Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — “Whaddya wanna do at South Shore after the Amgen Race?” To provide visitors the answers for this week’s women’s cycling event and any future Tahoe South venture, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority just launched Utrip PRO, a free travel-planning tool and app for people that easily and quickly creates personalized itineraries via the Tahoe South website, www.TahoeSouth.com.

Lake Tahoe’s natural geography of steep climbs and long descents against postcard views will offer plenty of sites to catch race action as the top women cyclists compete in Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race Empowered with SRAM, May 8-9.

With the start and finish line at Heavenly’s California Base Lodge, spectators will be updated with live race announcements, and entertained with high-energy music, local and Amgen Tour of California exhibitors, food and beverage.

South Lake Tahoe and Stateline have been picked as the host locations for the 2018 Mountain Travel Symposium, the largest gathering of alpine travel and tour professionals, ski clubs, lodging and property management companies in North America. It is the South Shore's first time to host the event.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in South Lake Tahoe announced this week they will be hosting six to eight outdoor concerts this summer. The rear parking lot at the Stateline property will be converted into an outdoor amphitheater that will seat up to 7,500 people.

In a venture with PR Entertainment, Inc., owned by former Caesars Entertainment Director Paul Reder, Hard Rock is looking to attract top-name national artists to the Lake Tahoe area. They plan on starting the concerts in June and concluding on Labor Day weekend.

Lake Tahoe South launches into spring with more than a foot of fresh powder falling on area ski resorts: Heavenly, Sierra-at-Tahoe and Kirkwood this past weekend with additional accumulation occurring on Monday afternoon and evening. Sunny skies and clear roads are in the forecast for the remainder of the week.

Dr. James E. Hansen, former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and adjunct professor at Columbia University's Earth Institute, will address television meteorologists, media and the public as the keynote speaker at Operation Sierra Storm, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, 9 a.m. at Harveys Lake Tahoe.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A project to support air lift to Elko and another to create webisodes about Ely’s historical railway are among the 70 proposals approved for funding from the state’s Rural Grants Program, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki announced Wednesday. The Nevada Commission on Tourism has authorized $414,854 in grants for programs and activities designed to deliver more tourists to rural Nevada.

Thursday night’s 7th Annual Blue Ribbon Awards was the largest yet with over 300 guests in attendance as individuals and businesses were recognized for their exemplary services, products and programs in the South Shore community. Produced by the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, also known as TahoeChamber, this prestigious awards program solicited nominations for six categories and eight total awards.

Over 175 nominations were received and 95 of those nominated joined their peers at the Nov. 13 awards ceremony at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

To observe the 10th anniversary edition of the Amgen Tour of California, organizers of the race announced Monday that the first two stages of the expanded women’s portion of the race would be hosted by Tahoe South, “America’s Best Lake,” (USA Today, Aug. 2012) May 8-9, 2015. The competition will continue in Sacramento, May 10, 2015, with a third racing stage, the same day as the overall men’s start of the Amgen Tour of California.

With more than $100 million in revitalization efforts this year, a mountain of changes are underway at Tahoe South, the “No. 1 Ski Destination” (USA Today 2014), providing more upscale lodging, entertainment, shopping, skiing and outdoor recreation for the 2014-15 winter season.

The resort-to-recreation renaissance includes the planned winter opening of the $60 million remodel of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe, $24 million remodel of MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, $3 million at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel and $15 million for the Château shopping center across from Heavenly Village.

The nomination period for the 2014 Blue Ribbon Awards ended on Friday, Oct. 10. TahoeChamber’s prestigious awards program that recognizes exceptional South Shore businesses received over 175 nominations for eight separate award categories. The finalists and winners will be announced at the 7th Annual Blue Ribbon Awards dinner and ceremony on November 13 at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Tickets for the awards ceremony are now available for purchase at www.tahoechamber.org.

Congratulations to the 2014 Blue Ribbon Awards nominees:

Discounted tickets to the 25th American Century Championship, the all-star sports and celebrity golf tournament at south shore Lake Tahoe held July 15-20, are now on sale at Raley's, Nob Hill and Bel Air locations throughout Northern California and Nevada.

South Lake Tahoe area agencies have partnered to launch an Adopt-a-Beach-Tahoe program that will coordinate beach clean-up dates regularly from June 15 to Sept. 15, 2014.

The City of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, League to Save Lake Tahoe, the US Forest Service Basin Management Unit, and Douglas County have developed the theme, “Caring is Cool - Lake Tahoe’s clarity starts with you, and there are a number of ways to help!”

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority announced Tuesday that an agreement has been reached to dismiss the lawsuit ensuring South Lake Tahoe’s future fireworks celebrations will continue.

“Preserving the 4th of July and Labor Day shows and keeping Lake Tahoe and its beaches clean are of the utmost importance to our community,” said LTVA Executive Director Carol Chaplin.

South Lake Tahoe, the tight-knit ski community big on Olympic athletes will honor its three USA team members in a city-wide celebration, Saturday, March 15.

Jamie Anderson, Maddie Bowman, who won gold for snowboarding slopestyle and freeskiing halfpipe respectively, and Hannah Teter who placed fourth in snowboarding halfpipe, will be lauded at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort.

