Ski Touring in South Lake Tahoe end of March

How far from South Lake Tahoe would one have to drive to take advantage of the sweet looking skiing off of HWY 395?

AsTobyT stated most of the touring along highway 395 starts around Bridgeport and extends south to Whitney Portal.  If you do decide to travel along 395, stop by Mammoth Mountaineering for all the latest information on conditions. 

A couple of options around SLT are Luther Pass, Carson Pass has options from the north and south side snow parks(buy a pass for $25.)  Also easy access across from Mt. Rose.

As mentioned Kirkwood has backcountry access gates and some incredible terrain. 

I think its about 3 hours from Truckee to Bridgeport. Maybe a touch less.

Its worth it. Winter access options include Der Matterhorn, Mount Walt and a bunch of stuff off of Twin Lakes road near Bridgeport CA. They have plenty of hot springs there too. Check out the crest of the Sierras as seen from Bridgeport (top of the thread):

www.thebackcountry.net/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1800

Lee Vining canyon is about :30 south of Bridgeport and has some huge descents -maybe 6k from the Dana Plateau to the road at the bottom of the Canyon? Its a nice long ski, with some steep terrain if you're looking for that. The bottom half of the routes that come off the plateau are viable in winter conditions with decent stability.

Continuing southward, you can visit June Lakes and ski Carson Peak, Mt Wood and Devil's Slide all off of the June Lakes loop highway, which may be open by then. Mt Wood is about a 5k descent with views of Mono Lake.

Then a little further south is Mammoth, which is ridiculous for the number of options it presents. Most of the peaks just outside the town (Sherwins, Punta Bardini, Mammoth Crest, etc..) are all options in the winter and the variety is pretty impressive. There are also options adjacent to the canyons just S of town on US395 (Rock Creek Canyon & Convict Lake for example).

Like Zap said, Mammoth Mountaineering and The Backcountry in Truckee will help you out.

If you can't drive the 3-4 hours from Tahoe to Bishop, there is fantastic touring around Lake Tahoe. Its been mentioned before, but the The Backcountry is a great shop in Truckee - another good resource is Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City.
Great South Lake Destinations:
Hall of the Gods Couloir
Hidden Couloir (L and R)
Cross Couloir on Mt Tallac
Emerald Bay - numerous chutes, couloirs, and shots
Jakes
Carson Pass

There are a couple of great guidebooks for the area - thebackcountry.net even has an online guidebook.

I also have a lot of trip reports on my website from my last two winter's living on the West Shore - feel free to shoot me an email or pm with questions.

Cheers
Chris