Fall in Truckee

Fall in Truckee is gorgeous! Truckee is so beautiful anyway, that throwing in the leaves changing colors just makes it more so! One of the things that I love about Truckee is that there are four distinct seasons to each year.

Hope Valley - Hwy 88 between South Lake Tahoe & Kirkwood
Photo Credit: Keith Thomas of Truckee, CA
(otherwise known as Mr. Truckee on Facebook)

This photo won the Truckee Travel Guide Photo Contest of the Month for September 2011, and is featured on the 2011 Truckee Photo's page!

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Fall is a time of "transition" and "preparation" in Truckee. The Truckee Summer Activities are winding down, and those who live in Truckee or vacation in Truckee, eagerly look forward to the awesome Truckee Winter Activities! Bets are made each year by the locals as to when the first snow will fly!

Preparations are made each year by those Living in Truckee to get ready for the winter season! There is much to do each year to get your Truckee Home winter ready, get your cars ready for winter, stock up on winter supplies, and switch out your families wardrobes to make sure everyone is outfitted properly with winter clothes and boots. And of course, make sure that everyone's winter equipment such as ski's and snowboards still fit!

Hope Valley - Hwy 88 between South Lake Tahoe & Kirkwood
Photo Credit: Keith Thomas of Truckee, CA
(otherwise known as Mr. Truckee on Facebook)

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Fun Facts about Fall in Truckee - (Will be updated for 2024 shortly)

• The first day of Fall, is known as the "Autumnal Equinox" and is on September 23rd  in 2015. It is a day when night and day are of equal length.


• The first day of Winter (when Fall ends), or the "Winter Solstice", is on December 21st, 2015, and is the shortest day of year, when the Sun reaches its most southern point in the sky at local noon. After this, the days start getting longer.


• The last Truckee Farmers Market for 2015, is held on Tuesday, October 20th between 8am - 1:00pm at the Truckee River Regional Park. Be sure to go and stock up on fresh organic produce! Many items can be frozen and used during winter months.


• Squaw Valley's last day of Summer Operations for 2015, is on October 4, 2015 with the last Cable Car leaving High Camp at 5:00pm. Be sure to visit High Camp and enjoy Roller Skating, Swimming/Hot Tubing, Disc Golf and Tennis before the season ends!


• Squaw Valley's Opening Day for the 2015/2016 Winter Operations is November 25, 2015 (Conditions Permitting). I'll be listing the dates for all the Ski Resort openings on my Ski Resorts page as they are announced.
  


• Daylight Savings Time ends on November 1, 2015 at 2:00am

Fall Weather in Truckee

Below, you can find the Truckee Weather Records and Averages for the fall months from The Weather Channel:

View the Truckee Weather Statistics for the rest of the year!

Fall Holidays and Observances - 2024

I'm planning an extensive "Holidays In Truckee" section with a page for each Holiday or Observance. (Pages will be linked up below when completed) Fall Holidays include:

• Oktoberfest Events in Truckee/Tahoe - Squaw Valley (TBA), Tahoe City (TBA), Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe TBA
• Columbus Day - October 14, 2024
• Halloween - October 31st
• Veteran's Day - November 11
• Thanksgiving - November 28, 2024
• Hanukkah - December 25, 2024 - January 2, 2025

Photo Courtesy of: Dawn Mason Riazi

I've had so much fun working on the Holidays in Truckee pages with my sister, Kerry that we started another website devoted solely to Holidays! Check us out: Website Facebook Pinterest Twitter

Fun Truckee Fall Events - 2015
(Will be updated for 2024 shortly)

You can get all the details in my Truckee Event Calendar, (working on updating Fall/Winter events), but some highlights of the Truckee Fall Events are:

• IRONMAN - Unfortunately, after the 2015 event, this event was discontinued at Lake Tahoe!
• 14th Annual Village Oktoberfest - Saturday, Sept 26, 2015, from 2pm-6pm at the Village at Squaw Valley. See my Oktoberfest page for all the details and other area Oktoberfest events at Tahoe City and Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe on October 3-4, 2015!
• Donner Party Hike - October 3-4, 2015
• 10th Annual Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop - Saturday, October 3, 2014, from 12pm-4pm.
• Tahoe Donner Fall Festival - October 10, 2015 11am - 5pm
• Historical Haunted Tour - October 15-16, 2015
• Halloween Parade - October 30, 2015 at 6pm
• 33rd Annual Truckee Ski Swap - Saturday, Nov 7, 2015 from 11am-4pm at the Community Recreation Center.
• Lots of local Restaurants are having special Thanksgiving Day Dinners on November 26th, 2015. 
• Holidays at Squaw Alpine - December 19, 2015 - January 3, 2016

