My grandparents' vacation cabin in Lake Tahoe is the stuff of legend. In the '90s, when my parents were just friends, my dad "accidentally" invited himself on a ski trip with my mom and her parents.

Klaussen Cabin built the cozy, 850-square-foot mid-century modern home in a quieter time — before the 1960 Winter Olympics came to town and put the Lake Tahoe ski area on the map. The cabin, ...