So Lake Tahoe Public Transport Advice

[cloudlesssky]

I'm leaving my car in Mammoth Lakes and taking public transit to Lake Tahoe for my upcoming Tahoe to Mammoth hike. I'd like some advice from people that use the South Lake Tahoe transit system.

I'm taking the ESTA bus from Mammoth Lakes to Carson City (CC). Then the 21X line from CC to Stateline Transit Center in South Lake Tahoe. From there I need to get to the Meeks Bay trail head.

It looks like I can catch the BlueGo 50 line to the South Y Station and then the Emerald Bay Trolley to Meeks Bay. But I'm concerned about this last leg because the timing is really tight - I just barely make the last scheduled trolley that runs to Meeks Bay.

Do the BlueGo and Trolley tend to run on schedule, or is it really "just a suggestion"?

Do you have any suggestions for a "plan B" (e.g. local Taxi service, etc)?

[cloudlesssky]

Rather than worry about connection timing, I decided to use ShuttleAroundTahoe from CC to Meeks Bay. A bit pricey, but I'll hit the trail several hours earlier which should be worth every penny. I'll check back in when I return and let you know how it went (Yelp reports are positive).

[maverick]

Thanks Cloudlesssky, it will be good to know for future reference. Have fun and
stay safe on your trip, looking forward to reading your TR.

[cloudlesssky]

This approach worked really well although it cost a little bit. I rode the ESTA bus from the Mammoth Lakes to Carson City. Joe Santalla who runs Shuttle Around Tahoe met me at the bus stop shortly after I arrived and drove me directly to Meeks Bay. I left Mammoth at 0830 and was on the trail by 1330.

Some notes:

Eastern Sierra Transit (http://www.estransit.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) runs a bus up and down 395 Lone Pine to Reno once per day M, Tu, Th, Fr. They also have other routes. Two important items: 1) call and make a reservation ahead of time; 2) they require exact fare in cash; 2.5) the fare on the website is not up to date so call.

The ESTA bus ran a little late. The passengers were 1/2 hikers and 1/2 others making their way mostly to reno airport.

Bus stop in Mammoth is at McDonalds on the South of the South parking lot. There is a covered bench and a sign. YARTS also stops near McDonalds, but on the North side. Don't get confused.

Shuttle Around Tahoe (http://www.shuttlearoundtahoe.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) is Joe Santalla. He picked me up in his Toyota P/U but I believe he also has a van for group larger than one. Joe is a ski instructor at Heavenly during the winter and does a wide variety of sporting related activities in the summer. He was really nice and the cost was reasonable considering the door to door service. A taxi would have easily been 3-4x as much.

I made pickup arrangements with Joe about a week ahead and texted him when the ESTA bus entered Gardnerville. He met me about 2 minutes after the ESTA bus dropped me off.

[FeetFirst]

Thanks for sharing. I might be using Shuttle Around Tahoe this summer, so it's good to hear it's reliable.