Northern California 2019, Day 3: Olympic Valley/Lake Tahoe

Okay, let’s get the controversy right out of the way. The 1960 Winter Olympics were held in Squaw Valley, California. It’s the only time (so far) that the Winter Olympics have taken place in California. And Squaw Valley is the smallest place that the Winter Olympics have been held. So what’s the controversy? The word “squaw” is considered derogatory. So the area is now known as Olympic Valley, and the former Squaw Valley Resort is now known as Palisades Tahoe.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s get on to what was a fantastic day!

Olympic Valley and Palisades Tahoe

The aerial tram is a tiny speck on the sheer cliff face of the High Sierra.

So the whole reason why I went to Truckee was not for the hipster hostel. It was because I could easily get to Truckee from Sacramento, and then I could use Truckee as a base to get to the place now known as Olympic Valley. Since my 2006 visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics, I’ve made a point to try to visit Olympic sites on my travels. (On my previous trip, to East Asia, I got to visit 2 Olympic sites–the sites of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and what at the time was the recently completed 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.) So how could I resist visiting Northern California’s only Olympic site?

It was a quick and easy bus ride from Truckee to Olympic Valley.

The aerial tramway is 1 1/2 miles long and climbs about 2,000 feet.

With such treacherous terrain, you’ve got to wonder how something like the aerial tramway got built.

We made it! The Olympic rings prove we’re here. And check out the sapphire blue water of Lake Tahoe over to the right.

Yellow alpine fields and a deep blue sky.

This tree looks like it’s standing the test of time.

It’s August! Why is there snow on the ground? I guess an altitude of 8,200 feet helps.

The German team brought their own team steins to be sure that their beer mugs were worthy and of proper size.

One last view from the top before heading down.

The Olympic flame burns bright at the entrance to Olympic Valley.

I bushwhacked down to the Truckee River and took in this scenic view.

Lake Tahoe

As I had hoped, I finished up my day at Olympic Valley in plenty time to continue on to Tahoe City on the shore of Lake Tahoe. All I had to do was hop back on the bus from Truckee and take it to the end of the line.

The Lake Tahoe Dam crosses the Truckee River.

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. It has the largest volume of any lake in the United States other than the Great Lakes. It’s the second deepest lake in the United States after Crater Lake in Oregon.