Tahoe used to have two tourist seasons: winter and summer. In spring and fall, the area would generally mellow out, allowing communities much-needed respite from the hectic existence that comes with millions of visitors packing its small mountain towns half of the year. But ask anyone in Tahoe about the past two years, since the start of the pandemic, and they’ll tell you about an unceasing flow of visitors that has thrown Tahoe’s troubles into sharp relief.
Affordable housing is in short supply, workers are forced to live farther from their jobs and traffic congestion is worse than ever. Combined with a 6% pandemic population spike between 2019 and 2020, a real estate boom that has doubled home values around the lake and damages from last year’s Caldor Fire, it feels to many like a pivotal moment for the region. Click here to read the entire San Francisco Chronicle article.