Events on the south shore are covered in Lake Tahoe Action, a free weekly entertainment magazine put out by the Tahoe Daily Tribune. The North Tahoe/Truckee Week covers the north shore. Both are available at most motels.

The south shore is surprisingly quiet by night. On the Nevada side of the border, in Stateline, you'll find a number of casinos and the usual array of shows and headliners. Tahoe City is without a doubt the center of the lake's nightlife, with loud, crowded bars. During the summer, the River Ranch Lodge hosts an outdoor concert series.

Bars around the lake present pop and country-western singers and musicians, and in winter the ski resorts do the same. Summer alternatives are outdoor music events, from chamber quartets to rock performers, at Sand Harbor and the Lake Tahoe Visitors Center amphitheater.

Six casinos are clustered on a strip of U.S. 50 in Stateline and five more casinos operate on the north shore. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, these gambling parlors have table games, race and sports books, and thousands of slot and video poker machines -- 1,575, for instance, at Harrah's. There is no charge to enter and there is no dress code.