Part 2 of our Californian Road trip which was days 2-5 in Lake Tahoe

San Francisco to Lake Tahoe

After a long day driving from San Francisco and visiting Sacramento we arrived at Lake Tahoe at about 5pm. Most of the drive from Sacramento took us through forests and you could see the remains from previous forest fires in the area.

We did a quick supermarket shop and headed to our house for the next 4 nights which was a ski cabin in the hills overlooking the Lake. The views from the balconies were beautiful and we were treated to a stunning sunset.

^{Izzy admiring the view from our AirBnb}

^{Sunset across Lake Tahoe}

Zephyr Cove and Eagle Falls Trail

The following morning we got up really early as had wanted to visit Sand Harbour for the day and maybe go paddle boarding. We arrived at about 8.30am and the carpark was closed as it was already full! We had no other plans so decided to drive back down the lake and see if we could find somewhere else to visit.

Zephyr Cove

We eventually reached Zephyr Cove which had a massive car park with spaces although it didn’t look as nice as Sand Harbour. We were worried everywhere else would be filling up so thought it would be wise to park rather than look else where. There was a kayak and rental shop but it hadn’t opened so we went for a walk along the beach and played on the rocks. When you take photos of the lake with the rocks it really looks like all the Instagram posts that you see.

^{Rocks at Zephyr Cove}

After a while we headed back to the car, ate most of our lunch and then went to the rental shop. Tom and Izzy opted for SUP boards whilst Stu and I thought we’d be more suited to kayaks.

^{Playing on Lake Tahoe}

It was good fun but after 45 minutes we’d had enough and as we were renting by the hour decided to take them back so that we could hire them again another day. We got changed and researched easy hiking trails at Lake Tahoe and found the Eagle Falls trail which wasn’t too far away (30 minutes). We set off but started to realise parking may be difficult as every single car park and look out point around the Lake was full.

Eagle Falls Trail

We arrived at the trail car park and there were no spaces at all. We decided that we may as well wait and luckily within 5 minutes someone left and we were able to get their space (Stu and I were seriously starting to dislike the parking situation at Lake Tahoe)

^{Setting off on the Eagle Falls Trail}

It was only about 10 minutes of uphill hiking and we reached the view point looking over Lake Tahoe. The scenery was impressive with huge rocky mountains covered in trees.

We then found a bridge and river that had a log in it which occupied Tom and Izzy for ages! Although the water was freezing as it was coming straight off the mountains. By this point it was coming up to 3pm and we were very tired so headed back home for the evening where Tom and Izzy played in the pool.

^{Hours of fun can be had in rivers – although the water was freezing!}

Heavenly Gondolas and Emerald Bay

Heavenly Gondolas

It was another early start as I had booked us onto the first gondolas of the day. The weather wasn’t great and we were warned that there may be a storm in the afternoon which would result in the gondola having to stop running temporarily.

^{Heading up on the cable cars.}

On the way up there was a stop off point where we could take some photos and hike along a short trail. We were told that you had to get out on the way up as the gondola didn’t stop on the way back down.

We took some photos and luckily we had taken our hoodies as it was quite cold up the mountain!

^{Views over Lake Tahoe from the first stop.}

We decided to follow the short hiking trail which took us to a rocky mount that we could climb up before returning to the cable car to continue up to the ski resort.

^{9,200 feet above sea level}

The ski resort was very quiet but we were probably one of the first groups to arrive. There was a luge ride (which we had bought Tom and Izzy tickets for), chairlifts to go further up the mountain and a restaurant area.

^{Entering the ski resort from the top gondola station}

We decided to go on the chairlifts first (incase the weather changed). They just took us a bit higher up the mountain. There were some hiking routes but we opted to just have a short wander and head back down. It was quite stony and sandy and not much to see. Izzy and I decided to sprint the short hill to the chairlift station – we both felt really dizzy afterwards due to the altitude!

Back at the ski resort Tom and Izzy did their luge ride which was good fun and then we headed back down on the gondolas to the town. There was a hiking trail zig zagging its way up the mountain under the gondolas so we watched people climbing up the mountain below us as we rode down.

Emerald Bay

The sun finally decided to make an appearance so after a quick stop at Cold Stone for ice cream we drove over to Emerald Bay which is a small beach at South Lake Tahoe. As we expected the car park was full but we were able to queue up and wait for a space. We waited about 45 minutes and eventually the car park attendant let us in.

The beach was a downhill 20 minute walk which was fine but we were fully aware we had to climb back up the hill to get back to the car park.

^{Views of Emerald Bay from the carpark – we had to hike down a path to reach the beach}

It was quite a small beach but because of the hike to reach it, it was really quiet. The water was crystal clear and very blue. We didn’t want to get changed and go swimming so we just paddled and Izzy decided to see how far out she could go without getting her clothes wet.

^{Playing in the Lake at Emerald Bay}

We didn’t want to stay too late as we were aware we had the massive hike back up to the car – which turned out not to be too bad!

Sand Harbour

After our disaster 2 days ago we were leaving nothing to chance and got up ridiculously early so that we could reach Sand Harbour by 7.30am. Luckily we were able to get a parking space but it wasn’t long after we arrived that the car park was full again.

It was too early to rent kayaks so we played on the rocks and did some photography. We had read that it was supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches at Lake Tahoe and it really was absolutely stunning.

^{Sand Harbour at 7.30am}

When the rental shop opened we rented SUP boards for Tom & Izzy and Kayaks for me & Stu. We set off along the lake and it was so beautiful. The water was so clear you could see all the boulders lying underneath you at the bottom of the lake. There were also loads of little coves you could stop at and boulders to climb on. This was definitely our highlight of Lake Tahoe.

After a couple of hours we were feeling the affects of the sun so thought it would be sensible to get off the water. we returned to the car and ate some lunch then went to the ‘beach area’ and set up under a tree so that we had some shade. There were loads of chipmunks running around (probably because everyone had picnics).

We played in the water for a bit but despite it being so hot the water was freezing. After a while we called it a day and headed home to chill as the next day we were off to Yosemite!