Cal Va Rado Motel (Demolished)
Lake Tahoe, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Just across from the buzzing state line casinos sits a classic roadside motel that will catch your eye after dark. The Cal Va Rado Motel in Lake Tahoe still lights up at night with a vibrant mid-century neon sign, proudly playing up its spot right on the California and Nevada border.
With all the high-rise glitz of Harrah's and Harvey's towering nearby, this little motor court keeps the resort town's older roadside spirit alive.
UPDATE: The motel was demolished and the neon sign removed to make way for a large retail and dining complex. 09-26
Washoe Motel (Rem.)
Lake Tahoe, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Heading out toward Emerald Bay, keep an eye out along Highway 89 for this classic mountain motor court. The Washoe Motelis open for business in this busy area on the way to the lake, sporting a roadside sign that looks right at home among the pines.
With its rustic cabin-style layout and knotty pine interiors, this motor court has greeted travelers heading out toward Fallen Leaf Lake and Camp Richardson for decades.
UPDATE: The property has been renovated into cabin suites and now operates as The Washoe Lodge. 09-26
Trout Creek Motel (Gone)
Lake Tahoe, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Check out the roadside sign for the Trout Creek Motel and the little fish that sits right next to the no vacancy lettering. The **Trout Creek Motel** took its name from the creek flowing just behind the property, serving as a handy stopping point along Lake Tahoe Boulevard.
Between the playful neon fish and the classic motor court layout, this place caught the eye of plenty of mountain travelers passing through town looking for a spot to sleep after a day near the water.
UPDATE: The motel was remodeled and rebranded as the Tahoe Mountain Inn, and the vintage neon fish sign has been removed. 09-26
Crown Motel
Kings Beach, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
If you are rolling through Kings Beach along North Lake Boulevard, this is one roadside stop you definitely won't miss. The Crown Motel features a colorful roadside treasure of a marquee out front, crowned with a bright emblem sitting right up at the top and neon arrows pointing travelers straight toward the shoreline. This place is an absolute delight to see during the winter months, when a fresh blanket of snow covers the lodge roofs and the frosty mountain air makes all that colorful neon pop against the tall Sierra pines.
Originally built back in the mid-1950s when the North Shore was buzzing with postwar travelers exploring the lake, the property was known for decades as Ferrari's Crown Motel. The Ferrari family ran the motor court as a true family getaway for over half a century, welcoming road trippers who came up the mountain for summer days on the sand or winter weekends on the ski runs. With its own stretch of private beach right out the back door and direct views across the water, it quickly became a go-to stop for vacationers driving along Highway 28 looking for a friendly place to unpack their bags.
Crown Motel
Kings Beach, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
The marquee alone is well worth pulling off the asphalt to take a few photos. From the crown perched high above the traffic to the script lettering promising heated rooms, a private beach, and that welcoming glow of a vacancy sign, it captures everything that made mid-century Tahoe roadside travel so memorable. In an era when so many great neon landmarks have vanished from around the lake, seeing this one still catching the eyes of passing motorists brings you right back to the golden age of the family road trip.
UPDATE: The property has seen recent renovations and continues to welcome guests along the lake, with its classic roadside marquee still standing proud and lighting up the street. 09-26
Fireside Motel
Lake Tahoe, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
The name Fireside reminds one of a cozy lodge in the mountains. Well, the Fireside Motel here in Lake Tahoe features a cozy roadside sign that fits that bill perfectly. Tucked along Highway 89 surrounded by tall pines, it makes for a welcoming sight as you drive through on the way out to Pope Beach and Camp Richardson.
The property has been here greeting mountain travelers for decades, nestled right where the south shore gives way to the edge of the national forest. With its classic roadside cabin layout, stone fireplaces, and rustic wood, this is the kind of motor court that made packing up the car for a trip to the lake so memorable. The sign out by the road continues to catch the eye of motorists rolling along Emerald Bay Road looking for a quiet mountain stop.
UPDATE: The property has been renovated into a cozy bed and breakfast operating as the Fireside Lodge, with a roadside sign still greeting travelers along the highway. 09-26
Ann's Cottages (Gone)
Kings Beach, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
If you are cruising through Kings Beach along North Lake Boulevard, right across the street from the water sits a modest mountain stop that has seen decades of travelers roll by. Ann's Cottages looks to be a quaint, simple looking place out in Kings Beach, sporting the kind of unpretentious roadside sign that immediately takes you back to an earlier era of Tahoe vacationing.
Originally known as Blair's Cottages during the postwar boom when families were first packing up their wood-paneled station wagons for the Sierra, the property was later purchased by the well-known local Ferrari family. It became part of their collection of classic North Shore mom-and-pop motor courts and cabin courts, sitting just steps away from the sandy public beaches and the tall pines lining Highway 28. Back when roadside travel was all about pulling right up to your own little front porch with a cooler of groceries in tow, places like this offered a cozy, down-to-earth roof over your head without any of the high-rise fuss.
Ann's Cottages
Kings Beach, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
Between the weathered wood siding, the tucked-away cabins, and the vintage roadside sign welcoming motorists off the highway, the property captured that unhurried lakeside charm that has steadily been disappearing from around the basin. It is the type of roadside stop that easily makes you wish you had pulled over to snap a photo before the landscape changed.
UPDATE: The property has closed to overnight travelers and was converted into long-term apartments, with the old roadside sign removed. 09-26
Cal Va Rado Motel (Demolished)
Trout Creek Motel (Gone)
Fireside Motel
Ann's Cottages (Gone)
Ann's Cottages
