Non-towered · Class E surface area
Lake Tahoe (KTVL) radio calls
South Lake Tahoe, CAICAO KTVL · FAA TVL
Lake Tahoe is a non-towered airport in South Lake Tahoe, CA. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 122.85, as Lake Tahoe Traffic, with the airport name at the start and end of each call.
The airport has a Class E surface area: no radio requirement to enter, but VFR weather minimums apply to the surface.
Frequencies
| CTAFLake Tahoe Traffic | 122.85 |
|---|
Airport
- Runways
- 18 · 36
- Right-hand pattern
- Runway 36
- Elevation
- 6,268 ft
- Position
- 38.894, -119.995
Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF
Sample calls at KTVL
Lake Tahoe has no operating control tower. Every call below goes out on the CTAF, 122.85, to the other aircraft, not to a controller. The runway shown is 18; use whichever runway the wind and the traffic dictate on the day.
The aircraft is the AIM’s own example, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot; the squawk codes, altitudes and headings are illustrative. Frequencies, station names and runway numbers are this airport’s, from the FAA data.
- Tune 122.85. Nobody clears you; you announce and you listen. The airport name goes at the start and the end of every call, and the runway is always a number, never "the active" (AIM 4-1-9 g 8).
- YouLake Tahoe traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, taxiing to runway one eight, Lake Tahoe.
- YouLake Tahoe traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, departing runway one eight, departing the pattern to the north, Lake Tahoe.
- Announce until you are about 10 miles out; on the way back, start announcing at 10 miles (AIM 4-1-9 c 1, TBL 4-1-1).
- YouLake Tahoe traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, two thousand five hundred, landing Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe.
- YouLake Tahoe traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, entering left downwind runway one eight, full stop, Lake Tahoe.
- YouLake Tahoe traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, left base runway one eight, Lake Tahoe.
- YouLake Tahoe traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, final runway one eight, full stop, Lake Tahoe.
- YouLake Tahoe traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway one eight, Lake Tahoe.
If things change. Do not use "any traffic in the area, please advise"; the AIM says it is not to be used under any condition (AIM 4-1-9 g 1). Listen for ten miles before you arrive; most of what you want to know has already been said.
Phraseology from AIM 4-1-9 c 1, g 1, g 8, h; TBL 4-1-1; 4-3-3. What TowerTalk grades against →
The calls you will make here
Nearby in California
- M45Alpine Countynon-towered
- KTRKTruckee-Tahoetowered
- KPVFPlacervillenon-towered
- KBLUBlue Canyon - Nyacknon-towered
- E36Georgetownnon-towered
- O79Sierraville Dearwaternon-towered
Frequencies, runways and airspace from the FAA National Airspace System Resources (NASR) 28-day subscription, cycle effective Sep 3, 2026. Training use only. Always verify against a current Chart Supplement and sectional chart before flight; frequencies change. TowerTalk is not affiliated with the FAA. Report a discrepancy.
This page is in release tier 3 and is not yet submitted to search engines.