Lake Tahoe

July 2020

Summertime in Lake Tahoe is like no other! As both a ski & summer vacation destination, Lake Tahoe does not disappoint. The lake is unbelievably BLUE & crystal clear! And the surrounding mountains are full of adventure & tranquility. We spent a week here and it was not enough! Both North & South Lake Tahoe are full of beaches, hiking opportunities, water sports and more. North Lake Tahoe is known to have a more laid back, family-friendly vibe whereas South Lake Tahoe is home to downtown shopping centers & casinos. We found South Lake Tahoe to be home to more points of interest to us and chose this as our primary destination but made a few trips up to the north side as well.

Check out our other pages for our FULL itinerary & highlight video!

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South Lake Tahoe, California

Best Eats

Riva Grill

• Riva Grill on the Lake

• Boathouse on the Lake

• Baked Bear: monstrously delicious ice cream sandwiches (warning: lines can be very long!)

• Azul Latin Kitchen

• The Red Hut Cafe

• South Lake Brewing Company

• Beacon Bar & Grill

• Sprouts Cafe

• Basecamp Pizza Co

• Freshies

• Picnic lunches: of note, we did a lot of grocery shopping at Costco in Carson City when we first got there. We packed picnic lunches most days to eat

Must do, Must see

- Hiking:

• Cave Rock: about 15 minutes, 0.8 miles, easy difficulty level, 137ft elevation change, out & back, best at sunset

• Mount Tallac: 6-8 hrs, 10.2 miles, hard difficulty level, 3290ft elevation change, out & back. This hike has it all - forest, cliffs, wildflowers, etc! Treat yourself for a dip at Cathedral Lake on your way down!

• Rubicon trail: 2-4 hrs, 4.3 miles, moderate, 1020 ft elevation change, one way. We hiked from Vikingsholm “castle” (start) to Calawee Cove (finish). Most of it was along the coast and was beautiful! Moderate incline towards the end.

• Eagle Falls trail: 1.8 miles, moderate, 433ft elevation change, out & back to Eagle Falls Lake. This location was a dream! The water was crystal clear and super refreshing to swim in after the hike there. Be sure to start the hike before 9 AM, as it gets very busy in the late morning and afternoon.

• Cascade falls trail: 1.4 miles, moderate, 255ft elevation change, out & back

- Heavenly Gondola:

• Get to the base of the mountain EARLY to buy your tickets for the day! We ended up waiting for 30-45 minutes to get tickets & get on the gondola.

• Mountain coaster: buy your tickets at the base of the mountain, this was such a cool experience!

• Hike Tamarack Trail: 1.5 miles, moderate difficulty level, 500ft elevation change, out & back

• Ropes course

• Rock wall

- Bike Rentals: South Lake Tahoe biking trail, 11 mile loop trail, moderate difficulty level, 305ft elevation change

- Horseback Riding

- Jetski Rentals: we reserved a 1 hour rental at Timber Cove Marina

- Beaches:

• Calawee Cove

• Emerald Bay

• Zephyr Cove: sand volleyball, kayak/SUP rentals, boat/jetski rentals

• Pope Beach

• Lakeside Beach

• El Dorado Beach

- Boat Rentals: There are a ton of places to rent boats from and lots of different types of boats to rent. We opted for a pontoon boat with a tube from Zephyr Cove. This was great for our group to tube, eat, drink, and enjoy the lake. We drove over to Emerald Bay and dropped anchor for lunch and ended up swimming there for much of the afternoon.

- Clear Kayaks: We rented from Tahoe Paddle Sports and took off from Cave Rock. The 1 hour time slot was perfect for us to paddle up the coast and back. We enjoyed looking at all the lake front multi-million dollar homes! I'm glad I can check it off the bucket list but tbh they're not all that special. The clear plastic bottoms were somewhat scratched and it was easier looking through the crystal clear water anyways!

Tips and Tricks

• We flew into Reno, rented a car, and drove to South Lake Tahoe. You can also fly into Sacramento, but the drive is a little bit longer. We stopped at In-N-Out Burger for lunch once we landed and picked up a bunch of groceries at Costco in Carson City to save costs.

• Safeway had great reusable cardboard composite coolers! They were super durable and kept our drinks & ice cool. These were perfect for drinks and lunch/snacks on the boat & the beach.

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North Lake Tahoe, California

*Since we stayed on the south side of the lake, this is not a comprehensive list. There is plenty of room to explore more here!

Best Eats

• Lone Eagle Grille

• Mofo's Pizza & Pasta

• Big Water Grille

• Chopsticks

• Austin's

• Mountain High Sandwich Co

• Koi Sushi

• Inclined Burger & Brews

• Bite American Tapas

Must do, Must see

• Sand Harbor Beach: Get there early!! They stop letting people in around 9 or 10 AM. It reopens later in the afternoon around 5 PM as well. There are boat/jet ski rentals as well as SUP/kayak rentals! This is your major instagramable beach scene! Absolutely gorgeous!!

• Truckee River Rafting: We went with Tahoe City Rafting and this offered a leisurely ride down the river in white water rafts. They put our group of 8 together in 2 rafts (I recommend bringing a rope or straps to join the rafts together). The shuttle brought us to the start and we floated down to the bottom. We brought drinks and snacks in a cooler for the ride! The rapids are at the end; very mild but did require us to detach the rafts from each other so we didn't get stuck. Things to bring: rope, bathing suits, sandals/water shoes, cooler with snacks & drinks, sunscreen, waterproof speaker, etc.

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We hope you guys have as much fun as we did in Lake Tahoe!! We will definitely be going back for more!

XOXO, Tom & Katie "The Wandering Olivers"

Lake Tahoe Itinerary

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