Being in Lake Tahoe in the wintertime is magical, with being in the trees, untouched snow, and fresh lake water conjuring up memories of the quiet, natural environment that we all know and love. Therefore, it makes sense for Tahoe aficionados to try to come up with a smell that conjures up some of those feelings, trying to recreate the scents of fresh air, snow, sugar pines, ponderosas, and Lake Tahoe itself through candles and soaps. Or local herbalists use Sierra-foraged plants to make medicines that help bolster one’s immunity during flu season or fix muscles tired and sore from snow shoveling. Cardamom, cedar, peppermint, CBD, and elderberry may start making their way into your nasal periphery, allowing you to power through and stay healthy during a seemingly never-ending winter. These are the best smells of a Tahoe winter: 

“Not Coffee” from the Woods Apothecary

After the temperatures dropped and the first few days of autumn set in, Gina Woods of the Woods Apothecary packed up all her tinctures, loose leaf teas, skin care products, special formulas, and more and moved them over to her new location at 2264 Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe. Amid the moving process, I met Woods en route and she let me sniff some of her warmest winter concoctions. 

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Cold and flu fighter syrups, digestive bitters, and even smoke relief respiratory teas are a part of her collection, but Woods carries a slew of natural medicines that could alleviate any physical or mental need. Woods is a doula and regularly holds events, workshops, botanical bodywork sessions and does private consultations, along with making herbal remedies that can be slathered on, dropped under the tongue, or consumed as a straight syrup or tea. “I place people with their plants, and I make lots of tea and medicines for the wintertime,” she says. 

As the Beastie Boys plays in the background, Woods opens a bag of masala chai loose leaf tea and I take a big whiff. The loose leaves with notes of cardamom and ginger come through the strongest. “This is used to keep warm and keep that digestive fire going, and it’s good for the immune system,” Woods says. Next, I smell a fire cider, with a strong vinegar scent followed by chile pepper and honey. “It helps with sinus infections, stimulation, your viral system,” Woods explains.

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I then stick my nose in a jar of “Not Coffee”, consisting of a brown powder made of ground up chicory, dandelion root, cacao, and functional mushrooms (Reishi, lion’s mane, and chaga). 

“There’s no caffeine in this, and it nourishes the liver and has adaptogens,” Woods says. It smells earthy, hearty, strangely energizing. For a hot drink that keeps you focused all day without the headaches or caffeine crash, “Not Coffee” hits the spot. 

We smell porcini mushrooms harvested from her backyard that Woods uses to make a soup broth (she grows and harvests many of her own herbs). I don’t know if it was the “Not Coffee” still lingering in my nose, but I thought that the mushrooms smelled sweet, rich, with almost a raw cacao scent to it. “I could see that…there is a lot of polysaccharides substance to it,” she says.

Woods sprays a rose mist in front of us, the heavenly scent used to restore balance, and a jar of nettle leaf then comes out, smelling like seaweed. 

At the grand opening of the new Woods Apothecary, Gina held elixir tea tastings and introduced her new botanical lab/kitchen which also acts as a basecamp for her Materia Medica homeopathy classes and outside forage workshops. The Woods Apothecary is a great place to go to keep you and your loved ones healthy and well and bask in the natural healing properties of Tahoe. 

http://www.woodsapothecary.org 

“Releaf Rollies” from Tahoe Petrichor

The name “petrichor” is a Tahoe smell in itself, defined in the dictionary as: “a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather” and the natural scent is what defines the company. Products like Bearly There tinctures, Botanical Balance spray, Mindful Mist, and Releaf Rollies/Boulder Balms are handmade therapeutic remedies to help ease any pain, perfect for the active outdoor enthusiast. Believing in “pure water, real food, and plant medicine” to treat one’s body with love and the brain with honor, Tahoe Petrichor uses locally sourced, sustainably harvested raw herbs to make its extracts and infused products. 

The Mindful Mist is a light floral spray that doubles as a face toner. It’s perfect to spritz on your body, your face, and in and around your yoga mat to soak in extra antioxidants, hydration, and botanicals expressed from ingredients like aloe vera, witch hazel, and locally distilled incense cedar oil. 

It’s a customer favorite, generating all five-star reviews, but the “Releaf Rollies” are the Tahoe Petrichor product most found in places like Gaia’licious Global Gifts in South Lake Tahoe and Bespoke Truckee. The lavender/sagebrush/rosemary one I inhaled smelled earthy and sweet, with a hint of a wintergreen Lifesaver to it. It’s made with locally harvested yarrow and distilled sagebrush oil, and the CBD helps relieve joint, nerve, and muscle discomfort. This roll-on balm is perfect to take hiking, and the best part is that Tahoe Petrichor also makes Rollies for your pup. 

https://www.tahoepetrichor.com

“Happy Heart Oxymel” from Sierra Roots Wellness

From nourishing whipped butters and spicy seaweed salt to bee pollen & wild nettle elixirs and loose leaf herbal respiratory steams, Sierra Roots Wellness medicines keep the body’s airways open and its digestive system functioning properly all winter long.

