Lake Tahoe general vacation advice please?

[Adam Holbrook]

I’d like to take a trip to Lake Tahoe.  It would be more of a general vacation type trip not a backpacking specific trip. It’s a bit overwhelming trying to decide where to begin as I’ve never been to the area.  Is there anyone who lives near or who has been before who might be willing to offer suggestions or feedback based on their experience?

My first time out I’d like to take a drive around the lake, check out the local trails, beaches and restaurants.  I also like to road bike, but I’m not sure how congested the roads are there, so I may not be biking at least not the first time, but if you like to bike I’m all ears.  Should I stay on the north or south?  I’ll most likely be flying into Reno from Cincinnati, Columbus or Dayton Ohio and driving to the lake.

Thank you

Adam

[Jerry Adams]

I’ve been to South Tahoe several times with relatives, didn’t really do a lot of hiking.

Camp Richardson campground is okay.  I assume you have tent?  Same with Emerald Bay state park.  Sort of civilized.  Better get reservations.

Take highway 50 west, hike on PCT, Sierra granite

Heavenly ski resort, take gondola up, nice views, hike around in sierra granite

You got to go to South Tahoe casino at least once.  I’m not really into gambling or anything, but it’s a unique experience.  I saw one half of the Righteous Brothers for the cost of two expensive drinks.

We biked to Fallen Leaf lake but we were not bikers.  Maybe when you drive around the lake, check out where you’d want to bike the next day.

[Adam Holbrook]

Thank you Jerry. For this trip I’ll most likely be renting a house, room or cabin etc. this won’t be a camping trip just a get away and a general exposure type trip to see if it would be a place I’d like to explore further on future trips.  I’d be open to camping and hiking on future trips if it turned out to be a good backpacking destination, but from what I’ve seen so far it’s more of a dayhike kind of place. I did notice there is a long loop around 175 miles if I recall. That might be worth checking into for a future trip.

 

Thank you. Hope that helps if anyone else has experience please let me know.  I’d probably have to visit at a time when the kids are out of school on a break.  I don’t think we’ll take them along on the first trip anyway.  Maybe we will

 

 

[Jerry Adams]

There are lots of kids there.  Also lots of adult activities.  The north end of the lake has less development if you’re into that.  I think the backpacking would be pretty good there, based on the limited day hiking I’ve done, although probably better south.

[Ryan “Rudy” Oury]

Adam,

I lived in San Francisco area for 3 years and my little sister has lived in Tahoe for ~10 so I’ve got a little experience that may be worth sharing. I’ve spent probably 20 days on the North end, and only driven the entire loop around the lake once to experience the South end. As Jerry said, the North side is much less developed then the South, I think mostly because the North is steeper terrain in general, while the South has a much larger flat section near the lake. The south side feels like a small city w/ large casinos and hotels, so if that’s your thing, head there. If you want smaller, quaint and cute stick to the North side. The long east and west sides mostly have little pockets of development, and day activity kinds of things.

Lake Tahoe is very bike friendly in general. I believe there is a paved trail that goes most (if not all?) the way around the lake. I know for certain it covers ~20 mi in the North area. The full trip around the lake is 75mi I believe, but can take 2+ hr to drive since a lot of the road is windy and slow (but has great views). There is PLENTY of hiking all around. I’ve personally hiked in the Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area just North of Dollar Point on the North side, on the PCT from Donner Pass to Tinker Knob as a quick overnight and in Northstar Ski Resort. All are beautiful areas! Also good to know, there is a public transportation system called TART (Tahoe Area REg Transit) that I believe is FREE and has buses going both directions around the lake. So its actually pretty easy to get yourself around once there, if you plan on staying close to the lake.

As for the “175 mi loop” around, I believe you’re referring to the Tahoe Rim Trail. It is a great trail that follows the PCT for portions on the West side of the lake. The lake is at ~6400′ and there are substantial mountains on all sides, so it is a fairly challenging trail. I’m planning to do this hopefully in about a year when I turn 40. But it would be a mistake to say the area is “only dahiking”. You could make as long or short a trip as you want since most of the day hikes would get you into Natl Forest, or even Wilderness area that you could then go as far as you want. There is a fair bit of water on the west side so you’re not limited to caching water. I believe the East & Northeast specifically are much dryer.

