DETAILS FROM OUR Lake Tahoe Trip
A few years ago, Paul and I decided to put international travel on hold and take advantage of the variety of the U.S., at least when the kids were involved. I’m not ashamed to admit that we aren’t those parents wanting to trek our kids across the world. After Jackson Hole last summer, we knew we wanted another lake trip, so we decided on Lake Tahoe this year. Paul and I had only been in the winter, but the summer there blew me away. It’s one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve been to, and overall, I LOVED it. The water is freezing but crystal clear, and the scenery there is unreal. We’ll definitely be back!
I’m breaking down the details of our trip below and also made a highlight. We went with another family and together had four kids, so we kept things pretty chill. Let me know if I missed anything!
What we packed: I shared all my Tahoe outfits here and other essentials here. The biggest tip is that both you and the kids need water shoes since the beaches are mainly rocky. I got these, which were the least offensive pair I could find.
Travel logistics: We flew into Reno and then rented a car to get to Tahoe. It took about an hour total and was very easy overall.
Where we stayed: Sadly, I can’t link to our house because it was a family friend’s (they don’t do rentals to people they don’t know). We stayed close to Tahoe City on the West Shore, and it was great. Having easy water / beach access was ideal since we could easily let the kids run around or swim without having to load up the car every time. I hear West and North Shore are more laid-back, while South Shore is where the casinos, hotels, and more of the party scene are.
What we did:
We had a very loose ‘itinerary’ which consisted of the following:
Day 1: Flew in, got lunch, chilled at the beach. The house we rented came with kids’ kayaks, which Capri loved. Would recommend renting things like kayaks, paddle boards, and a large float if you have water access. We wanted to be on the water as much as possible, and it helped with stuff to do for the kids.
Day 2: Boat day! The friends we went with knew several people up there with boats, so we were lucky to do that vs. renting anything. We went to a beach on the East Shore, did boat activities, and this was probably my favorite day. I also learned that you can charter a ski boat and have someone take you around for the day, including all the fun water activities, so that’s a good option if you don’t want to drive / rent a boat.
Day 3: Floated the Truckee River through this company. I’ve been wanting to white water raft with the kids since forever, so this was fun and something I’d highly recommend. This float was nothing close to white water rafting (which the kids are young for / too freaked out by for now) but this was a good compromise until they’re older. Overall, the float is 2-3 hours, and you can stop as many times as you want since you’re basically on your own. There are beaches along the way, so we stopped a couple of times to pee, let the kids run around, whatever. There’s also a restaurant at the end to grab food and much-needed drinks right after.
Day 4: Another boat day. The kids were exhausted by this point in the trip, so the parents got to have some fun in the water. We all tried wakesurfing for the first time – a highlight of the trip for me! Much easier than wakeboarding and SO much fun. Now I need a lake house and a boat LOL.
Day 5: Hiked Eagle Rock (easy for the kids and a beautiful view!), lunch in Truckee, and traveled home. Truckee was a charming old town on the way to the airport and I’m glad we stopped to break up the day.
Where we ate: We didn’t make a single reservation and went with the flow. Overall, every place we went was kid-friendly and chill. Heads up that Door Dash is VERY limited up here, so we relied on making food or going out for the most part.
Sunnyside – Food was whatever, but it was nice to be right on the water.
Shadyside – Cute Mexican spot! Liked the vibe here and they had great drinks.
Tahoe Central Market – We got sandwiches from here, which were great (and HUGE). Overall, a nice market for snacks, fresh options, coffee, and grab-and-go food.