Lake Tahoe, CA/NV

Hey World! It has been quite a while since I have shared my travel adventures. COVID-19 has changed so much about the world and has had a major impact on how and where we can travel. With so many travel restrictions and U.S. citizens banned from visiting many countries, my options were limited for planning a summer trip. U.S. state parks have seen a major influx in visitors and through my research, I determined Lake Tahoe could be a fabulous place to explore. With our masks and hand sanitizer in tow, my husband and I made our way to the west coast for a quick getaway.

We flew into Sacramento, CA and drove about two hours to Lake Tahoe. We stayed at The Landing which is located in South Tahoe right on the beach. We were greeted with glasses of champagne and our room had a fireplace which would have been awesome for a winter trip. The hotel also offered a shuttle which was clutch as many places in town had limited parking availability. I would highly recommend staying here if you have the chance!

Our first full day was spent exploring South Lake Tahoe. We drove about 30 minutes to Emerald Bay State Park. The drive over was absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend getting an early start as parking fills up pretty quickly. We did a short hike which I believe was on Vikingsholm trail and saw incredible views along the way. Afterwards we were starving and had brunch at Heidi’s Pancakes. The wait was super long, but I believe this was due to limited outdoor seating because of Covid. If you go, be sure to try the strawberry pancakes and a breakfast skillet! After brunch we spent some time lounging on the beach by our hotel and watching the Rick Ross vs. 2 Chainz #Verzuz battle (Team Rick Ross - 305 all day!). For dinner, we ate at Riva Grill, a restaurant on the lake which I highly recommend - be sure to make a reservation!

The next day we made our way up to Nevada - the North Lake area. Before hitting the road though we grabbed coffee and breakfast sandwiches from Black Cabin Coffee. The drive up to North Lake took about an hour and the parking situation was not great! I had big plans to rent a clear kayak from Wild Society rentals but they were sold out :( I was a little bummed about this but we made our way to Secret Cove. As I said parking was scarce, and we ended up parking on the side of the road and trekking through the woods to get to Secret Cove. But OMG it was sooo beautiful. We went swimming in the lake and the water was so clear and pristine!

After the hike back up we grabbed some lunch and went to Sand Harbour. My kayak dreams were fulfilled as we kayaked through large rocks and sparkling water. Drained for the day we made our way back to Sacramento for our flight the next morning.

I hope you find this blog helpful for planning a quick trip to Tahoe! My hope is that I can go back again someday with my family. Until next time, stay safe! We will get through this and be able to continue exploring the world someday soon. Xoxo