In Nevadan schools, the semester is almost over! The worries due to assignments and finals are almost gone, there are summer vibes in the air, and the weather has started warming up. That all means only one thing: Lake Tahoe is calling us!

If you want to experience what studying abroad really involves, you are supposed to go off campus and explore the city and the surroundings of the place where you are living. In my case, I live in Northern Nevada. It is a desertic zone that might hit 95 Fahrenheit during summer. However, not all of Nevada is a desert. Between Nevada and California is Lake Tahoe. It is an amazing lake surrounded by a lovely pine forest.

Lake Tahoe is a synonym of summer for Northern Nevadans. There are beautiful beaches where you can hike, camp, swim, or kayak. The lake is huge, it is 191.6 miles squared, and is the second deepest lake in the United States with a depth of 501 meters. There are about 30 different beaches on Lake Tahoe.

I first got to the United States 2 weeks before summer was over and, a couple of days after my arrival, I was invited on a trip to Sand Harbor. I’ve been told that it is one of the most beautiful beaches in Tahoe, with the cleanest water and the most beautiful views. When I got there, I could confirm it myself. I have not been to any other beaches, but it would be very difficult that they are more spectacular than Sand Harbor is.

The water indeed is clean; you can see the bottom of the lake no matter if you are swimming deep inside. Throughout the day, I swam and kayaked for a long time. The weather was amazing, and the hours seemed to be minutes. I liked it so much that I went another three times before summer was over. Additionally, I went with my college peers to the South part of Lake Tahoe last fall, but I was the only one who swam due to the cold waters. When winter came, and classes started getting rougher, I had to stop visiting Tahoe.

I can’t lie, I did go to Tahoe during winter break, just for a short hike. I was walking on some rocks and I slipped and fell in the water, which I didn’t find fun at all (I know it actually was). Apart from that, I have bad news for surf lovers: typically, there are no waves in Tahoe’s beaches during summer, but when I went during winter, I saw some brave guys with thermal suits surfing during a storm, which I found amazing. So, if you don’t mind the extreme temperatures, you can still take your surfboard and have some fun at Tahoe.

At this point, I have gone months without swimming or visiting any beach. I am tremendously excited for this semester to be over and to be able to visit Tahoe one more time. If you are ever around, be sure to visit this nature’s marvel. I am sure you will love it as much as I do. Tahoe, here I come!

Jefferson Phillips from Costa Rica is studying computer science at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.