Living that Lake Life at Tahoe

July 5th - 8th, 2021

I've wanted to go to Lake Tahoe for years, so naturally, this iconic lake had to make the cut for our summer road trip. Crystal clear blue waters, beautiful mountains, hiking, paddle boarding...YES please!  

We had a difficult time finding a campground on the lake. All were either booked up, or were super expensive. We learned quickly that everything in "the fishbowl" of Lake Tahoe was quite pricey and touristy, including gas at well over $5 a gallon! We ended up staying about a 30 min. drive from the lake, at the Carson Valley Inn & Casino near Carson City, NV. The RV park was nothing fancy, but made for a centrally located jump off point for visiting various places around the lake, and we got to take advantage of the cheap gas there. 

We arrived in the mid-afternoon on July 5th, and decided to drive down to check out the scene in South Lake Tahoe for a drink and dinner that evening. The drive into the bowl was beautiful, up and over the mountains and down to the lake. We passed by the popular Heavenly ski resort which was massive. Would be fun to see this place its full glory in the winter! I don't know why I was expecting this lake to feel remote, but South Tahoe is pretty much the opposite of that. It is quite built up, with casinos on the Nevada side of town, and tons of restaurants, hotels, breweries and shops on the main drag. It was nice, but definitely more touristy than I prefer. 

We ended up grabbing a beer at a chill beach bar, which had lovely lake views and some friendly bartenders who gave us tips on where to paddle board the next day, followed by a yummy dinner at a local brewpub (Cold Water). Ian also made friends with an older gentleman who we sat next to at the bar. They exchanged stories about going to concerts (this guy followed the Dead around), and Ian was truly ecstatic to be back to sitting at a barstool, chatting with strangers, after 16 long months. 

The next morning, we drove to the northeastern corner of the lake, where we planned to launch our paddle boards at the highly recommended Sand Harbor beach. Unfortunately, we got there around 10am and the lot was already full. Unfamiliar with the area, and how difficult parking is to find there, we were bummed, but continued north along the lake (a gorgeous drive) without much of a plan B. 

While Ian was driving, I stumbled upon Speedboat Beach on google maps, and we decided to give it a try. There were only a handful of public parking spots by this small, locals-only beach, and we were SUPER lucky to nab the last one which was miraculously long enough to accomodate Phoenix! We chatted with a couple from Washington, who were just coming in from a paddle. They were very nice and told us their friends who live in the neighborhood said this was the best place to paddle at Tahoe. Score! 

The beach was small, but beautiful, full of Tahoe's iconic huge rocks and crystal clear blue waters. Seriously, how is this water so clean?! Just stunning. We blew up our boards and set up shop at the waters edge for the entire afternoon. We set off on a paddle for an hour or so, checking out the shoreline and all of its amazing homes in between swim breaks and (Ian) jumping off rocks. A truly perfect afternoon. :)

Our last full day at Tahoe was reserved for Phoenix maintenance. Remember that muffler that fell off while we were at Yosemite? Yup, had to fix that, along with a tire rotation and oil change. This is the not-so-glamorous part of life on the road, and unfortunately, with only one vehicle, we couldn't put this off any longer. We managed to make what we thought was an 8am appointment at a local car mechanic in Carson City. Turns out it was first come, first serve, and even though Ian arrived at 7:55am, he was third in line and had to wait 2+ hours to even get the truck in for servicing. I stayed in the camper all day plugging away at work and laundry. Poor Ian didn't get back until 3pm, but Phoenix was running MUCH better, not to mention quieter, with her brand new muffler. 

We had a late lunch and decided to make the one hour trek down to Emerald Bay, one of the most southern points of the lake, which came highly recommended to us by a couple we met earlier in our travels at Antelope Canyon. Emerald Bay State Park was absolutely breathtaking, and featured lots of hiking trails. This was the remote and woodsy Lake Tahoe I had been searching for! We embarked on a short 2 mile hike out to Eagle Lake, which was about all we had time for as, A) the sun was going to set in ~ 2 hours, and B) our dear friend Josh was flying into Reno, NV to road trip with us for a week and we needed to head to the airport to get him. 

The hike was lovely, and from the lake, we spotted trails up to several of the higher peaks in the state park. We decided we would need to conquer those on a future visit. Never enough time! As we were finishing the hike and getting ready to head to the airport, we received a text from Josh that he had missed his connecting flight from Phoenix to Reno, due to a delay in Austin. We were scheduled to leave the next morning and drive to Shasta, CA, but luckily Josh was able to get on a flight early the next morning to Sacramento, where we were able to snag him on our way. Road trip life is full of twists and turns, but always has a way of working out. 

With our newfound free time, Ian and I were able to linger and enjoy the sunset at Emerald Bay, along with a picnic dinner of homemade leftover chili. The perfect end to our time at Lake Tahoe. I know we will be back to this special place in the future, but for now, the road beckons. Shasta and Crater Lake, here we come!

For more photos of our time at Lake Tahoe, click here.