GPS to Lake Tahoe: Don't let it steer you wrong

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe is the destination of thousands of people a month, no matter what the season. It's beauty, splendor and recreational opportunities beckon people from around the world. The epic snowfall this season has put many Sacramento and Bay Area residents on the roads to Lake Tahoe, but with the crowded highways (both I80 and US50), many drivers are going to their GPS and mapping apps to find the best, and quickest, route to paradise.

Unfortunately, that best route is taking them into neighborhoods with unplowed streets and unsafe conditions, flooded roads, into dead-end streets and pointing to highways that aren't open in the winter.

With the snow level dropping to Placerville this past weekend, communities along the 60 mile stretch of US50 from there to South Lake Tahoe were exposed to drivers using apps and GPS in attempts to find a way around the stop-and-go traffic. South Lake Tahoe and Meyers have experienced this new way of travel for people for a while now, frustrating the people living in the neighborhoods who have dead stop traffic in their streets every Sunday or holiday weekend.

The traffic is also frustrating drivers who believe they are taking the best route to their destination, only to find themselves stuck in traffic that doesn't move for hours.

Residents of Pollock Pines were in a sense invaded over the President's Day weekend when the storms brought feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada and with it thousands of cars onto the highway. Drivers pulled off US50 in Pollock Pines in search of short-cuts, food, and restrooms because they were looking at a five-ten hour traffic jam to Lake Tahoe. The problem is the quaint small town of Pollock Pines isn't equipped to handle that kind of crowd.

Tempers were flaring and law enforcement was called out to numerous fist fights on the roadway. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) in Placerville said they had to respond to those fights instead of taking care of safety on the highway and trying to prevent drivers from cutting off US50.

I80 was closed much of the time during the past storm, sending all drivers onto its southern neighbor, US50.

Each day over the holiday weekend brought the same scenario as skiers and vacationers wanted to get to Lake Tahoe to see the large amounts of snow falling.

Nobody was happy.

Besides planning a different travel day than everyone else, the best way to survive a drive to Lake Tahoe on both I80 and US50 is to stick to the highway and to not trust a GPS and smartphone mapping system (like Google, Waze, and Mapquest). When vehicles are at a standstill, the Bluetooth tracking software will not give accurate travel times. The smartphone apps this weekend said it was four hours to South Lake Tahoe when in reality it was up to 15 hours.

The best bet may not be at the gaming tables, as it is using old fashioned maps and sticking to highways.