Stunning cobalt-blue Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, famous for its clarity, deep blue water, and surrounding snowcapped peaks. Straddling the state line between California and Nevada, it lies 6,225 feet above sea level in the Sierra Nevada. The border gives this popular resort region a split personality. About half its visitors are intent on low-key sightseeing, hiking, fishing, camping, and boating. The rest head directly for the Nevada side, where bargain dining, big-name entertainment, and the lure of a jackpot draw them into the glittering casinos.

Lake Tahoe is an American treasure. It's stunningly beautiful, the air is crisp and clear, and the sun shines 80% of the time. In summer, you can partake of boating and watersports, sandy beaches, bicycling, golf, tennis, hiking, camping, ballooning, horseback riding, rock climbing, bungee jumping, parasailing, skating, and so on, with seemingly endless possibilities. In winter, with an average snowfall of 409 inches, Lake Tahoe is one of the nation's premier ski destinations, with 15 downhill resorts, 10 cross-country ski centers, and facilities for snowboarding, ice-skating, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, sleigh riding, sledding, and snow play as well. Year-round diversions include fishing, Vegas-style gambling, and big-name entertainment in the casinos.

Then there's the lake; it's hard to imagine one as captivating. When Mark Twain first saw it, he declared it "the fairest picture the whole earth affords." It's famed for its crystal-clear water (a white dinner plate at the depth of 75 ft. would be visible from the surface) and its size (at 22 miles long and 12 miles wide, it's the largest alpine lake in North America). Its average depth is 989 feet, with the deepest point being 1,645 feet, containing enough water to cover the entire state of California to a depth of 15 inches. Surrounded by the imperious peaks of the Sierra Nevada, its waters soak up the colors of the sky and the mountains, creating a kaleidoscope of sparkling blues, greens, and purples -- a sight that will lure you back year after year.