North Upper Truckee

Though some Lake Tahoe communities utilize their relative remoteness as a selling point, as a getaway from traffic, tourists and noise, North Upper Truckee is perhaps one of the more off-the-beaten-path South Lake Tahoe neighborhoods. This area is split into Southern (North Upper Truckee 1) and Northern (North Upper Truckee 2) sections, divided below and above Zuni St.

Long known for its high number of locals more so than vacation home owners and renters, North Upper Truckee’s lush forest setting and magnificient natural views was a popular choice for year-round residents. This has changed somewhat over the last decade and a half, as the Angora Wildfire in 2007 consumed over 250 homes, most of which were located in the North Upper Truckee 2 area. Since then, developers have built and rebuilt quite a few new homes, resulting in many strikingly modern and top-of-the-line house designs, and attracting many new home buyers.

If you’re going to purchase a home here, you’ll likely want to invest in a good snowblower! North Upper Truckee’s higher elevation gets a lot of snow, and has an obvious appeal to ski sports enthusiasts, due to its closeness to a number of popular ski resorts: Kirkwood Mountain, Sierra-at-Tahoe, and Heavenly Mountain. Many homes are directly adjacent to National Forest/California Conservancy lands, and some homes in North Upper Truckee 2 boast gorgeous views of Fallen Leaf Lake.

Home prices are on the somewhat higher side in this neighborhood, reflecting high demand: as of this writing, median home prices in North Upper Truckee consistently range between $700k and $900k.