$86 Find Cheap Flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe departing on 5/4. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$296
Typical prices: $475-$305
Multiple Airlines
Mon 5/4Fri 5/8
ORD - RNO • 1 stop
Cheapest non-stop
$429
Typical prices: $527-$344
United Airlines
Sat 5/16Tue 5/19
ORD - RNO • Non-stop
Arrival airport
You can't fly directly to South Lake Tahoe. It is served by Reno (RNO), located 41.1 miles from South Lake Tahoe.
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Flight Deals
Useful Info
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe (CHI-RNO)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe

Mon, May 4 - Fri, May 8
Multiple Airlines Logo
8:58 pm - 11:15 am
ORD
-
RNO
16h 17m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
8:59 pm - 11:01 pm
RNO
-
ORD
24h 02m
2 stops
$296Multiple Airlines
Fri, May 1 - Wed, May 6
Multiple Airlines Logo
10:07 pm - 10:07 am
ORD
-
RNO
14h 00m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
4:35 pm - 11:01 pm
RNO
-
ORD
28h 26m
2 stops
$299Multiple Airlines
Thu, Apr 23 - Mon, Apr 27
Multiple Airlines Logo
10:07 pm - 10:07 am
ORD
-
RNO
14h 00m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
8:35 pm - 5:50 am
RNO
-
ORD
31h 15m
2 stops
$300Multiple Airlines
Tue, Apr 28 - Sat, May 2
Alaska Airlines Logo
8:50 am - 6:48 pm
ORD
-
RNO
11h 58m
1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:25 am - 7:03 pm
RNO
-
ORD
9h 38m
1 stop
$303Alaska Airlines
Fri, Apr 24 - Mon, Apr 27
Spirit Airlines Logo
10:07 pm - 10:07 am
ORD
-
RNO
14h 00m
1 stop
Spirit Airlines Logo
8:35 pm - 5:11 pm
RNO
-
ORD
18h 36m
2 stops
$308Spirit Airlines
Fri, Apr 24 - Mon, Apr 27
Multiple Airlines Logo
4:28 pm - 10:07 am
ORD
-
RNO
19h 39m
2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
8:35 pm - 6:08 am
RNO
-
ORD
7h 33m
1 stop
$311Multiple Airlines
Fri, Apr 24 - Tue, Apr 28
Spirit Airlines Logo
10:07 pm - 10:07 am
ORD
-
RNO
14h 00m
1 stop
Spirit Airlines Logo
8:35 pm - 5:11 pm
RNO
-
ORD
18h 36m
3 stops
$313Spirit Airlines
Wed, May 6 - Wed, May 13
Southwest Logo
5:35 pm - 10:30 pm
MDW
-
RNO
6h 55m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
9:50 am - 5:05 pm
RNO
-
MDW
5h 15m
1 stop
$410Southwest
Tue, May 5 - Tue, May 12
Southwest Logo
6:10 am - 12:20 pm
MDW
-
RNO
8h 10m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
1:50 pm - 9:30 pm
RNO
-
MDW
5h 40m
1 stop
$415Southwest
Wed, Jun 3 - Wed, Jun 10
Delta Logo
1:22 pm - 11:25 pm
MDW
-
RNO
12h 03m
2 stops
Delta Logo
7:00 pm - 8:37 am
RNO
-
MDW
11h 37m
2 stops
$425Delta
Useful Info

Good to know

Low seasonDecember
Cheapest flight$86
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 1% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 1% increase in price.
Flight from Chicago O'Hare Airport to Reno

When to book flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price

FAQs for booking flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe?

    When flying out of Chicago you’ll be using one of these airports: Chicago Midway or Chicago O'Hare Intl. South Lake Tahoe does not have its own airport so you’ll be flying into nearby Reno airport, which is 41.1 mi away.

  • How long does a flight from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe take?

    Direct flights cover the 1,681 miles separating Chicago and South Lake Tahoe in about 4h 26m.

  • How many flights are there between Chicago and South Lake Tahoe?

    1 direct flights run between Chicago and South Lake Tahoe on a daily basis. On average, there are about 10 departures each week.

  • What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly between Chicago and South Lake Tahoe?

    Consider leaving on a Friday and avoid Saturdays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to Chicago, you’ll find the best rates on Fridays and the most expensive ones on Sundays.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to South Lake Tahoe from Chicago is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to South Lake Tahoe with an airline and back to Chicago with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to South Lake Tahoe from Chicago up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • Which airlines provide the cheapest flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe?

