, and have fun in the process. If skiing and snowboarding aren't your bag, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, dog- and horse-driven sleigh riding, snowball throwing, snowmen and angel making, and sled and inner tube slipping and sliding, are all the activities you, your family, your friends, your kids, and the kid inside whose presence arises sometimes, can share in fun and wealth of snow. The sun shines through the Sierra peaks and ridges. The trails wander through the vivacious pines. The Truckee river moves. Lake Tahoe waters ebb and floe. Skiers and snowboarders slice and shred the powder. Truckee and North Lake Tahoe have potential that only you can tap.