South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Neighborhood – Meyers
Meyers is the gateway to Lake Tahoe from Sacramento and the Hwy 50 Corridor (and intersection of Hwy 89), and is the first community in the Lake Tahoe Basin. A great area for families and recreation, Meyers is about 5 minutes to the “Y” and 15 minutes from Stateline, NV. Meyers has all the amenities, including a Lira’s Grocery Store, gas stations, Meeks Hardware and a few nice little restaurants. It’s also home of the award winning Environmental Science Magnet Elementary School and lots of beautiful open meadows. There are two golf courses in Meyers, Paradise golf course and Lake Tahoe Golf Course both located off highway 50. For skiing, Meyers has great access to Hwy 89 and Kirkwood, and also is a short drive over Echo Summit to Sierra at Tahoe. See also: South and North Upper Truckee and Christmas Valley.
The Wagon Train reenactment makes its way through Meyers on Hwy 50 (photo credit: TahoeCulture.com)
Lake Tahoe Real Estate Neighborhoods – Christmas Valley
Hawley Grade Trail off South Upper Truckee Rd is part of the old Pony Express Route (Photo: Anne Cooke, Southlaketahoe.com)
The Christmas Valley neighborhood is possibly the top locale in Tahoe if you’re looking for “out the back door adventure”. The area, centered around South Upper Truckee Rd, but also including Santa Claus, Blitzen and Elf Roads, includes the Upper Truckee River, Lake Tahoe’s largest tributary, as well as lots of beautiful meadows, trails and USFS cabins – especially towards the far end of South Upper Truckee Road. The area is extremely popular with mountain bikers, backcountry skiiers and hikers. Trails and recreation in the area include Old Meyers Grade, a popular year round paved workout (due to snow removal but no car access), Hawley Grade, Lake Valley Trail (which connects to the Tahoe Rim Trail) and skiing from Echo Summit (experts only, please!). Median home prices in 2009 were around $230,000, and the area includes a variety of family-style 2 and 3 BR homes with garages, cabins, and larger mountain homes. This area tends to get lots of snow, so that garage or plow service may come in handy. However, it’s loved by skiers, with great access to Hwy 89, Luther Pass (Waterhouse Peak for alpine touring and Grass Lake for snowshoeing or cross country), Hope Valley, Kirkwood Resort and Sierra at Tahoe.
Buckingham Lake Tahoe Luxury Vacation Rentals
Looking for a Lake Tahoe Luxury Vacation Rental? Great! That gives us a solid reason to plug our sister company, Buckingham Tahoe Luxury Rentals.
Buckingham Tahoe Luxury Rentals at Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe
Buckingham specializes in short term and seasonal rentals for some of the nicest properties in the South Lake Tahoe area (California and Nevada). Whether you want a Tahoe lakefront home rental with your own private Lake Tahoe beach or you want to ski right onto the trails at Heavenly Lake Tahoe mountain resort, Buckingham has you covered. Give Marni, Devon and Bridget a call at 530.542.1114 or check out their great inventory of Lake Tahoe Vacation Rentals at BuckinghamTahoeRentals.com. If you’re more into face-time, check out the office near Stateline and Heavenly Village (in the Raley’s parking lot next to Starbucks and Subway).
Geotourism and Lake Tahoe Real Estate
What is Geotourism?
According to National Geographic, Geotourism is “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.”
Geotourism, is a form of “sustainable travel”, which entails cultural tourism, ecotourism, agritourism, culinary tourism, and others on a growing list of niche tourism segments.
Moving beyond the definitions, the why should we care about Geotourism? There are two main reasons:
-
Geotourism attracts a different kind of tourist: someone who stays longer, spends more money, likes to patronize the “local” places and is more interesting in leaving a positive impact. Geotourists are often interested in local culture, wildlife, outdoor activities, museums, volunteering (a.k.a. “voluntourism”), local entertainment and history.
-
There is a geotourism project underway in the Sierra Nevada region RIGHT NOW! In fact, now is the time to nominate Geotourism assets in the “Tahoe-Emigrant Corridor” phase of the project. Yes, you guessed it: this area includes Lake Tahoe, the “jewel of the Sierra” according to Mark Twain. “Geotourism assets” are anything authentic, distinctive and sustainable about a destination, and may include trails, historic landmarks, parks, geological features, green businesses, cultural assets, events, stories or even living people.
Mountain bikers enjoying the Tahoe Rim Trail, a geotourism asset
You can find out more about Geotourism in the Sierra Nevada and nominate your favorite spots at SierraNevadaGeotourism.com.
What’s all of this have to do with real estate in South Lake Tahoe? Well, it’s no secret that absolutely everything can be factored into what makes a community a great place to live, and can also influence the value of a home or property. The Sierra Nevada Geotourism project aims to identify, preserve, and promote the region’s distinctive and sustainable assets. This helps create more sustainable programs where we live, attracts people who will leave our home a better place when they leave (and want to visit again) and, in essence, makes Lake Tahoe a better place to live…or buy property!