You mentioned beaches as well. There are some public beaches though I don’t know exactly where. The neighborhood my sister lives in has a private beach so that’s the only one I’ve been to. The water is generally COLD though… don’t think its like going to FL or SoCal :) I’ll second Emerald Bay as a beautiful area w/ some nice hiking. It’ll be crowded though.

Hope this helps!

[Adam Holbrook]

Excellent information.  I sure appreciate you guys taking the time to reply.  That’s great to know that there is a possibility of linking up destinations/ points of interest etc into a longer hike if desired.   I’m not sure on this first hike if I’d be doing an overnighter.  I’m for sure interested in coming back for a hiking trip of ~ a week long.

Ryan – Do you know of a good trail guide for the area I could get to start looking at?  I had only quickly looked at Tahoe visitor information type sites so far, so they were understandably more geared toward day hikes/ points of interest.

 

[Bret G]

Having grown up in Carson City and also last year doing the Tahoe Rim Trail.  There is a lot to do in and around Tahoe. If you like road bikes the area has great rides. It is where Greg Lemond trained. Mountain biking has tons of trails both at the many ski resorts as well as around. In general the Nevada side is steeper and drier. The California side has more water.

Desolation wilderness has amazing dayhikes as well as backpacking if you can get a permit. Don’t know if this helps.

[Ryan “Rudy” Oury]

Happy to help adam! The only “trail guide” I have any experience w/ for the area is the NatGeo Trails Illustrated map. #803 is the Lake Tahoe Basin and encompasses ~10+/- mi in all directions around the entire lake. This would give you a good start on what trails are around. It covers the entirety of the Tahoe Rim Trail too, and ~30-40mi of the PCT through the area.

I have the actual map I’d lend you if you want. Shouldn’t cost more than $1 to ship. I won’t be needing it anytime soon since I got the GAIA App and signed up for Premium so get all the NatGeo maps on my phone now :)

[Adam Holbrook]

Thank you Bret and Ryan. I’m going to order a few maps off Amazon and maybe look for a good guide book too for trip planning.

Bret, How was the rim trail? Worth doing?  How long did you allow for and can you re supply in towns along the way?

While researching I also found out there is a supported road bike ride in June (I think) around the lake. That would be cool, but I’m not sure if I want to pack and fly a bike to participate in it, and It would be a long drive in a car from the Cincinnati area.

Would be cool to venture out from here as the area has so much to offer within a reasonable drive. Just depends on how much time I have. I imagine theyll be way more to do than I’ll be able to squeeze in in half a dozen trips there.

 

 

[Bruce Tolley]

+ 1 to Northshore

+1 to Trails Illustrated maps for planning.  I have one caveat.  If you expect to be using Forest Service roads to access trailheads, the USFS maps available at the Ranger Stations actually have the roads on the maps with the road numbers that match the numbers on the little tiny signs that the USFS puts at the junctions

+1 to Emerald Bay

 

[Adam Holbrook]

Thank you Bruce for the recommendations/ and suggestions.

What is it like there in the Winter?  I’m guessing with the ski resorts near the roads are open for the most part? I don’t ski, but I’m sure it’s just as pretty in the Winter, maybe less crowded?  Who knows could be more so?

[Bruce Tolley]

Tahoe is a great destination for downhill skiing and OK for cross country skiing, esp around Mount Rose (the USFS recreation area not the Mt Rose Ski Resort) and Spooner Lake on the Nevada side.

One more thing about summer. I hear that the Northstar Resort has a fly fishing clinic.

[Ryan “Rudy” Oury]

Def less crowded in the winter, but certainly not deserted. There are tons of ski areas so they do draw a crowd. But nothing like summer. Road closures depend on the year and the snow. I think 3-4 years ago they set a record low snow fall (something like 15% of average) but last 2 years have had great snow. Generally, roads get opened up pretty quickly around town. I-80 is more likely to get closed due to a major accident when the coastal folk try to drive around in snow in their rock hard summer tires :) my little sister travels to and from Reno almost daily and rarely gets caught by a closure.

since fly fishing has come up, I will comment that it’s nothing to write home about. The Truckee river is fishable, but hardly worth it other than to simply be on the water and wet a line. The most pleasant and worthwhile fishing would likely be in some of the higher elev lakes on the West (wetter) side. There is better spinner fishing in Lake Tahoe or a bunch of the reservoirs in the area.

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