TripCaptain

San Francisco to Lake Tahoe EV Road Trip

Plan an electric vehicle road trip on the San Francisco to Lake Tahoe corridor — approximately 199 miles via I-80. TripCaptain shows honest cold-weather range, plans charging stops with a margin for the cold, and checks for winter driving hazards along every segment.

Effective range & charging stops by EV

The plan tunes to your car — Tesla Model 3 / Model Y, Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6, Chevy Bolt EUV — across mild, cold, and arctic conditions. The number of stops matches the real drive and the day's forecast, not an idealized spec sheet.

199-mile San Francisco to Lake Tahoe, full charge, steady 65 mph, no headwind. Terrain included: 1900 m of cumulative climb, descent derived from the elevation difference between the endpoints — intermediate passes are not resolved. A live trip re-runs this against the day's forecast.
EV ModelMild (70°F / 21°C)Cold (20°F / -7°C)Arctic (-10°F / -23°C)
Tesla Model Y Long Range242 mi · no stops177 mi · 1 stop131 mi · 1 stop
Tesla Model 3 Long Range260 mi · no stops189 mi · 1 stop140 mi · 1 stop
Ford F-150 Lightning ER250 mi · no stops187 mi · 1 stop141 mi · 1 stop
Rivian R1T Large Pack256 mi · no stops192 mi · 1 stop145 mi · 1 stop
Hyundai IONIQ 5 LR AWD207 mi · no stops153 mi · 1 stop114 mi · 2 stops
Chevy Bolt EUV193 mi · 1 stop134 mi · 1 stop97 mi · 2 stops
Ford Mustang Mach-E ER AWD226 mi · no stops168 mi · 1 stop125 mi · 1 stop
Kia EV6 Long Range242 mi · no stops177 mi · 1 stop132 mi · 1 stop

Notable chargers on this route

Truckee Supercharger, Roseville Supercharger, Auburn Supercharger are the most-used named DC fast chargers on the I-80 corridor. Any Tesla Superchargers among them now work for non-Tesla EVs too — with a NACS adapter, or natively on cars like the Rivian R1T, Hyundai IONIQ 5, and Kia EV6. The live app shows real-time availability and amenity info.

Winter hazards on San Francisco to Lake Tahoe

Winter on this corridor is dominated by Donner Pass blizzards, chain control R2/R3, I-80 closures. Use TripCaptain to check the safest hourly window for departure and to track Hazard Score™ — a 0-100 trip safety metric where higher means safer.

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