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Lake Tahoe is one of those famous pictures you see displaying one of America’s most beautiful places. And it is! Lake Tahoe is also home to the famous photos of Emerald Bay.
After Trevor and I got married, we decided to take our Honeymoon in Lake Tahoe. We had a wonderful time. We did lots of different stuff from hiking to exploring the food scene to taking a sunset cruise.
It was a vacation I won’t forget. However, if I were to go to Lake Tahoe, I would do it differently. Below I will tell you how and why.
How to get there?
Trevor and I flew there. We had a layover in Dallas and then flew in to reno. Reno is a smaller airport about 20 minutes north of North Lake Tahoe and an Hour north of South Lake Tahoe. Since Reno was smaller I couldn’t find a direct flight from Minneapolis.
Since we were flying in we also had to rent a car. Originally, I rented the cheapest car we could get. I sent my husband up to the counter once we landed to pay for it and get the keys. He came back wide smile and a dangerous look in his eye and said he upgraded to a convertible. At first this sounded fun, until we started driving top down and saw there was snow above our heads still on the ground at the end of April. Fortunately for us we had great weather all week and we were able to drive with the top down around the lake.
If you are there in the summer, rent the convertible! It was so much fun to cruise around the lake with the stunning views top down.
When to go there?
I would advise you really figure out what you want to do and check the weather, because only certain activities are open during certain season. We were not as prepared on our trip and weren’t able to do the things we planned to. When we got there and wanted to do something different, we didn’t have any clothes to do some of the other things.
Winter/Spring:
Winter Sports
Shopping
Dining
Spa
In the winter, Lake Tahoe gets a lot of snow which makes it ideal for winter sports such as skiing, snow boarding, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, and snow shoeing.
Summer/Fall:
Beaching
Swimming
Water sports
Riding Bike
Hiking
Camping
Shopping
Dining
Spa
The lake didn’t really open up for rentals until May. Hiking trails around Emerald Bay were free of most snow at the beginning of May but in deeper trails the snow won’t melt until the end of July.
My husband and I went in at the end of April. We had dreams of swimming, hiking, and paddle boarding. It wasn’t until we got there that we learned that the lake didn’t really open up until May. We also couldn’t hike and the locals told us that the snow didn’t completely melt until August. There were people still skiing. If we would have known, we would have brought warmer clothes.
Where to stay? North or South?
The north shore or the south shore is the big question we asked when looking at places to stay in Lake Tahoe. We were originally drawn to the area because of the all inclusive stay at the Ritz Carlton on the North shore. I did a bunch of research and fell in love with a small bed and breakfast on the west side of the lake, unfortunately neither option was in our budget.
My husband and I looked at lots of places and had a few requirements. We wanted to be right on the water with a beach. We wanted a fridge to keep our drinks cold. And lastly we wanted to be in close proximity to the activities we wanted to do. With that being in mind we stayed at a resort on the south shore.
We decided to stay on the south shore because the hotels seemed to be cheaper and it was more outgoing (the North Shore is known more for relaxing where as the South Shore had more shopping, rentals, and restaurants). We also chose it because it was closer to the bay where we planned to do lots of hiking.
What to do?
What you do in Lake Tahoe all depends on your hobbies and the time of year that you go.(See When to go?). No matter what there is always a handful of stuff to fill your day with.
Somethings I would suggest or that looked fun when we were there:
Sunset Cruise
The sunset cruise we went on was so much fun. We got “complimentary” beer, wine, and champagne with a bar available if you wanted to buy drink (the drinks were incredibly strong and specialty drinks were about $10 and worth it). There was also a table of appetizers out for guests to enjoy. You could sit up top and enjoy the breeze or go underneath where it was a little bit warmer.
Everyone was super fun and nice (we were probably the youngest people on the cruise). Kids were allowed to come but with all the alcohol I wouldn’t say it’s taylored for children. It went from 5pm to 7pm and cost a little under a hundred dollars per guest. We signed up the same day. We got to buy a picture of us boarding the boat which was a good memory to take back with us. The staff was incredibly nice chill. We got to take our unfinished drinks with us after the cruise and the bartender gave us an opened bottle of champagne.
Emerald Bay
The high light of everyone’s trip and a must see is Emerald Bay. It’s where all the famous photos are taken. I loved it so much and took pictures everywhere (my husband was getting slightly annoyed hehe). The drive there is beautiful and a little scary (not a fan of being in the car). There are multiple different stops along the road where you can get out and take picture. I suggest stopping at all of them because why not?
Vikingsholm
Also in Emerald Bay is a historical castle built early in the 1900’s. In the summer you can take tours of the building. Every other season you can walk on the outside of it and marvel at architecture. We learned about the history of the building and the woman who had it built it during our cruise. I especially liked being able to see the island on the lake where she went to have tea everyday at the same time.
Eagle Falls
After you are done driving from overlook to overlook and have hiked past vikingsholm, keeping hiking and make your way to Eagle Falls. When we hiked there was snow we had to climb through but if you are visiting in the summer it should be a nice hike with some stairs. Once you make it there you can look up at the falls and enjoy the breeze of the water misting over you. It’s an out and back trail.
The Gondola at Heavenly
This is something we weren’t able to do because we didn’t have any winter clothes and the top was filled with snow at the end of April which we weren’t expecting. However, all the locals suggested this was a must to do on a trip here. They said the sights are unbelievable and I imagine the ride up and down is fun too.
Mt. Tallac
This was another thing we weren’t able to do because of the weather but is on our list to complete someday. The views and the climb are something I anticipate to be amazing and incredibly rewarding.
Our favorite places we ate:
My husband and I are over the age of 21, it was our honeymoon, and we are originally from Wisconsin, so everywhere we ate had to serve alcohol. My husband is also a BIG fan of craft beer. therefore, we are always suckers for breweries. Plus, they usually have incredible food! All of the places we ate though there were kids, so don’t worry mama’s bring the little ones!
Cold Water Brewing Company
This place was great! Great beer and fruity drinks for us ladies. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was light and fun. This modern and hip brewery was one of our favorites to go to and we took home a growler as a souvenir.
Tahoe Pour house & Lake Tahoe AleworX
These two places sit in the corner and work well together. Tahoe Pourhouse is a wine pour house This means you get to pour your own glasses of wine. They give you a little card that keeps track of how much you spend and then you pay when your all done. Lake Tahoe AleworX works the same way except it is beer.
The best part about it was that they have a beautiful patio area between the two places. My husband went and got beer from Lake Tahoe AleworX and I got my wine from Tahoe Pourhouse. It was a perfect way to hang out in the afternoon and enjoy some time together. Both places also serve food. We got a wood fire stoned pizza from Lake Tahoe AleworX and it was delicious.
The Brewery at Lake Tahoe
This place was fun and my husband would rave that the pizza was the best pizza he ever had. We sat at the bar but there was a dining room for bigger parties or a family setting. We also liked this place because it was dog friendly and we got to pet a cute yellow lab.
What we will do when we go back again:
Our next trip to Lake Tahoe we will most likely stay at a campground or bed and breakfast on the west side of the lake for more privacy. We would go in August so the weather was perfect to be on the lake and to hike. We would spend our days at emerald bay, hiking Mt. Tallac, and paddle boarding in the morning on the lake. We would continue going to breweries, the ones we loved from above, and maybe check out a few new ones.
