Lake Tahoe Summer Travel Guide

If you are looking for a beautiful summer getaway, look no further. Lake Tahoe is your destination! We visited over Labor Day Weekend, and it was absolutely amazing. All of the pictures you see of Lake Tahoe are incredible, but nothing compares to seeing it in person. I was in awe of all the colors and how clear the water was. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen.

Today on the blog, I am sharing a travel guide of what to do in Lake Tahoe if you are visiting during the summer months. We spent about 3 days in North Lake Tahoe, and I felt like it was the perfect amount of time. Depending on how many activities you want to do, you may need more or less time. Overall, it can easily be done in a weekend!

How to Get There

The closest airport to Lake Tahoe is Reno/Tahoe International Airport. It took us about 45 minutes to drive from the airport to our hotel in North Lake Tahoe. It was a really easy drive, especially in the summer when there is no snow or ice.

I would definitely recommend renting a car if you plan to do a lot of activities outside of your resort. We ended up driving around the entire lake, so we made good use of having a rental car. Overall, getting to Tahoe was extremely simple and involved little to no stress.

North or South Side?

The biggest question I had before booking a hotel was, “Which side of the lake should we stay on?” Lake Tahoe is huge and there are several different towns around the lake. It can be really overwhelming if you don’t know anything about this area!

The north side of the lake is going to be less crowded and less rowdy than the south side. All of the big casinos and resorts are on the south side, and it is more commercialized down there. The north side of Lake Tahoe is much quieter and has several smaller businesses and restaurants. When we were driving through the south end of the lake, I felt like we were in a bigger city with all of the typical chain restaurants. When we drove through the north end of the lake, it felt much smaller and a lot more charming. North Lake Tahoe definitely has a small town feel.

Where to Stay

We ended up staying at the Hyatt in Incline Village because we had points to use, and it checked all of our boxes. This is a great spot to stay if you are looking to stay on the north side of Lake Tahoe. This Hyatt property has several restaurants to choose from and they have their own private beach. They also have a place where you can rent kayaks, paddle boards and jet skis. The amenities were great and you could easily spend a weekend here without getting bored. It is also within walking distance to several restaurants in Incline Village.

If we didn’t stay at the Hyatt, I would have stayed somewhere near Tahoe City. There was a lot to do around that area, and there were tons of good restaurants. I don’t think there are any big resort options  near the water in Tahoe City, but I am sure there are plenty of home rentals or Airbnbs.

If you are looking for something bigger or more commercialized, I would stay on the south side. I think this area would be great if you are planning to gamble or go out at night. There are way more restaurants and businesses on the south end of the lake.

Where to Eat

There are several options when it comes to dining in Lake Tahoe, but I would say the most prevalent type of restaurant is the “bar/grill” type of establishment. There are a ton of places where you can get bar food, burgers, pizzas, etc. There are also numerous places to get ice cream if you are in need of a sweet treat!

This is a list of where we ate and drank in Lake Tahoe:

• Lone Eagle Grill
  • This restaurant is technically part of the Hyatt, and I would consider this to be one of the “fancier” establishments in North Lake Tahoe. It really isn’t that fancy, but if you are looking for a nicer or more romantic dinner, this is your place.
• Wildflower Cafe
  • This was a great find for an old-fashioned breakfast/brunch. After hiking all morning, we grabbed a late breakfast here and we loved it. It may look a little old and rundown, but they do have amazing food! I would highly recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a good, quick and cheap meal. Note: This place is cash only.
• Koi Sushi
  • This was a decent sushi option in Incline Village. We tried to go here on our first night in Lake Tahoe, but the wait was over an hour! It isn’t a big restaurant, so make sure to go early or get a reservation. We ended up going on our last night in Lake Tahoe, and I am glad we did. They had a pretty big menu filled with tons of different rolls and dishes.
• Crosby’s Tavern and Gaming
  • This was our very first meal in Lake Tahoe, and it was delicious. I would consider this to be the local dive bar of Incline Village. The interiors leave something to be desired, but the food was really good. The waffle fries were amazing!
• Clay Oven
  • Since we went to Tahoe over Labor Day Weekend, everything was extremely busy on Saturday night. We made zero plans and zero reservations, so we ended up at the only restaurant without a wait. We stumbled into Clay Oven and ordered a couple of Indian dishes. Overall, it wasn’t very good, so I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant. There was probably a reason it wasn’t very crowded.
• Tahoe City Sushi
  • This was one of my favorite meals in Lake Tahoe! We grabbed some sushi here after our sailing experience, and it was amazing. Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations for sushi in Lake Tahoe, but this place was really good. It definitely exceeded my expectations and their rolls were delicious and very creative. They also had really good saké.
• Sunnyside Restaurant
  • This was probably one of the most talked about restaurants in Lake Tahoe, so we decided to check it out for lunch one day. It was good, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here. I ordered a burger and Alex ordered the fish tacos. Both meals were pretty average overall, so I’m not sure what all the hype was about. I think the views of the lake are keeping this restaurant in business!

