Miners from the Comstock Lode in Nevada traveled though Tahoe City to get to California. Passengers from the intercontinental railroad left the train in Truckee and went to Tahoe City to visit the lake. The town is bright with history and scenic wonder in all seasons.


Tahoe City began coming together in the early 1860s, soon after the Gold Rush but before the silver rush of the Comstock Lode. Early on there was a hotel, at least one saloon, and a large dock for boats that traveled Lake Tahoe carrying people to and fro as well as hay from Palisades Tahoe to the South Shore. The town also had a jail that still exists on the Commons Beach.


In the summer of 1871, a very posh, Grand Central Hotel opened its doors to the traveling elite going back and forth between California and the Comstock Lode. Many of the hotel's rooms looked out on the sweeping panorama of the Lake of the Sky, Knowledgable people considered the hotel the most luxurious place between Virginia City and Sacramento.


Today there are numerous restaurants and a variety of lodging. In addition, there is much to experience on the half mile walk from the Gatekeeper's Museum at the Tahoe City Dam--Lake Tahoe's only outlet--around the Commons Beach to the Watson Cabin, Heritage Plaza, and the marina, which marks the east side of town.


In autumn, Tahoe City is serene, uncrowded, and welcoming.