Hope Valley - Hwy 88 between South Lake Tahoe & Kirkwood
Photo Credit: Keith Thomas of Truckee, CA
(otherwise known as Mr. Truckee on Facebook)

Fall Preparations

If you live in Truckee, or own a second home in Truckee, there is lots to do in Fall to prepare for the Truckee Winter season. Some of the key items are:

Getting Your Family Emergency Preparation Plan in Order:

• Make sure YOUR family has an Emergency Plan and Supplies and everyone knows what to do. See my Extensive Emergency Preparation section that was written by the help of my sister Kerry, of Healthy Diet Habits. Her family was 5 miles from the epicenter of the 1994 Chatsworth Earthquake, and she has lots of greats tips on how to prepare for emergencies!

Preparing Your House:

• Get your central heating serviced and ready for winter.
• Have any chimneys and stovepipes inspected & cleaned per the recommended schedule.
• Replace all batteries in smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors & alarms - this is especially helpful if you have any two story rooms as you really don't want to deal with dragging in a big ladder in the midst of winter to stop a chirping smoke alarm (this happened to me!)

Preparing Your Yard:

• Make sure any outside water pipes are covered - Drain & winterize your underground sprinkler system if you have one.
• Disconnect hoses from outside water spigots
• Great time to Mulch all your Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs and Prepare them for Winter.
• Dig up any Bulbs and store for the next year.
• Gather any Garden art or Outside Furniture that you don't want to leave out and store in your garage for the winter.
• The Driveway Sealing season is from May to early October. I highly recommend Frank Brown of Brown Bear Home Care: https://brownbearhomecare.com/
• Install snow stakes at the edges of your driveway
• See my Truckee Flora page for more tips!

Preparing Your Family Cars:

• Time to get Studded Snow Tires on all your vehicles - they are legal from November 1 to April 30 each year
• Check for Winter Antifreeze
• Get new Winter Snow Windshield Wipers installed on all your cars
• Make sure your car heaters are in working order
• Make sure each of your family cars has a Car Emergency Kit!
• Read up on my Winter Driving Tips to be ready for the 1st snow.

Preparing Your Family's Winter Wardrobe:

• Truckee is definitely an area where your closet can be organized with summer clothes and winter clothes. Time to switch out and get your winter gear ready! Make sure everyone in the family has warm clothes, long johns, scarves, gloves etc! My kids were in a different size every winter, so we always had to start from scratch every fall.
• Attend the Annual Truckee Ski Swap around the first of November for some great deals! (2024 Date TBA)

Preparing for all the Truckee Winter Activities

• Make sure that all your favorite winter sports activities gear still fits.
• Attend the Annual Truckee Ski Swap around the first of November and gear up and sell your old gear! (2024 Date TBA)

Preparing for SNOW!!

• If you still have a propane tank, make sure it is full and ready for winter.
• Make sure that your snow blower is in good working condition if you have one, or make sure you are paid up for snow removal service.
• Stock up on Wood and Pellets for your Wood Burning Stoves or Pellet stoves.

Winterizing Your Home if it will sit empty during the winter

• Turn Water Off
• Open all faucets and flush all toilets (once water is off to drain the lines and tanks)then add RV anti-free to all drains and toilets.
• Keep your thermostat set to at least 50 degrees to avoid your house getting too cold and causing pipe damage.
• Unplug any electrical appliances that are not necessary.
• Disconnect refrigerator water hose if you have an ice maker and water dispenser.
• Disconnect clothes washer water hoses

Stocking up Your Freezer and Pantry:

• Hit up the last Truckee Farmers Market for fresh organic produce.
• Fall is a great time of year to spend a few days cooking mass quantities of great soups that you can freeze and use throughout the winter.
• You don't want to be caught in a snow storm with limited food in the house, so stock up all your staples and freeze everything that you can to be well prepared for the winter months. We always did a big massive Costco run in Reno during the fall.
• See Also: Fall Weight Loss Tips