Take a tour of Lake Tahoe with Bella Andre, Jennifer Skully and the Maverick Billionaires!
Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America, is one of the most gorgeous places on earth, with aqua-blue water and snow-laden mountains surrounding it. Even in the summer, you’ll find snow on the mountain peaks.
Photo: Aerial View of Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe
Of course the area has both winter and summer recreation. The ski resorts are fabulous, from Heavenly to Kirkwood, Squaw Valley, Northstar, Diamond Peak, and many more. In the summer months, there’s water sports, hiking trails, bike paths, steamboat trips, and of course, a drive around the lake. Which is what we’ll be doing on our tour of Lake Tahoe. For the more adventurous, you can bike around the lake.
Photo: Heavenly Ski Resort
Depending on how many stops you make, driving around Lake Tahoe—a trip of more than 70 miles—can take anywhere from three hours to the whole day. The more stops, the more there is to enjoy!
Let’s start our tour with the town of South Lake Tahoe, which sits on the border of California and Nevada. At Stateline, you’ve got several casinos to choose from on the Nevada side if you like gambling and fine dining. A nice attraction on the California side is the Heavenly Gondola, which you can board right in the middle of town. And it’s not just for skiers. At the top, you’ll find gorgeous panoramic views of the lake and the mountains. There’s also shopping and dining in town, plus Van Sickle Park. From there you can hike all the way up to Heavenly and the Tahoe Rim Trail, a spectacular 165-mile trail all through the mountains around Tahoe.
Photo: Tahoe Rim Trail
On our tour, we’re going out to Highway 89 and around the lake counterclockwise. There’s so much to see, so we’ll just cover the highlights. As we drive through Camp Richardson, we’ll find summer cottages and cabins to rent, horseback riding, biking, and a fabulous ice cream parlor. Next up is Tallac Historic Site, which was originally the summer retreat of several prominent San Francisco families. And on the left, there’s Fallen Leaf Lake, which you’ll get to know intimately in Wild in Love. From Fallen Leaf Lake, the adventurous hiker can take a walk up to Grass Lake, where Daniel and Tasha have their lovely picnic on a gorgeous day. And share a passionate kiss by the lakeshore.
Photo: Sunrise at Fallen Leaf Lake
We’ll find a fabulous view as we continue along the ridge to Emerald Bay. Be sure to stop at one or more of the many lookouts, but don’t miss Inspiration Point. Get the camera out!
The little island in the middle of Emerald Bay is Fannette Island. And we can also see Vikingsholm down on the shore. From the parking area above, it’s a mile’s walk down to the 38-room Scandinavian Revival mansion, which was built in the late 1920s. A very cool place to visit, but just remember, what goes down must walk back up! Point of interest: The lady who built Vikingsholm also had a teahouse constructed on Fannette Island, where she used to take her guests for high tea.
Photo: View of Fannette Island from Vikingsholm Castle
In the same area, we can see the roaring Lower Eagle Falls right at the side of the road. On the other side of the highway, we can also hike up to Eagle Falls. There are trails with gorgeous views all along Highway 89, which is also known as Emerald Bay Road.
Driving on, we come to D.L. Bliss State Park, where we’ll find some great hiking trails along the cliffs above the lake, in addition to Rubicon Point Lighthouse. Farther on, we come to Sugar Pine Point State Park, which gives us some marvelous inland trails.
Once we reach Tahoe City, we leave Highway 89 and turn onto Highway 28 to continue around the lake. Incidentally, if we were to keep going on Highway 89, we’d come to Truckee and the Donner Memorial State Park, which preserves the camp of the doomed Donner Party.
Photo: Walking bridge over the Truckee River
Having made that turn, we’re now in North Shore. So stop in Kings Beach, a little beach town with old-fashioned hotels, fun shops, and a great place for a late lunch after all the hiking on the way here. We definitely don’t want to miss Incline Village, which is right on Crystal Bay. On the Nevada side, there’s gaming, but we’ll also find golfing, spa retreats, shops, dining, skiing at Diamond Peak, and lovely beaches.
Photo: Kings Beach
Continuing on, our next stop has to be Bonsai Rock, where we find several small trees growing out of a big rock in the water. Doesn’t sound like much? Then check out some sunset pictures from this spot and see how absolutely amazing it is.
Now we’ve reached the junction with Highway 50, and a must-see along here is Logan Shoals Vista Point, with its fabulous views. Another camera alert! More stops along the way are Cave Rock in Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park and Zephyr Cove.
And then we roll back into South Lake Tahoe just in time for dinner and dancing at one of the casinos!