    In the last 72 hours, the cheapest one-way ticket between Chicago and South Lake Tahoe found on KAYAK was with Spirit Airlines for $84. Spirit Airlines offered a round-trip connection from $166 and Alaska Airlines from $192.

Top tips for finding cheap flights from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe

  • There is no airport in South Lake Tahoe. Instead, you’ll be flying into Reno Airport when flying between Chicago and South Lake Tahoe.
  • The cheapest flight from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe was found 45 days before departure, on average.
  • Book at least 1 week before departure in order to get a below-average price.
  • High season is considered to be May, June and July. The cheapest month to fly is January.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving Chicago to South Lake Tahoe

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
SouthwestOverall score based on 4338 reviews
7.5Entertainment
8.1Boarding
7.0Food
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
Airline reviews

The Air hostess were very rude on my flight from Houston to Austin . Their regular communication itself felt a they are shouting at people.

4.0 Okaysangeetha, Apr 2026
AUS - SJC
Read more Southwest reviews

The Air hostess were very rude on my flight from Houston to Austin . Their regular communication itself felt a they are shouting at people.

I flew twice this week on Southwest, was delayed over 2 hours both ways. From Pittsburgh to Chicago it was due to weather but the gate agents, pilot etc were great at updating everyone. Today from Midway to Pittsburgh the plane had come from an international location, kept getting delayed, no information was given until we were delayed for the third time. It was ridiculous, whoever scheduled that plane to fly to Pittsburgh after didn’t consider a lot of things.

Boarding was easy. The seats are small and fairly uncomfortable

The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.

No food or entertainment, just a quick 40 minute flight. A little bumpy due to Santa Ana winds but pilot has no control over that. Good flight and landing!

Good but I prefer choose your own seat. With the new assigned seats they should board from the back I see no advantage to this new boarding. Just like every other airline

Mediocre. Boarding is now unpleasant. The employees, once friendly and nice, are now regularly speaking sternly to passengers, badgering them to do things right so they can take off on time and gate check bags because they don't have enough overhead bin space. The pretzel snack was crushed flat and broken into even smaller pieces, which happens frequently lately. Drink service was suspended before they reached my row.

The charges were ridiculous for an hour flight and the turbulence was very scary.

3 hour delay. Had to change plans and was still delayed.

The staff was very friendly, professional, and courteous. The overall flight was a great experience.

Okay considering we had weather delays which the Pilot notified us of immediately!

Generally on time departures and arrivals, clean planes, sky miles membership provides great benefits (complimentary upgrades, etc).

The boarding was organized and informative but the plane was tight meaning that you were sitting on one another and extremely uncomfortable. It’s disappointing that can’t have common seating comfort on the plane.

Everything could have benn better. Short fly, no food, no entertainment and no wifi.

my mom urmila patel needed a wheelchair which was not available on the curbside. she needed to walk almost 50 meters inside (at the risk of falling) and then had to wait in line to get a wheelchair (this is not ok). Once obtained she had to seat in it for 30-45 minutes for someone to take her in thru the checkin process (which was fairly smooth and easy). the lady who helped her with her checkin process was very courteous and helpful

Staff at the check-in counter were friendly, happy and helpful. They tagged our bags and sent us to “bag drop off” but were not very clear about where that was. The airport was busy we headed off in what we thought was the right direction until a gentleman waved us down and actually came after us. He was the baggage handler for Delta and recognized our “deer in the headlights “ look-he brought us to the right area (which was marked as the Southwest Airlines Drop Off) and sent us on our way. Wonderful guy, low key and working with a big smile on his face. Loved it. Loved him.

Arlene was a great flight attendant. I also liked how one of the other flight attendants gave us a heads up about snacks and asked everyone to remove their headphones when it was their turn to order. Good idea.

I haven’t flown economy in over 20 years but it was not bad. Room by my feet for my bag and seat was roomy enough. Surprised in a good way.

The cabin temperature was nice and cool. The wifi was not working.

As previously noted, this flight was great: departure was timely, the crew was friendly and attentive, and wifi connectivity was seamless. In particular, I appreciated that the flight attendant just told me to stow the laptop right before takeoff/landing, and trusted me to do so (which I did!).

No meal service to the back of the plane as it started late or was too slow to get it out before it was time to land.

Terrible, if possible won't be flying again anytime soon!

Efficient boarding and early departure. Very smooth flight. Early arrival in ATL. Great flight.

