Lake Tahoe : Lakeside + Emerald Bay

The shores of Lake Tahoe are covered in pine trees and beaches - and we saw both! Near our hotel was this pretty beach, full of vacationers sunning themselves. There were all kinds of boats out - kayaks and canoes, stand up paddle boards, paddle boats, and even lake cruises in an old-fashioned boat!

After we'd walked along the beach near our hotel, we decided to drive to a state park on the California side of the lake. I read about it as being amazing, and it didn't disappoint! It's called Emerald Bay State Park and it's a little blue bay surrounded by green forest. We stopped at an overlook, saw a bald eagle flying over the bay and lots kayakers down below - then we continued to the main part of the park, down on the shore.

We parked up at the top and did a short hike down to the lake's shore. Vikingsholm is the name of a house built on the shore by a wealthy woman back in the 1920s. It's full of Scandinavian architectural details and pretty woodwork. Sadly, the interior tours were done for the day, but we peeked through the windows and walked around the outside. Being down by the lake was so peaceful - the perfect end to a day!

Next post - Yosemite!

Lake Tahoe : Heavenly Gondola

Things I learned about Lake Tahoe : it's 6,000 feet high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, it's so clear that you can see a white plate submerged 75 feet underwater, there are tons of ski resorts in the area, and it gets pretty cold at night - even in June.

One of the ski resorts has summertime activities - you can ride its gondola 3,000 feet up to a crazy view of the lake from above. The base of the gondola was only a few blocks from our hotel, so we walked over on our second day there and rode it up the steep mountain slopes. 

The view from the mountain was incredible! The lake's water was just so blue - and the surrounding mountains so pretty. The gondola stopped partway up the slope at the viewpoint above - and then it continued to the (ski) lodge and a flat area. There, you could buy overpriced food and drinks, do rope courses, or take a chair lift up another 1,000 feet to the top of the mountain. We thought we should go all the way to the top since we were already up there and the views didn't disappoint - we could see all the way to Carson City, more than 25 miles away!

Being up so high (10,000 feet!) was a new experience for all of us. I was afraid I might get sunburned, since it was so bright and sunny and I know that the sun's intensity gets higher as you go up in altitude. Luckily, thanks to sunscreen, a sun hat, and protective clothing, everything was fine! We took a break in the lodge before we headed back down and caught some of the world cup - which was on everywhere in Tahoe, even with score updates on highway billboards!

I bet skiing here is amazing - maybe someday, we'll come back in winter!