Named "America's Best Lake" in 2012 by USA Today readers, Tahoe South now has a chance to secure a new accolade: America's Best Ski Destination.

Online voters who agree Tahoe South is the best ski destination in the U.S. have until Monday, Dec. 30, 8:59 p.m. PST and 11:59 p.m. EST to cast their choice.

The season's first significant snowfall covered the Sierra Monday with nearly a foot of powder at Lake Tahoe area resorts and 3-5 inches at lake level.

Anticipation for additional snowfall along with summer investments pays winter dividends at Tahoe South this season. Millions of capital expenditures at the three area ski resorts this year will complement revitalization efforts throughout town to create new options on where to stay, play and dine during the 2013-14 season.

Sidelined by an injured right shoulder, Charles Barkley will serve as an unofficial tournament ambassador this weekend at Lake Tahoe for the 24th American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.

One of the most popular attractions at the annual midsummer gathering of professional athletes and entertainers in Lake Tahoe, Barkley will spend the weekend walking the golf course, signing autographs, doing media interviews and interacting with the players on the golf course.

LAKE TAHOE — The possibility of Ernie Els and his part-time PGA Tour caddy, Dan Quinn, both winning their prominent golf tournaments on July 21 is a proposition bet in Nevada Sportsbooks this week.

Els will be defending his title at the 2013 British Open on the same weekend that Quinn, the former National Hockey League star, will be trying to repeat at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

Two future Major League Baseball Hall of Famers — Chipper Jones and Iván Rodríguez — are the latest to join the field of 80 sports legends and entertainment celebrities at the 24th annual American Century Championship at Lake Tahoe South, July 16-21.

Raley's, Bel-Air and Nob Hill stores are offering discounted tickets to the 24th annual American Century Championship, the celebrity and sports star golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, July 16-21.

The tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course at Lake Tahoe's south shore, features match-ups of sports legends and Hollywood stars such as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Aaron Rodgers, Jerry Rice and Ray Romano. Newcomers this year will include former MLB superstars Chipper Jones and Pudge Rodriguez; Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall.

Chris Field, a 2007 Nobel Prize team winner and lead author of the study on the effects of global climate change will be the keynote speaker at Lake Tahoe South's Operation Sierra Storm Meteorologist Conference, Jan 10.

Field, was the Co-Chair for Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which shared the 2007 Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore. He’s the director of the Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University and a 2009 Heinz Award recipient, recognizing extraordinary environmental achievement.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval on Tuesday appointed John Wagnon of Vail Resorts and Herb Santos, Jr. to the Nevada Commission on Tourism. The terms are effective immediately.

Wagnon, a 40-year veteran of the snowsports industry, is senior director of brand marketing for Vail Resorts, Inc at Heavenly Mountain Resort south shore Lake Tahoe and Kirkwood Mountain Resort.

He has served on the on the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Ski Lake Tahoe and the California Travel Industry Association boards. Wagnon is also a trustee and past chairman of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority Board.

It might have been raining across much of Northern California, but last week’s storm brought snow to Lake Tahoe ski resorts – more than 3.5 feet of the white stuff, making for a great ski weekend.

“You just never know how these storms are going to play out,” said Chief Marketing Officer Andy Chapman of the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association. “But Mother Nature cooperated and we’ve got new snow on the mountains.”

Visitors to America’s favorite lake, as was designated this year by USA Today, can expect a winter of major content as Lake Tahoe South resorts are poised with prime attractions, sizzling special events and a combination of unmatched outdoor recreation and nighttime amenities.

“The destination is on a major uptick with a record-breaking summer and the ongoing economic recovery,” said Carol Chaplin, executive director at the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “Plus, there’s an enthusiastic outlook as local weather indicators point toward a season of big snow.”

Lake Tahoe was named the “Best Lake in America” in a recent readers' poll by USA Today. Editors narrowed national nominations to the top 16; readers weighed in and the largest and most popular alpine lake in North America took home top honors by garnering more than 5,000 votes via Facebook and Twitter.
Go here for the story.
Lake Tahoe is recognized for its timeless beauty and an international reputation as an outdoor recreational Mecca. The combination of great outdoors, entertainment, nightlife, dining and gaming identify its unique character.

Lake Tahoe South steps into high endurance overdrive this summer with two new outdoor adventure events that celebrate speed, agility and skill — one with feet to the ground and the other rubber to the road.

Sierra Recon, a high-energy, multi-distance obstacle race screaming the amped premise, “Everyone loves carnage” is set for July 14 at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, while the Lake Tahoe Adventure Motorcycle Ride and Rendezvous celebrates the freedom of the wide open road, Aug. 23-26.

Mother Nature and the lucky Leprechaun found powder at the end of the rainbow with a late season storm that dropped 5-9 feet of new snow at Tahoe South resorts this past weekend, which will provide great spring skiing conditions through Easter and beyond. Forecasts predict sunny skies throughout the week.

Travel and ski journalists from national magazines, newspapers, websites, blogs and social media outlets will arrive at South Lake Tahoe next week and be greeted with several feet of fresh snow during the North American Snowsports Journalist Association National Conference.

Bride and Grooms to-be tell the world their engaging engagement story for a chance to win a Lake Tahoe South weekend wedding complete with lodging for 30 guests, meals, lakefront ceremony and reception valued at more than $10,000.