Bespoke Truckee carries certain Sierra Roots Wellness products including the Allergy & Sinus Buddy, Cardamom Ginger Tummy Tincture, Strawberry & Milky Oats Shrub, Wild Cherry Bark Syrup, and Happy Heart Oxymel. Made with apple cider vinegar and raw honey (the two ingredients that make an oxymel an oxymel) along with hibiscus flowers, cinnamon, ginger, rosebuds, and hawthorn berries, the Happy Heart Oxymel syrup sold in an 8-oz. bottle goes great when a tablespoon or two of it is combined with tea, bubbly water, or in certain nonalcoholic cocktails. It’s perfect to take on a backcountry ski day when you need to warm up. 

Made right here in the Sierra Nevada, Sierra Roots Wellness products can be found in Truckee at the Tahoe Food Hub, Namaste Holistic Healing and Yoga Center, and Bespoke. Owner Mary McCallum also hosts workshops and classes often at The Peace Offering in Truckee, teaching people how to make their own medicines or herbal holiday gifts. 

https://sierrarootswellness.com/

“Sierra Cement” Candle from Sierra Soapbox Candle Co. 

“Created out of cabin fever and inspired by the seasonal struggles faced by locals in a mountain town” as its website states, the Sierra Soapbox Candle Co. nails it when identifying and sharing scents of the everyday experiences of a Tahoe resident. Its “Locals Only” candle “smells like you can’t park there”, which is the culmination of santal, cardamom, and amber. The “Wood Stack” smells like juniper, swearing, soft pine needles, sap, and splinters…all dead on with the senses of when you’re trying to stock up your wood pile for winter or tromp through snow 30 feet away from your house to dig it out and bring it in. 

All its candles smell like Tahoe, but its “Parking Lot Apres-Ski”, “Chairlift Cheers” and “Sierra Cement” really take the cake when it comes to winter scents. The “Parking Lot” candle made of teakwood and leather mittens “smells like it’s legal in California” and the “Sierra Cement” smells like “I can’t shovel anymore”- which anyone who lived through the 2022/23 season in Tahoe can appreciate. The black cardamom, cinnamon, and cream Sierra Cement goes better in a candle than it does on the slopes. 

Sierra Soapbox Candles are sold at Gaia’licious, Cuppa Tahoe, Champagne & Chocolates, and Holiday Market in South Lake Tahoe or The Potlatch in Incline Village. 

http://www.sierrasoapboxcandleco.com 

“Tahoe Blue” Soap from Lather & Fizz

In business for more than 20 years, walking into a Lather & Fizz store in Tahoe City or Palisades Tahoe is an aromachologist’s dream. Bath and shower soaps, hand creams, body butters, and more fill the air. Colorful displays and one-of-a-kind bath collections make this a sought-out place for souvenirs and holiday gifts. 

The P.S. I Love You soaps and Fresh Roses hydrating toner mist are romantic and relaxing scents, perfectly complementing a special occasion or at-home spa day. The After Workout collection with its green glycerin soap or Skin Souffle with lemongrass, peppermint, and rosemary is a nice gift for men, adequately sluffing off the sweat and stink, leaving your loved ones smelling fresh and sparkling clean. The shower gel even has crushed walnuts for a gentle exfoliation. The Claytime Complexion Soap is also a great gift for teenagers. 

Lather & Fizz’s signature Tahoe Blue soap is likely the most popular- and most stolen/kept soap from the local hotels that have it- body cleansing product that it sells. The blue glycerin is as clear as the lake itself, yet smells of wild gardenias, tangerine, and wild berries fragrance oils. 

Most scents come in shower vapors, massage bars, and bath bombs as well, and Lather & Fizz sells a variety of bath and body products in gift sets to match any occasion. 

https://latherandfizz.com/

“Tahoe Sugar Pine” and “Ponderosa Pine” Candles by SnowxFlower@Etsy

Artist, illustrator, and South Lake Tahoe resident Christina Hale is a DIY’er who works at Gaia’licious part-time and came out with her own line of candles and bath bombs. The “Tahoe Sugar Pine” candle smells uncannily like the actual tree while the “Ponderosa Pine” is sweet and earthy, with hints of butterscotch, sage, and pine. 

“I always put my nose in the bark of ponderosa trees and tried to figure out how to recreate it,” Hale smiles. Her candles are made in hand sanded jars with etchings of Lake Tahoe in them, filled with different scented soy and beeswax, and topped with fun little Tahoe-esque trinkets. The candle burns down into the Lake Tahoe etching, giving the room the candle is in an illuminating glow. 

Hale also sometimes makes bath bombs with coconut oil, sodium bicarbonate, and pure essential oils, either lavender, eucalyptus, or peppermint. “Peppermint is my favorite, the smell of winter,” she says. 

https://www.gaialicious.com/