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Travel guide
Lake Tahoe
7 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to September, January to March (skiing)
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Welcome
Lake Tahoe, in a few days
A lake 35 km long at 1,897 metres above sea level, straddling California and Nevada, 501 metres deep and so clear that from a kayak you can make out rocks several metres down. Summer is spent on its granite beaches and clifftop trails, winter on the slopes of Heavenly and Palisades Tahoe, which hosted the 1960 Olympic Games.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 1 thing
- D2 Day 2 1 thing
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- D5 Day 5 1 thing
- D6 Day 6 1 thing
- D7 Day 7 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Emerald Bay and Vikingsholm · half a dayA narrow emerald bay with Fannette Island, the lake's only island, and Vikingsholm, a 1929 Scandinavian-style mansion reached by a steep 1.6 km path from Route 89.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Becket ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€170 a night
D2
Day 2
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Rubicon Trail · 3 to 4 hTahoe's finest lakeshore trail runs 7.2 km above turquoise water from D.L. Bliss State Park to Emerald Bay, past the Rubicon Point lighthouse and granite coves for swimming.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Becket ↗€170 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Heavenly · half a day to a full daySouth Lake Tahoe's ski area straddles California and Nevada, with a gondola from Heavenly Village to an observation deck over the basin, and summer zip line and hiking.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Becket ↗€170 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Sand Harbor · half a dayA Nevada beach where rounded granite boulders rise from clear, shallow, Caribbean-coloured water, with a boardwalk, a kayak cove and an open-air Shakespeare festival in July and August.
- Late afternoon · Tahoe East Shore Trail free · 2 to 3 h round tripA gentle 4.8 km paved path for walkers and cyclists from Incline Village to Sand Harbor, high above granite coves, with steps down to small beaches.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Becket ↗€170 a night
D5
Day 5
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Tahoe City free · half a dayThe north-west shore town where the Truckee River leaves the lake, with Fanny Bridge, the Gatekeeper's Museum and lazy summer floats downriver by tube or raft.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Becket ↗€170 a night
D6
Day 6
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Palisades Tahoe · a full dayThe resort of the 1960 Winter Olympics, known for steep chutes and deep snow, with the Aerial Tram running all year to High Camp and its small Olympic museum.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Becket ↗€170 a night
D7
Day 7
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Truckee free · half a dayA Sierra railway town north of the lake, with the brick and timber facades of Commercial Row and Donner Memorial State Park, which tells the story of the Donner Party.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €220 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune to September, January to March (skiing)
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/lake-tahoe
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.