Sherry McConkey Speaks Out About the Traffic in Tahoe, CA

Riley McDonald | | Post Tag for Industry NewsIndustry News
snow in truckee
Scenery from Shaffer Mill Road in Truckee, CA; image: Unsplash, Will Stewart

A common theme throughout this 2022-23 ski season has been the apparent increase in crowds in and around the mountains. The West Coast of America has been swarmed with tourists and new residents. This rings true in California’s Tahoe and Truckee areas, and Sherry McConkey is speaking out. 

Sherry McConkey, the widow of Shane McConkey, a beloved, legendary professional skier, and lover of life, is using her voice in the skiing world for good. 

shane mcconkey
Shane McConkey living life to its fullest; image: Shane McConkey Foundation Facebook, Christian Pondella




“Our precious Tahoe-Truckee area can’t go on like this. Our infrastructure is overwhelmed, and our environment is threatened. It’s dangerous on the mountain, on our roads, and in our communities.”

Sherry calls for us to unite to fight this problem. To ignite her community’s passion, she claims we need to “plan for a future that addresses global warming so we can reduce the threat to our mountains, lakes, roads, air, and communities.”

Like most other areas, Truckee and Tahoe have building codes and laws that must be addressed to solve this problem. However, Sherry points to the fact that there is an abundance of eco-friendly solutions we can turn to for inspiration around the world.

Sherry has honored her late husband’s legacy by creating the Shane McConkey Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on environmental issues. She uses her platform and Shane’s legendary reputation to call for change in regard to issues like the overwhelming traffic she has witnessed in her community in Califonia.

To conclude her call for action, Sherry eloquently paraphrases Shane: “One life, live it; one world, protect it.”

Lake Tahoe. Credit: SnowBrains

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17 thoughts on “Sherry McConkey Speaks Out About the Traffic in Tahoe, CA

  1. It’s called science, bro. 85% of the world’s glaciers shrunk between 2000 and 2020. Things that usually take thousands of years are happening in decades.

  2. Cut the number of hotel rooms, the easiest way to do that is make vacation rentals illegal, and let locals move into them to live. If there is no where to stay, people won’t come. Traffic goes down. If more locals move into town, they won’t need to drive into work, which some of them will do. Traffic goes down.
    If you actually want to do something that will work. Of course it will raise holy hell, but so will anything else you could do that would actually work.

  3. Can/should same argument be made for beaches in socal? Difference in socal beaches is has always been negatively impacted by tourism and inland land locked folk…off my wave kook.

  4. It’s trickle down economics. Also, given the fact Tahoe hasn’t seen good snow for some time explains the overwhelming crowds. The fact the people come and leave behind their “footprint” is a matter of moral character. Solutions for that?

  5. looks like a certain group of people she witnessed did something that must have irked her to no end and now wants to get back(politically correct of course). This is America lady and YOU KNOW we can go to any public area we want to. What do you tell all the regular repeat visitors vs all the first time visitors? they gotta take turns? how’s this, you love it so much? give up your residence and move. she doesn’t have the guts to admit she hates a certain group of people that caused her reaction. walk away Sherry McCrapnkey

  6. Another bleeding heart with no solutions offered. And global warming???!! look out the window at all that snow. It’s just weather not some climate catastrophe.

  7. I was in Tahoe 17 years ago and the traffic going back to Sacramento on a Sunday afternoon was bumper to bumper. So it can’t be any worse now unless the cars are stacked atop each other.

  8. I have been visiting Southlake for almost 20 years. I totally agree some form of change needs to be made. Please take notice that advertising has been promoting the lake and mountains in the Tahoe area for some time. So now the crowds have exceeded the desired effect. Perhaps it is time to discontinue advertising in order to preserve the natural beauty of the environment as well as the low stress environment, that the locals have come to live by. Charging more for parking and even a fee to drive through the roads around the lake , such as a toll might be advantageous?

  9. This is actually a constructive comment. You are right about the article providing lack of context. Sherry’s statements are also lacking a solution. She does a great job at presenting the problem but provides no insights into solutions to this problem. Shane’s foundation could also be managed better to create wide impact and awareness around this problem outside the Tahoe community. It does a great job with local impact and contribution but that’s not the root of the problem. Our surrounding community gets it but our visitors do not. We need to find solutions that are equitable to everyone who shares the ground we walk. I like the extra enforcement and instead of just a fine why not a fine and community service through environmental education and clean-up!

  10. I agree with the basic premise that the traffic is out of control, this article was a bit lacking in detail. I have been a resident of the town of Truckee for 10 years and it is way worse now than it was 8-9 years ago . The town of Truckee needs to enforce parking laws and increase traffic violations enforcement , better snow removal especially a few days after the storm, the roads are almost dangerous . This issue has existed for years but zero action is the norm here in California, bureaucratic logjams have hindered progress on the subject of heavy traffic and overcrowding in the Tahoe basin. It may be time for parking reservations and limiting ticket sales on weekends . Homewood ski resort is the victim of this lack of action on overcrowding and heavy traffic, it happened to them and it can happen to Palisades Tahoe if we don’t solve this issue soon.

  11. It was already overly busy to the extreme for many years, long before it got even busier recently.
    As for this useless article…

  12. There is 1 single quote from her. 1!! I don’t even know why it matters given her technical traffic expertise. This is a completely useless “article” so hats off.

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