Winter Shuttles, Buses & Bikes
Avoid the parking and traffic hassle, while doing your part to Keep Tahoe Blue.
Photo: Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit
Why It Matters
As long as Tahoe attracts big crowds, the Lake is threatened by traffic impacts. Stormwater pollution from roads and urban areas is one of the biggest threats to Lake Tahoe’s clarity. Auto emissions fuel climate change which is driving longer droughts and more extreme wildfires, and destabilizing the Lake’s natural ecology, which makes room for harmful invasive species. Do your part to Keep Tahoe Blue by using alternative forms of transportation to get to and around the Lake.
The League to Save Lake Tahoe is leading the charge to improve alternative transportation in Tahoe. Please donate to support our work.
We also encourage you to:
- Organize your own carpool.
- Come early (Thursday, not Friday) and stay late (Monday, not Sunday) to avoid congestion.
- When chain controls are not in place, remove your tire chains and cables as soon as you leave chain control areas. Chains gouge out the asphalt, dislodging dust and debris that flows into the Lake.
- Avoid endangering others and landing yourself a parking ticket by following these parking guidelines.
TAHOE REGION
Linking Tahoe should be your first stop when determining how to get to, from and around Tahoe without your car.
If you’re feeling brisk, this Tahoe bike path map shows which of the Lake’s many paths are plowed during the winter.
SOUTH SHORE
The Tahoe Transportation District offers service from the South Lake Tahoe “Y” to Carson City, and across the South Shore.
Heavenly offers free shuttles from their parking areas and free parking throughout the winter season.
The South Shore Management Association has trip planning tools, current road conditions, webcams, and ski resort updates.
NORTH SHORE
Diamond Peak has a free local shuttle running daily during the winter.
Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART) buses provide regular service to Palisades, Northstar and locations across the north and west shores. See TART's winter travel options here.
Northstar will be operating shuttle services around their resort. Need to be picked up from their parking lot? Schedule a shuttle to come pick you up! Starting in the new year, a park and ride program will run from the Truckee airport parking lot to Northstar Village on weekends and holidays.
TART Connect is a free, on-demand, app-based shuttle service operating in five zones spanning Tahoe's north and west shores, from Incline Village to Homewood, including service to Northstar and Olympic Valley (Friday and Saturday evenings only). Download the app, request a ride and keep the car parked. Get the winter service schedule here.
Mountaineer is just like TART Connect - offering free, on-demand rides - but it caters specifically to Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows. New for 2022, shuttles will also run on Friday and Saturday nights to Tahoe City!
The Tahoe Backcountry Alliance offers a free ski shuttle to popular backcountry ski areas, with pickup and dropoff from Tahoe's north and west shores, for 4-6 people per group. The shuttle operates on a first come, first served basis.
BAY AREA
SnowPals is a grassroots ridesharing organization that connects Bay Area skiers and snowboarders looking for rides to and from Lake Tahoe. The costs of the carpool are shared among riders.
Tahoe Convoy is a Bay Area to Lake Tahoe weekend shuttle service picking up in San Francisco, the East Bay, and the Central Valley and dropping off across the north shore. Winter service begins in January 2022.
The Sports Basement Ski Bus offers roundtrip Saturday bus service to Palisades Tahoe, departing from three Bay Area locations.
SACRAMENTO
Alpine Adventures has round-trip bus service every Wednesday in January and February to a rotating selection of Tahoe ski areas.
El Dorado Transit is now providing daily roundtrip bus service between Sacramento, Cameron Park, Placerville and South Lake Tahoe, with stops at the Tahoe “Y” Transit Center and the Stateline Transit Center on the south shore.
RENO
The South Tahoe Airporter will pick you up terminal-side at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and drop you at a number of south shore hotels. There are multiple routes to and from the south shore daily.
North Lake Tahoe Express offers scheduled service between Reno-Tahoe International Airport and the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee region with local transit connections. Stops include Incline Village, Tahoe Vista, Truckee, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and Tahoe City.
