National Geographic Traveler

When an old-timer talks about having visited Lake Tahoe’s North Shore four or five decades ago, memories often include nights spent in a lakefront cottage and days lazed away on a sandy beach. Ask this person’s grandchildren about their recent North Shore getaway, and their stories just might be the same.

While some Lake Tahoe Resorts have ballooned, man in Carnelian Bay, Kings Beach, and Tahoe Vista have not. A few are simply stuck in the past; others might just like things simple.

A classic day hereabouts begins before first light on the water. At 6 a.m., fishing charter captian Mickey Daniels meets customers in Carnelian Bay, as he has for almost 40 years. The motor surges, and Daniels’ 43-foot Big Mack II pushes out across the mirrored lake. “I enjoy watching people form new bonds out here, he says. His customers, in turn, enjoy their catches, which they may ask Gar Woods Gril to prepare later for supper.

The clarity of the water, “freakishly blue” according to one visiting teen, is what makes Tahoe so appealing – that and the lake’s 22-mile length. Formed by glacial scouring, earthquake faults, and volcanic flows, 1,645-foot-deep :ake Tahoe is the largest mountain lake in North America. Most people flock to the big beaches; few glean the pleasure of the littlest aercs of sand. Moon Dunes Beach (one of the lake’s only intact sand dunes) and Buck’s Beach are two of the most inviting. Another way to enjoy the big blue is from the deck of“The Saga,” a 38-foot 1930 wooden boat available for tours through North Shore Marina.

The day winds up with your personal catch of the day prepared by Gar Woods Grill, or old family-recipe Italian dishes at Lanza’s Restaurant, whose pine walls are hung with vintage photos of a place happily stuck in yesterday.

All Photos Copyright Laura Read