Where to Hike

One of the most popular things to do in Tahoe is hike. I think this is one of the most beautiful locations in the entire country, so I would recommend getting outside to explore! There are hundreds of different hikes you can do, all of different lengths and difficulty. I will list a few of the hikes we did below. All of these would be very manageable for a beginner.

• Secret Cove (2.6 mi)
  • This was one of my favorite hikes because the views at Secret Cove are incredible. The water in the cove is crystal clear and is unlike anything you have ever seen! It’s amazing. This was a quick and easy hike that anyone could do. Note: The actual beach at Secret Cove is a nude beach.
• Tunnel Creek Trail (4.7 mi)
  • This hike will definitely give you a nice workout! It is uphill most of the way, but the trail is pretty easy to follow. The views from Monkey Rock are beautiful, so make sure to stop off at that point to take some photos.
• Vikingsholm Trail (1.7 mi)
  • This is a nice little hike in Emerald Bay State Park. This trail takes you down to the Vikingsholm Castle near the beach. You can tour this castle, but we decided to skip out on that part. This is a very quick hike!

These are a few other hikes we planned on doing, but didn’t have time for:

• Eagle Falls (1.9 mi)
• Emerald Point (4.4 mi)
• Bayview Trail (5 mi)
• Stateline Fire Lookout (1.5 mi)
• Cascade Falls Hiking Trail (1.4 mi)

What To Do

Other than the hikes I listed above, there are plenty of activities to do in Lake Tahoe. There are endless amounts of outdoor activities and water sports, so I would try to take advantage and get out on the water. Even if you aren’t super outdoorsy, it can still be fun to go on a walk and get some fresh air.

• Emerald Bay State Park
  • Even though the entire lake is beautiful, this area of Lake Tahoe is stunning. I would recommend a visit to see Emerald Point. There are several hikes in this area, so it is great if you are looking to do something active. You could easily spend an entire day hiking around the park.
• Sailing
  • We booked a sunset sail with Tahoe Sailing Charters and it was an amazing experience. It was 2-hour cruise, and they provided us with several refreshments. It was so fun and relaxing! Be sure to bring a jacket if you go sailing.
• Boating
  • If you want to rent a boat while you’re in Lake Tahoe, I’d recommend checking out these boat rentals from Get My Boat. They have several different options at different price points that you can rent for different amounts of time. You can rent some of these boats by the hour and others you can rent for the entire day. This would be a great option if you are headed to Lake Tahoe with a bigger group!
• Kayak
  • There are several places where you can rent a kayak, so this is another option if you want to be active. We rented kayaks at the Hyatt and it was super easy. Most towns around the lake offer kayak rentals.
• Jet Ski
  • This is a really popular activity if you are visiting Lake Tahoe in the summer. It’s a really nice way to get out on the water and explore more of the lake. The only downside to this is that it can be extremely pricey!
• Heavenly Gondola
  • We never got around to doing this, but I heard really good things about the gondola ride. It is a 2.4 mile ride up to the top where you can see some incredible views of Lake Tahoe.
• Casinos
  • There are plenty of casinos located around the lake, so if this is your thing, then you are in luck (no pun intended)! The Hyatt actually has a casino attached, but we didn’t gamble during our time in Tahoe. There are far more casinos in South Lake Tahoe than North Lake Tahoe.

What To Wear

There are certain destinations that should be on everyone’s bucket list, and Lake Tahoe is definitely one of them! If you haven’t been, I would highly recommend a visit sometime soon. Even though we aren’t the most outdoorsy people, we still loved it. My favorite part of the entire weekend was the sailing experience. I love being out on the water, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Have you ever visited Lake Tahoe? If so, what were some of your favorite activities and restaurants? I’d love to hear what your experience was like!