17 Things to Do in Lake Tahoe in the Summer

what's up guys this is Josh from California through my lens column today I'm gonna show you 17 places to explore in Lake Tahoe just a quick note most of these recommendations are for the summer months and outdoors related if you're not into that you might want to skip this list also note that these stops go around the lake in a clockwise manner let's jump into it stop number one is Emerald Bay State Park no trip to Lake Tahoe is complete without visiting Emerald Bay it's one of my favorite places in the entire state of California this beautiful State Park can be seen from one of the many viewpoints or you can take the half mile trail down to the beach itself when you get there you can visit lower Eagle Falls tour the historic Vikings home or rent a kayak and head over to Fannin island I've spent many summer days here and I always love coming back do get there early on summer weekends though as the parking fills up really fast recommendation number two is Eagle Lake located across the street from the parking lot for Emerald Bay this trail is an amazing way to see another one of Tahoe's beautiful lakes on the trail you'll pass Upper Eagle Falls and then eventually reach the stunning Eagle Lake it's a great half-day hike where you can bring your lunch and just sit at the lake and enjoy the views stop number three is dl bliss State Park only about five miles from Emerald Bay dl bliss is another really popular state park there's a large campground here and the beaches themselves are right next to the parking area which makes them popular during the summer this is another area where parking fills up fast but the beaches are beautiful and well worth getting there early to enjoy there's also a short trail in the middle of the park to a balancing rock if you want to get out and stretch your legs recommendation number four is the Rubicon Trail the Rubicon Trail leaves from DL bliss and heads five miles back to Emerald Bay it's one of the most beautiful trails in California with amazing views of the lake below you pretty much the entire way do note that this trail is ten miles roundtrip unless you have two cars and can park one @dl bliss and the other at Emerald Bay making it a nice one way hike you can see a full video I made on this trail in the description recommendation number five is sugar pine State Park where the last two parks are mainly hiking and outdoor attractions this park has many historic houses including a lodge slash mansion in the middle that you can tour the lodge has been meticulously kept up and it's a lot of fun to see and to hear all of the unique history there are also a half dozen or so other buildings in the park that you can walk around in including two old boat houses lastly this is where the famous train tracks into the water photo is taken as well stop number six is the gate keepers Museum in the Tahoe dam in the town of Tahoe City this concrete dam was built in the early 1900s and it has 17 Bay's that regulate the water it's an impressive dam that you can walk around and peek into next to it is the gatekeepers museum which is a reconstruction of the old gatekeepers cabin and has a bunch of exhibits on Tahoe history that are worth checking out stop number seven is Olympic Valley from here take the short excursion over to Tahoe's Olympic value which hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics it's a fun small town with a large central area that includes shops hotels and restaurants you can also take a gondola up to the top of the mountain where they have a small museum dedicated to the Olympics and large Olympic rings it's a really popular area in the winter but it's also fun to check out in the summer as well stop number eight is the town and surrounding area of Truckee before heading back to Lake Tahoe consider going up to the town of truck this small town has a lot of great attractions like the Donner Memorial Park multiple lakes the historic Donner summit bridge and the train tunnels there are a lot of things to explore around Truckee and the downtown area features some great restaurants as well stop number nine is magic carpet golf heading back towards Tahoe Lake if you're looking for a fun stop for the whole family and then check out magic carpet golf there's one in South and North Lake Tahoe and I've been many times as I love mini golf myself this is one of the better ones I've been to as there are lots of unique attractions to interact with while you play stop number 10 is speedboat Beach speedboat Beach is a small neighborhood beach that I would recommend if you're into kayaking the beach itself is really tiny and somewhat hard to get to and parkette so it's not great for a day spent relaxing in the sand however there are a lot of unique rocks down in the water so if you have your own kayak it can be a beautiful place to explore stop number 11 is Sand Harbor San Harbor is my favorite spot in the northern part of Lake Tahoe this day park on the Nevada side is a beautiful place to explore with some nice trails a large sandy beach and some great smooth rocks for photography it's especially awesome at sunset when the Sun is lighting up the rocks and setting behind the hills across from the lake also I've been here in the winter and it's pretty crazy to see snow on the sand of the beach recommendation number 12 is cave Rock Cave Rock is the massive rock with a tunnel that you drive through on the east side of the lake this spot is a great short hike with amazing views but there are only a few parking spots so you may have to wait for one to open the area is especially perfect at sunset as the hike is pretty short and has a great high vantage point over the water and the road below you leading to some amazing photographs stop 13 is the heavenly gondola the next stop brings us into South Lake Tahoe which you could spend an entire week just exploring by itself heavenly is the main ski resort in this part of Tahoe and during the summer the gondola runs to the observation deck and the activities at the top of the mountain it's pretty pricey but just going to the observation deck provides amazing views down over Lake Tahoe at the top of the mountain there is a lodge with a restaurant bar and mini activities during the summer my favorite is the Alpine Slide as it is a lot of fun to speed down the mountain on a track like this here are a few clips my next recommendation is just to have a meal in South Lake Tahoe as there a lot of restaurants that I really love a few of my favorites are heavenly donuts at the bottom of the lift Macduff's for pizza and bread pudding free birds for acai bowls and the law for their tableside s'mores there are many other great options though and let me know what your favorite is in the comments recommendation number 15 is the talaq Historic Site the talaq historic site houses the Pope Baldwin estates which are an interesting part of Tahoes history there is a museum you can check out with information on the family a docent led house tour a blacksmith shop and a walkway that takes you past where the Hotel and Casino was if you are into history then this is a great stop recommendation 16 is Glen Alpine falls Fallen Leaf Lake is a small community up by one of the large lakes in the area it is accessed via one land road so the drive is slow going but at the south end of the lake there is an awesome waterfall known as Glen Alpine Falls I have been many times and it's always worth the effort especially in the spring when the Falls are really flowing plus there's no hike required you can pretty much just get out of your car and see the waterfall my last recommendation is cascade Falls as you can surely tell I like hiking and waterfalls so I try to find many of them during my travels the trailhead for this hike is almost all the way back to Emerald Bay and it's only 1.5 miles roundtrip the hike takes you above cascade Lake and down to the southwest side where there is a nice waterfall the waterfall itself is great but the views of the lake are what put this trail above many of the others in the area thanks so much for exploring Lake Tahoe with me hopefully you found something new that you can check out next time you're in the area if I left off one of your favorite spots leave it in the comments you can click right here if you want to subscribe to this channel and right here if you want to go to my website and see more spots all over the state of California we will see you guys next week [Music]

Channel: California Through My Lens

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Keywords: lake tahoe, things to do in lake tahoe, lake tahoe summer attractions, tahoe south, what to do in lake tahoe, lake tahoe (lake), south lake tahoe, lake tahoe california, things to do in lake tahoe south, things to do in north lake tahoe, south lake tahoe california

Id: tyXTNEkz5qk

Length: 8min 6sec (486 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 25 2018