Lake Tahoe nonprofit's campaign encourages visitors to use alternative transportation
To help ease congestion and protect the Lake Tahoe area, the environmental nonprofit Keep Tahoe Blue is encouraging visitors to leave their cars parked and use alternative transportation through its new Car-Free Tahoe campaign.
Lake Tahoe welcomes nearly 15 million visitors each year, creating heavy traffic during the busy summer season, especially along the South Shore.
"I even took a different road because I was like, I don't want to go down the strip with all the traffic," one visitor said.
For South Lake Tahoe resident Robert Adams, growing traffic is something he's watched change over the years.
"I'm a skier, I love the lake, I like the boating and everything that this area has to give," Adams said. "It's a wonderful place to live, a wonderful place to be from."
The Car-Free Tahoe campaign encourages people to park once and then get around using free public buses, Lake Link microtransit, the Emerald Bay Shuttle, bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters or by walking.
Adams says it's an easy way to explore the area without the stress of traffic.
"You come here, just jump on a bus, jump off a bus. It's so much easier," he said.
For visitor Cindy Ackermen and her family, leaving the car behind meant spending more time enjoying the scenery instead of sitting in traffic.
"Today, we're riding our bikes around trying to stay away from all the busyness," Ackermen said.
Other visitors said the campaign inspired them to bring their bikes along for the trip.
"We were really encouraged to ride our bikes, so we brought the bikes up and threw them in the back of the truck and came up and parked," another visitor said.
The Car-Free Tahoe program is being piloted this summer in South Lake Tahoe, with organizers hoping to eventually expand it to the North Shore.
Visitors say the experience has changed how they'll explore Tahoe in the future.
"Moving forward, we definitely will try to continue to bike and walk as much as we can because it's such a beautiful city and such a great lake," one visitor said. "That's what people should do more."
Supporters of the campaign say even small changes can make a big difference by reducing traffic, lowering pollution, and helping preserve the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe for future generations.
