If you’ve ever been to Truckee, CA for the winter, you know that it’s a great place to ski; but what’s going on in the area when the snow melts? In the summer the ski hills turn into hiking or biking trails, the water from the snow fills the rivers and lakes for rafting, kayaking, boating or swimming, and the temperature is nice and warm during the day and cools down at night. 

Where to stay

There is a wide variety of places to stay including lodges and inns.  Downtown Truckee has the historic Truckee Hotel, on hwy 267 a few minutes from town are the more recent Cedar House and Hampton Inn.  Hotels at the various ski areas are open and usually have a pool and spa, Squaw Valley has the Resort at Squaw Creek and Northstar has apartment rentals by owners and the Ritz Carlton.  If you plan on staying for a week or more Truckee vacation rentals are a great alternative. With so many second homes in the area people rent out their property by the weekend, week, month or season.

If you are up for an outdoors experience there are plenty of great places to camp.  Donner Lake has it’s own campground as do many of the smaller lakes in the area including Prosser, Boca and Stampede.  If you want to go off the beaten path, look for camping sites off Hwy 89 towards Sierraville.  Up in the mountains there are smaller campgrounds around the lakes and rivers, go with someone who knows their way around, it can be confusing driving and there is little to no cell service.

If you have kids that want to camp but it’s just not your thing, get a Truckee vacation rental and pitch a tent in the backyard.  You can make a great pseudo-camping experience with sleeping bags, flash lights, and possibly a small fire (depending on the area), and still go inside to sleep, shower and cook.

What To Do

The weather is perfect for all kinds of outdoor adventures including mountain biking and hiking.  Many ski resorts stay open by catering to hikers and mountain bike extremists.  For a less strenuous ride, you can take your bike along the Truckee River from Squaw Valley to Tahoe City or around Donner Lake.

There is a public beach on west end of Donner lake which has a sandy beach, roped off swimming area and rents paddle boats, inter-tubes and paddle boards.

There is a farmer’s market every week at Truckee regional park offering organic produce and local artists.  If you get a Truckee vacation rental, it’s a great place to pick up meat and produce for a delicious homemade dinner.  Most of the same vendors and a few new ones set up at Truckee Thursdays, where downtown is roped off and turned into an outdoor shopping center featuring local restaurants and a band plays on a stage near the rail road museum.

There are tons of events promoting the arts in Truckee.  Each year a Shakespeare play is produced on the beach at Sand Harbor for a short run in August.  Squaw Valley has live music, an outdoor movie and wine tasting every week.  There are concerts, festivals and the fourth of July parade. 

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 16th, 2011 at 9:20 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.