I got home from the States a couple of weeks ago where my brother and I spent 10 days visiting my Dad. We spent a fair amount of our time at his place up in Lake Tahoe – a beautiful, freshwater lake surrounded by a mountainous terrain that is coloured with forests. It is one of those rare destinations that is equally fantastic in the winter as the summer.

In the summer there is plenty to keep you busy including golfing, fishing, rock climbing and water-skiing on the lake. You can also go white water rafting on the Truckee River with most people starting in Tahoe City, finishing at River Ranch. The Truckee River Raft Co is located on Highway 89. If cycling is your passion, Tahoe has some great bike paths. My step mum’s favourite starts on Highway 89 and Squaw Valley Road and takes you all the way into Tahoe City. There is a car park across from the Olympic Torch and a bike rental place behind it.

The Olympic Torch is symbolic of Squaw Valley’s role as host of the 1960 Winter Olympic games. This leads me on to Tahoe as a winter destination. Squaw Valley, for me, is the premier ski resort in Tahoe with some excellent, challenging ski runs. One alternative to Squaw Valley is the Northstar-At-Tahoe, a resort that caters more for the families with a wider range of beginner and intermediate runs. Otherwise there is Heavenly Valley in South Lake Tahoe, which is popular for it’s casinos and nightlife.

The nearest airport to Tahoe is Reno although we usually fly into San Francisco and make the 4-hour drive up (avoid driving up on a Friday to miss the weekend traffic). Avis is situated in both airports and, for me, renting a car is a must, particularly as there is little public transport in the area.

I’ve mentioned just a handful of things that you can do in Tahoe. Let me know if you’ve got any suggestions of your own.