Lake Tahoe, CA

Lake Tahoe is the place, where every outdoor enthusiast can find tons of attractions, adventures, and things to do.
​There are endless hiking trails, miles of biking paths, and the skiing season lasts from November till summer!

Lake Tahoe is the biggest mountain lake in North America. What does that mean? That means, you can sail, ride a motorboat or jet ski, swim, or just relax on many beaches with your cold beverage.

The lake lies on the border of California and Nevada, so there are plenty of casinos to monetize your luck or lose your mortgage! State Line City is right on the border with many hotels and casinos, so you might start your dreams there.

It'll take you less than four hours to drive from the San Francisco Bay area to totally different scenery, to Lake Tahoe. We went there at the end of May. In was around 60F in SF, while we were driving near Sacramento the temperature jumped to over 80F, but Lake Tahoe welcomed us with a great breeze, snow covered peaks, at 40F. A totally different world in such a short time drive.

Our main plan was to see the beautiful lake, hike some trails, ski, and also drive around. We went there on Memorial Day weekend. Many people from the Bay Area chose Lake Tahoe as their getaway as well. Many hotels were already fully booked, only a handful low-end motels, and a few super expensive hotels had some available rooms. We didn't like any of them, so we decided to stay in Carson City NV.

That was a good choice. Only a 20-30 minute drive from the lake, and prices are much cheaper. Did you know, that Carson City is the capital of Nevada? Not Las Vegas, or Reno! We were surprised too!
From Carson City you can get to Reno, Virginia City, or many other fun destinations in a short time.

The Lake Tahoe region has many hiking tails, from an hour long to multi day hikes. We chose to hike Mt. Tallac (9,739 ft.). Not because it's one of the highest, but because the views along the hike are the best, and that peak doesn't require a technical ascent. You need a hiking permit for this peak. For a day hike you can obtain the permit at the trailhead, and it's free. For a multi-day hike you have to apply in advance.

The trailhead is near South Lake Tahoe, and it's at an elevation of around 6500 ft. The hike was't difficult, but definitely strenuous, a 9 mile round trip and over a 3,000 elevation gain. It was good, that we checked the trail conditions before we started our hike. The snow line was around an altitude of 8,000 feet, so crampons were very helpful.

If you are not familiar with the trail, and you are hiking in the winter/spring season, make sure to have a GPS with an accurate trail map. Don't assume, that once you follow the human footprints you'll reach the summit. There are many trails, and people like to walk around, not necessarily going to the top. The weather can change in the mountains within minutes, from sunny to foggy and cloudy. Wandering around in those conditions is not fun and definitely not safe!

I took us over four hours to reach the summit of Tallac. It was a fantastic climb with great views, because most of the hike was above a timberline. We loved that! On the east coast, only a few hikes are above the tree lines, the rest are in a deep forest. In comparison to the West Coast where you climb above the timberline pretty often. Make sure you have a hat, and a sunscreen with you. At that elevation, the sun is strong and there is no shade.

We spent an hour at the top, resting and loading up on the calories. I think Polish food is so tasty, that even a local Marmot shows up for the feast.

Going down was much easier than hiking up. It was super easy with the crampons, and we reached 8,000 feet elevation in almost no time. Where there was no more snow.

After another hour we got back to the trailhead. We jumped into our car, and drove to find something good to eat. We were thirsty and hungry, so Macduff's pub in South Lake Tahoe sounded like a good idea. They have big, oversized burgers and a huge selection of craft beers. That's what hikers need, after a long day hike.

We would recommend another hike, to the highest peak in the Lake Tahoe Area, Mt. Rose (10,776 ft ). It has a magnificent view on the lake and an entire surrounding area, including desert and the city of Reno, from the top.

The road to the trailhead is also great, and it's at an elevation of 8911 ft. From there you "only" have 2100 feet to climb to the top. We didn't climb this peak. We walked on that trail a day before our big hike to Mt. Tallac. That was our acclimatization and warm up.

If you have a few hours to spare, go and visit Virginia City. It's a one hour drive from Lake Tahoe. It's a very historic city. It was founded during the Gold Rush and in a few days the population increased from a few people to 25K. Virginia City was called the richest city in the US, around 1873. Unfortunately, the mines began to play out, and the population shrunk to 11000, and later even more. The city is still a very popular tourist destination. There are a few museums, and one street with saloons and small craft shops. We went to the Red Dog Saloon, it's probably the oldest saloon in this city. We chatted with local people wondering who was the bigger tourist attraction, us for them or them for us.

There are many options for dinning around Lake Tahoe, from a budget to an expensive fine restaurants. One we would recommend, especially for the sunset, is called Boathouse on the Pier. It's right on the lake shore with a balcony on the second floor. Try to be there earlier to grab a table outside. Amazing views...!

As I mentioned before, Lake Tahoe is a paradise for skiers. There are many resorts with a great vertical, a new lift system, and an awesome amount of powder. We were there on Memorial Day weekend, and Squaw Valley was the only resort still open.

We were lucky with the weather. It was a beautiful, sunny day, warm temperature (60F), decent amount of snow, live music, cold beer.... What else do you need for a spring skiing!?

That was our last day in these gorgeous mountains. We had a great time, a fantastic hike, and spring skiing. We visited some old towns, drove high alpine roads, and admired the great view of Lake Tahoe. We highly recommend this area to anyone who loves the American great outdoors!

After a two hour drive we reached Sacramento, where "nice", hot weather welcomed us.