Smooth and easy boarding, comfortable for the entire 5 hour flight, and the seat back entertainment was great! I appreciated all the features, from location info and maps, movies, the ability to connect with Bluetooth headphones, and good selection of movies. Food was good, normal airline snacks (I didn’t purchase anything)

Awful. No counter attendants. No dinner offered due to delays.

This trip did not start off well. The inbound flight was delayed about 20 minutes. Then, after initial onboarding, the passengers had to deplane due to a mechanical problem. That took about 30 minutes to fix and be cleared. Then, reboarding was chaotic. It took a long time to sort passengers and two passengers on standby were ticketed but there was no seat. So, they had to deplane. One of the flight crew was trying to help passengers figure out a place to put their carry-on bags and that took more time. In the end, our scheduled 10:30 am departure did not actually take off until about 12:05 pm CST. The flight itself was long but we got to Houston. Some passengers missed their connecting flights and had to rebook. Not the best of flights I've had.

We were delayed for about an hour from taking off due to traffic control procedures at the destination airport. But once in the air, the flight went well. The crew members were great and provided cabin service despite moderate turbulence during much of the flight.

Short flight, but no drink/snack service. The flights both going and coming were delayed.

Not being stranded in Chicago for her airport to 11:30 tomorrow morning the 3rd

I was fully checked in the prior night and i was unchecked and then didn’t have a seat when I boarded. Instead of an aisle seat, I was out in the middle seat of the very last row of the plane.

Delays experienced in boarding/take off due to incoming plane delayed. However, the boarding time/depart time in the app was significantly delayed in providing these updates. Usually not updated until an hour after we should have already boarded. Poorly managed.

Moved to earlier flight which unexpectedly had maintenance issues initially indicated as quick fix to ultimately plane changes. Moved back to original flight, also delayed. In all cases customer updates and communication very unclear, no updates on drivers for delays.

Typical AA - late by 90+ mn. Gate changed twice... Changed the departure time 6 times No explanation, no communication on reasons for delay I travel with AA twice a year... and it is consistently very poor.. I will continue to use AA only when i have to.

The gate got changed several times and the flight was delayed over an hour. Awful experience

American continues to decline in their customer service and its beyond disappointing.

It was an older plane. First Class was not especially roomy or comfortable. It was a short flight so there were no meal but they did offer mixed nuts which used to be normal but now is rare. Crew member was very polite and professional.

Flight to Tampa was delayed taking off due to plane arriving late but no other issues

As previously stated the delay I experienced flying from Wichita to Chicago caused a host of issues. When I finally was able to be booked on the last remaining American flight from Chicago to Cincinnati, the gate changed four times with the last change occurring very near the scheduled boarding time. While I didn't have a problem moving from gate to gate, I did notice and make note of others that had mobility issues and had to move each time for the gate change.

Maintenance took a very long time and then we were in a holding pattern. While a one-off maintenance issue is standard, there were delays on both of my flights for this trip based on maintenance issues with the planes, which delayed both flights over 45 minutes. Thankfully, I didn't have any connections but it wasn't an experience that would make me pick AA if I have other options.

No Snacks or Entertainment. The flight was short, snacks should still be given.

They switched our terminal 3 times and we were delayed for four plus hours!!!

It was an early flight and most people napped/slept and the crew let us which was nice.

The crew acted like they had never done this and kept barking passive aggressive orders at people. + the security line + the delay + sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours + none of the apps or signage updating with correct times

More inflight connection. And leg space is horrible. And the paying for baggage I'd ridiculous!!!

My flight was originally from SAT to MCO connecting from MCO to ORD. We got diverted to ATL and than Frontier staff there was sooo un helpful first they said they couldn’t give us any accommodation since our flight first got delayed that cancelled and now it’s 221am and I am still in ATL since they said they need to create a new flight my final destination is ORD and I have been delayed twice and cancelled. With no real help the frontier app didn’t work no email updates over all such a horrible experience

There's no seats that lean back with little leg space i wad uncomfortable the entire flight. Your charges for extra baggage is despicable and costly!!

Remind customers of the need to have passport or new ID for boarding.

Flight was canceled. Most upsetting was message from Kayak, stating that the flight was canceled and click with Kayak for details regarding rebook, refund details. THERE'S NO INFORMATION PROVIDED BY KAYAK EXCEPT THAT FLIGHT IS CANCELED. AND NOW THIS SURVEY TO FIND OUT HOW WAS THE FLIGHT !!!!!!!

The flight never took off and we spent 7 hours at the airport

Our flight was canceled. I will never use Kayak nor Frontier for travel again. The entire experience was a headache.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Chicago to South Lake Tahoe

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