Best Shopping in Tahoe

The Shops at Heavenly are located just below the Heavenly ski area in South Lake Tahoe. The village includes an eclectic mix of shops from fashionable lifestyle apparel, accessories and art. The shops include the Pacific Crest art gallery, the Serenity Spa, Tahoe Old Time Photos, Up Shirt Creek, Apricot Lane Boutique, Blue Sky the Great Outdoor Clothing Company, Patagonia@Heavenly, Posh Punkins and Sealed with a Kiss. Sporting goods stores include Powder House Sports and Quiksilver. There are several eateries including the Nestle Toll House Cafe, Cold Stone Creamery, Base Camp Pizza, Wolfgang Puck Express and the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. The Shops at Heavenly also have an 8-screen movie theater showing the latest movies.

This independent shop for both amateur and professional cooks is nothing short of a culinary lovers dream come true. The shop is two stories of beautiful cooking equipment, cookbooks, spices, cutlery, pots, pans and anything you can think of for the kitchen and dining room. They also have a load of bakeware and glassware, small appliances like juicers, coffeemakers and food processors. They also sell gourmet coffee and specialty foods. Their selection of candles and cloth napkins is impressive. The place is cramped full of so many items you could spend an hour or two just in the downstairs floor before you realize there's a second floor. The Cooking Gallery is located right in old downtown Truckee.

The Artisan's Market Place in Truckee is located in the cute shopping area of Brickeltown and is a unique gallery that represents work by 15 local artists. The items available for purchase include art glass, knitted creations, woodwork, jewelry, beadwork, ceramics paintings and eco-friendly soaps and lotions from High Sierra Botanicals. Artists represented all live in the immediate area and their items are priced reasonably. Special events and sales are held at the Artisan's Market Place during the summer. The Artisan's Market Place is located in the Blue Victorian, 10382 Donner Pass Road, Brickletown, in historic Truckee. Open daily 11 am-6 pm, except Tuesdays.

The Tahoe Hemp Company is South Lake Tahoe is not your average counter-culture shop. The emphasis of this business is to emphasize the importance of hemp as a sustainable crop and design material. The THC (a play on words, of course) sells eco-conscience and green items such as men's and women's clothing, T-shirts, jackets, hats, bags, purses, wallets, bath and body products, shoes, books, gift items, local made jewelry and more. The items are of high quality and many of the T-shirts play off the Tahoe/THC theme. The women's jackets and coats are surprisingly soft and stylish. Many of the items are a priced a little high, but the customer service and cool staff make it worth it to spend some time and little of your vacation dollars at this local Tahoe store.

Gaia-licious in South Lake Tahoe offers a relaxed and sensual shopping experience. An eclectic selection of candles, jewelry, body lotions and perfumes, clotting, music and books are in this delightful little store. Their clothing runs the gamut from hippy style to chic yoga and they are made for comfort. Gaia-licious also offers items for yoga, meditation, Eastern philosophy and study, incense, massage oil and baby gifts. The prices are reasonable and the selection is large. Their book selection is personally selected to encourage a healthy and happy lifestyle. Gaia-licous also has special events (like henna and glitter tattoo night and tea-tasting night) and offers special costume items for parties, Halloween and Burning Man.

High Camp Home is located in the small town of Truckee, just north of Lake Tahoe. They are one of the leading design firms in the area and their high quality and beautiful furniture is available for purchase at the store in downtown Truckee. They offer furniture for all parts of the house including the bathroom and bedroom as well as accessories, lighting, rugs and items for the garden.They specialize in cabin-style furniture with a rustic look but they also offer stylish and industrial items such as granite topped tables, woolen couches and leather chairs. Their decorative items are really nice as well. High Camp Home brings the outdoors in with hand-crafted wood items, statues of black bears, vases shaped like leaves and birch-turned candlesticks.

Owned by a high fashion designer turned mountain girl, Bespoke is a fun and unique shop in historic downtown Truckee that celebrates everything vintage, kitschy and natural. When you first step into the small shop, you will first be drawn to the wall of the flora and fauna of the United States. Each state has a handcrafted print by San Francisco company Dutch Door Press. Other letterpress prints are scattered around the shop along with locally made pottery, clothing, scarves and hats, books, jewelry and unusual magazines. Bespoke also has special events like Ladies Nights, art workshops and classes on making your own print stamps or terrariums. Items in the store are actually very affordable and you will be sure to find the perfect gift while browsing.

The Boatworks Mall is an indoor, enclosed mall right on the shore of Lake Tahoe with a wonderful view of the marina. The design is woodsy and typical Tahoe with lots of wood, large beams and an open and airy entryway. Inside is several clothing stores including a contemporary store for women and a resort and outdoor apparel shop, an art gallery, a yoga studio, a jewelry store and a chocolate shop. There is also a hair salon and a professional makeup salon that specializes in makeup for weddings. At Hemmings & Jarrett, you can find high-quality furniture, home accessories and gifts and at the Tahoe Shoe & Clothing Company you can find top brand names such as Dansko, Crocs, Merrell, Ugg, Clarks, Reef, Privo, Keen and Teva. The wonderful Bookshelf book store carries a complete line of fiction and children's books, with over 20,000 titles. They also specialize in large picture books.

This unique little shop in Kings Beach on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe sells beautiful items from Thailand and Vietnam. There is also a small tea garden where you can order some tea and relax in the shade of the pine trees with the nearby sound of water. The owner travels to Southeast Asia every year to purchase items that she sells at reasonable prices in this darling, little shop. You can pick up handmade items for the home, clothing, jewelry, hats and scarves, Buddha and Ganesh statues, bamboo handicrafts and handmade paper items. The shop also offers free wi-fi.

This small, but sweet boutique in the Cobblestone Shopping Center in Tahoe City has made a name for itself for selling only handmade items from over 30 different artists in the Reno, Tahoe and Truckee area. The store is full of unique items like statues and vases, Sierra Nevada photography, original paintings, jewelry and clothing, Tahoe inspired lotions, essential oils and candles and the Lovin' Tahoe brand of clothing and bumper stickers. The prices at Trunk Show are affordable. The owner's own brand of jewelry is made of recycled items and a beautiful handmade necklace is around $40. Trunk Show also has a customer appreciation party every first Friday of the month, from 4:00 until 8:00 p.m. The store serves cocktails and showcases the new collection of local art.