bloodline said:
Our route is quite open. Thank you for the suggestions. If we come into CA on 50, I'll be looking at some of those other passes south of Tahoe.
Any recommended camping areas around Tahoe that might have space around the 4th? Primitive is fine, too.
I thought you were arriving from the south on 395. So US-50 will bring you through Carson City with a very nice highway connecting to Lake Tahoe. If you were to ride all of the lake it would be 72 miles. If you can't do that I would suggest the west or California side. Mainly because of Emerald Bay, a must see. And if you have time I suggest you take the Vikingsholm (another mansion) tour
http://www.vikingsholm.org/ . Erhman Mansion at Sugar Pine Point (lake side) is a good stop to view the lake from a pier and a visit to a mansion.
Here is a map of Lake Tahoe camping
http://www.explorer1.com/tahoe/camping.htm . I no longer have suggestions other than call ahead of time. Lake Tahoe is VERY popular and there is so much to see.
Here is a map
http://goo.gl/maps/18Zm with a suggested route. The downside is when riding CCW you are lane further away from the lake and have to cross traffic to get to the lake. Stop often and see what you can. Remember that 75% of the traffic is on vacation.
Get gas in Meyers before you come to the inspection station. A lot of gas stations and food.
The map takes you to Hwy 88 instead of US-50. US-50 can be cluttered with heavy traffic and not too many views. I avoided Placerville on US-50 because of the signals and HEAVY traffic. Hwy 88 is very scenic, good surface, a lot of elevations changes, a couple good scenic turnouts, many lakes, and other places to stop. Sorensens has food. Kirkwood Inn has food. Almost every lake has a resort off the highway. I routed you through Fiddletown and Plymouth (gas and food) to save distance. If time is not a problem you can go to Jackson (gas and food) and historic Hwy 49. Latrobe Road is a fun ride. "O" on the map is a sign showing Ocean City MD 3073 miles. This sign is the west end of US-50 and it is also the other direction so it would be out of your way. You can see it with Street View.
If you have time while passing through Sacramento give me a call (PM sent) and I will treat you to a meal.
Hope you enjoy Lake Tahoe and all of its beauty.
