13 Useful Apps for Tahoe Life

In today's world, apps make all the difference. They help find long lost trails. They assist in knowing the road conditions and where it is safe to travel when the weather is crazy. They even are known to take you on amazing guided tours, helping you find treasures that would never be discovered otherwise.

Continue reading to learn about 13 different apps that will make your time in Lake Tahoe shine, whether you're visiting Lake Tahoe or you call it home.

OpenSnow

One of the most important aspects of the mountains is following the weather. OpenSnow is a favorite for finding out all of the forecast information that you need to know in a quick and easy manner. An app that gives you direct information from local forecasters, it also offers the ability to compare favorite resorts on one screen as well as set up customized alerts for forecasts and snow reports in areas that you deem worthy.

Tahoe Snow Maps & Webcams

Where OpenSnow is all about forecasts and snow reports for the nation, Tahoe Snow Maps & Webcams is all about the Lake Tahoe area. The app gives you the ability to quickly view and compare the latest – as well as historic – snow reports for all of Tahoe's resorts. This gives you all the information you need in a single glance with their informative map of the Tahoe area. Information included: current reported 24-hour snowfall totals, 3-day totals or 7-day totals across all resorts, past snow report statistics and base depth statistics. They also offer a way to understand how storms in the Sierra Nevada can impact different parts of the Lake Tahoe region, helping you decide whether to head to North Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe or Donner Pass. The app also offers a Last Snowfall button giving real-time information on who last got the goods.

Windy.app

Lake Tahoe is one of those lakes where the winds can mean life or death. Be safe and use this handy app to know the wind forecast. A professional weather app created specifically for water and wind sports, including sailing, surfing, fishing, kayaking and water skiing, this is a quick way to get a detailed weather forecast that is wind-centric. It also offers a live world wind map as well as local weather reports.

Lake Tahoe California GPS Tour

Have you ever wished you had a guide to show you all that Lake Tahoe has to offer? Welcome to the narrated, offline and GPS-enabled driving tour that is there to be your personal tour guide. Offering a fully guided experience, Lake Tahoe California GPS Tour gives you a personalized tour, that takes you turn by turn, showcasing interesting aspects of Lake Tahoe including incredible hikes, historic homes, breathtaking views and numerous waterfalls. The app also offers interesting information on the origins of Tahoe as well as its Gilded Age history. Different tours offered include Baldwin Cabin, Fannette Island, Knight’s First Tahoe Home, Emerald Bay’s Hidden Secret, Fremont’s Adventures and Hauntings of Tahoe as well as many others.

StarWalk 2

One of the great aspects to Lake Tahoe are our dark nights and starry skies. Learn about all the beauty that our night sky is showcasing by using StarWalk 2. An app that informs on stars, satellites, meteor showers and planets in real time, you can also learn the names of the 88 officially recognized constellations while you’re at it.

All Trails

It's no secret that Lake Tahoe has its fair share of hikes. Learn where to go to find the exact hike you're looking for with the guidance of All Trails. An app that is set up with reviews, photos, descriptions and directions to trail heads, All Trails is the quickest way to find that trail that is going to give you the experience that you are looking for.

Jollyturns Ski & Snowboarding

Jollyturns is an app that gives two gifts. The first is a comprehensive and simple-to-use information source for ski resorts around the world. Supplying resort information including lifts, ski runs, lodges and restaurants as well as weather and snow information, Jollyturns is a go-to source for more than 2,750 ski resorts around the world. But the second gift is even better. Jollyturns is a way to record your day on the mountain, giving you your own statistics on a per-day or per-season basis. They apply this record keeping to your friends, too, while also offering the unique ability to keep track of where you and your friends are on the mountain. You can see your location as well as your friends' location on the interactive ski resort's map, making getting lost a thing of the past.

EpicMix

For those that enjoy Vail Resorts, this is the app for you. EpicMix is the place to track vertical distance gained, compare lift line times and check mountain webcams. This app offers access to all of Vail's destinations, including Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood. It also allows your competitive side to shine with the ability to compete with friends in challenges and earn pins along the way.

Liftopia

There is one thing about skiing that tends to be true no matter what ... it's expensive. To make things a little easier on the bank account, check out Liftoptia. An app that offers a lift ticket discount finder, you are able to safely purchase lift tickets while also getting a deal. The app also offers local snow and ski reports.

Freezify

Developed by South Lake Tahoe native Morgan Simpson, this app is all about creating a more interactive experience with your personal photos and selfies. A way for regular photos to become interactive, Freezify gives another option that is especially impressive for panoramas as well as photos capturing water, bicycling and snow sports. The app offers an almost 3-D perspective of any picture and gives users the ability to rotate an image by slowly twisting it. Once processed, the app offers users the ability to rotate photos to the left or right, affording better views of the background as well as the ability to be played as fast or as slow as someone wants.

Citizen Science Tahoe

Designed by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, Citizen Science Tahoe is an app that is allowing Lake Tahoe beach-goers to become citizen scientists. By encouraging users to enter data that they see at the beach, UC Davis will be better able to combat invasive plants and wildlife and allow for a more hands-on perspective of what is happening in the lake's near-shore area. As stated by Geoff Schladow, director of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, “There are aspects of water and ecological quality that depend solely on the perceptions of individuals. That is what this app is seeking to measure from everywhere around the lake at all times of the year. If you want to contribute to science at Lake Tahoe, simply go to the beach.” User's location, date, time and photos will be recorded, and for each observation made each citizen scientist will earn points. The data will be available at a new exhibit at the TERC building on the Sierra Nevada College Campus in Incline Village. The exhibit will explore trends related to lake level, temperature, water color, water clarity, algae and more.

Around Tahoe

An app that is based on the fun and informative music of local tour-guide entertainer and musician, Darin Talbot, Around Tahoe is for locals, visitors and residents who want a hands-free guide to Lake Tahoe that involves points of interest, sightseeing options, dining opportunities and entertainment tips. The app also offers audio stories about Tahoe legends, famous movies and unique historical tidbits. The app is available for $5.99 on both the Apple and Android app stores.

Tahoe Boating App

The Tahoe Boating App is an app with boaters in mind. Created to inform boaters and paddlers about Lake Tahoe, the no-wake zone boundaries, area attractions and responsible recreation, Tahoe Boating App is an interactive mapping experience that allows boaters the ability to see in real time where they are and their direction of travel on the lake. It also allows boaters to see their position in proximity to Lake Tahoe’s no-wake zones. The app additionally has information on boating safety, aquatic invasive species and emergency contacts as well as locations of boat ramps, marinas, fueling locations, historic places, beaches and public bathrooms. But maybe the most fun of all ... this app allows you to uncover the history beneath the lake, showing where the glacier carved down 1,000-plus feet, where to go find a sunken ship or how to navigate to the deepest point, 1,636 feet below! This is a free app with no in-app purchases.

Please visit our Daytime and Nightlife sections to learn about fun events that you can include while using your 13 Lake Tahoe apps.