Since I'm more of a summer sports gal than a snow sports fan, I much prefer proximity to a lake than ski-in/ski-out access. 

I've lived here long enough to know that every Tahoe destination has it's pros and cons—snow closures, traffic, lift lines, bears, to name just a few—but this past 4th of July weekend was blissfully free of all but one snag. We stayed in Truckee, rode Emigrant Trail, swam in Donner Lake and watched the fireworks from a boulder by Donner Summit. So after the agony of a 6-hour return drive wore off, I started looking for my dream lakeside mountain retreat. In my experience I have decided that North Lake is kinda far, South Lake is a little crowded  and Donner Lake is kinda close to the highway, but Fallen Leaf Lake is juuuust right. So here's what I came up with: an $1.8M 4-bedroom cabin on Fallen Leaf Lake that is spacious yet cozy, rustic without being overly Robinson Crusoe and blessed with views that look like cheesy paintings behind every window. Read more...