Question of the Day - 13 October 2019

As we saw in yesterday's answer, the drive from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe is a major schlep, 8 to 10 hours depending on where on the lake your final destination is. Even in the dead of winter, though, it's unlikely you'll hit snow until roughly the halfway mark of the trip, around Tonopah, where US 95 climbs to 6,000 feet; Tonopah averages a little more than a foot of snow a year, but it can get hit pretty hard in a big storm. As you drive farther north, however, the likelihood of snow increases. On the other, normal amounts of precipitation are predicted for this winter, at least by The Farmer's Almanac. 

Nevada is much less proactive (or annoying, depending on your point of view) than California when it comes to enforcing snow- and all-weather-tire regulations when the roads get slick with snow and ice. Typically, Nevada doesn't set up roadblocks and chain checkpoints; it just closes a road (usually meaning it's open, but you drive on it at your own risk). Still, it's usually better to be safe than sorry, especially when driving conditions are involved.

We know of no rental-car companies that rent chains or cables for your tires; those you have to buy. If you're not used to putting them on, doing so in snowstorms by the side of the road can be a challenge. Luckily, chain installers (also known as "chain monkeys") can usually be found who'll do the deed for you, charging $20-$40 on and around $25 off.

You can, however, rent four-wheel-drive vehicles with all-season tires. Those will allow you to be waived through chain checkpoints and help you handle snowy roads and we believe it's the best you can do under the circumstances. They're more expensive to rent, of course, and the added weight is tough on gas mileage, but if you're bound and determined to rent a car to see Tahoe in the winter, that's probably your best insurance.

Other than in unusual years (like last winter, when Tahoe saw upwards of 15 feet of snow), truly hazardous road conditions are generally cleared up quickly in northern Nevada. Even NV 431, the Mt. Rose summit pass, at 8,900 feet (highest pass in the Sierra Nevada kept open year-round) is passable shortly after, and often during, even the biggest snowstorms. You can also drive up to the lake via Spooner Summit (7,146 feet) on US 50, a major east-west thoroughfare that's kept well-plowed except in the most extraordinary blizzards. Even lower is Brockway Summit (6,200 feet) south of Truckee, but you'll have to enter California on I-80, where you'll often encounter chain checkpoints that require a longer than you'd expect to get through.

Bottom line: Fly to Reno, rent a 4WD vehicle, and climb up to Tahoe over Spooner Summit and you should be okay. It's well worth doing; Tahoe in the winter, with its ultramarine blue water, deep green slopes, snowcapped peaks, and azure sky, is incomparably beautiful.