The assortment of things to do and places to go is mind-boggling. And as you’ll see in the "North Lake Tahoe" section, so are the options for meetings and conventions.

Hop into your car or board a bus, climb up and away, and 30 minutes or so from Reno, crest Mt. Rose summit and you'll come face to face with a full frontal assault of Lake Tahoe, one of the world's great treasures. Wind your way through high mountain meadows down the highway to Lake Tahoe and, after enduring miles and miles of jaw-dropping scenery, you'll eventually come to Tahoe City - a culinary paradise with over 20 unique restaurants many with stunning lake views. Great dining is a focus here - each autumn it's celebrated at the Autumn Food and Wine Festival at Northstar.

Not far away is the Thunderbird Lodge Historic Site where you'll get a feel for what Tahoe's "high life" of another era was like. An hour's walk through the estate - built in 1936 for George Whittell - takes you to the Lighthouse Room, as well as a trip through the 600-foot underground tunnel leading to the infamous Card House and Boat House "garage" for a stunning 55-foot long, yacht with mahogany hull and dual aircraft engines - a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. And if you time it just right - in July and August - you can settle into the dunes of Sand Harbor and all the entertainment of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

New villages at Squaw and Northstar and a new conference center at Granlibakken offer meeting venues mountainside. Fortunately, you're never far from the serenity of a great beach, a quiet glider ride above the Carson Valley, a shaded park, or trails leading to distant deserts and alpine peaks peaks that scratch the sky.

As we warned you earlier: it's an amazing scene. Please enjoy it responsibly.