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- About Lake Tahoe
About Lake Tahoe
The serene blue waters and natural beauty of Lake Tahoe have inspired many over the years, from explorers and immigrants to Mark Twain and John Muir. People from all over the world come here to play and live, taking advantage of Tahoe's year-round beauty and easy-going lifestyle. Because of its diversified terrain and distinct seasons, Lake Tahoe has been an appealing setting for films (True Lies, Jack Frost, and The Deep End), TV shows (Bonanza) and numerous commercials.
Wintertime in Tahoe and its numerous ski resorts have attracted world class skiers for years. In fact, Squaw Valley was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Other popular winter activities include snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. The Cal-Neva Resort, a favorite watering hole of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, straddles the California-Nevada border and sports spectacular views of the Lake and casino gambling year-round.
Summer activities have become highly popular. They include hiking, rock climbing, boating, water-skiing, hot air ballooning, etc. Last year, top mountain bikers converged in Tahoe to compete in a world class competition. Also, the country's highest-altitude bungee tower can be found perched above a cliff overlooking Squaw Valley and spectacular Tahoe scenery.
Among those attracted to Tahoe and who now call it home are experienced local crew people, many with special skills in such areas as high altitude diving, aerial photography, cinematographers specializing in skiing, technical experts and stunt personnel competent in many of the extreme and not-so-extreme sports that are popular in the area.
They have the knowledge and know-how to accommodate the unique location needs of production companies who shoot in our area. Please contact the Film office for further information by calling 530.889.4091.
World class restaurants and plenty of lodging facilities (including five star resorts, bed and breakfast establishments, quaint motels, beautiful rental homes) are two more excellent reasons that make Lake Tahoe an ideal place to shoot on location.
You can visit the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association's website or call Jason Neary at 530-581-8703 for more information. Jason has personal experience in working specifically with production companies and their needs, finding them the best deals for lodging, house rentals, etc.
By Air
Tahoe is easily accessed by two airports, Reno International Airport, with hundreds of daily commercial flights, is a 55 minute drive. Private planes, helicopters and small jets utilize the closer Truckee-Tahoe Airport, only 20 minutes from Tahoe's North Shore. Another option is the Sacramento International Airport to the west, a 2.5 hour drive.
By Land
Interstate 80, which begins in the San Francisco Bay Area and heads east to Sacramento, crosses over the Sierra Nevada mountains and reaches Lake Tahoe at the eastern end of Placer County before swinging northeast to Reno, Nevada. A reasonable drive north can be made from Los Angeles to Sacramento via Interstate 5, which intersects with Interstate 80 east to Lake Tahoe.
Lake shore elevation is 6,255 feet (1,907 meters).
Mountain peak elevations can be over 9,000 feet (2,743 meters).