Lake Tahoe's Summertime Pleasures
North America's Highest Alpine Lake Offers Variety of Attractions
Boating, picnicking, wildflower walks, gambling, visiting historic sites, shopping and other activities make Tahoe the most popular lake in the western United States.
As far as vacation destinations are concerned, Lake Tahoe would be a winner in summertime even if there were no gambling palaces on its shores.
Though the casinos at Stateline are first-rate, you'll probably go inside them only after dark, because days are far too fine to spend indoors. They're perfect for driving around the 72-mile shoreline or to nearby beauty spots like Fallen Leaf Lake or Desolation Valley. Outdoor enthusiasts may choose to ride bicycles along 32 miles of paths that parallel the highway or hike along the 175-mile Tahoe Rim Trail. The following are among the area’s most popular attractions.
- Warm weather days are great for taking a ride on the Tahoe Queen or MS Dixie, two paddle wheelers that ply the lake's southern waters. They're ideal for picnicking at Kaspian Beach, fishing for mackinaw and trout or wading in the water (most people find it too cold for comfortable swimming any time of the year).
- One of the area's most fascinating attractions is the Stream Profile Chamber on the west side of the lake. An interpretive trail leads through groves of quaking aspen, across little creeks and through a meadow of wildflowers to the chamber, which gives allows viewers to examine Thomas Creek at eye level. The stream is especially interesting during the kokanee salmons' mating season, when the males develop jutting jaws and their heads turn bright red.
- The Pope-Baldwin Recreation Area, a few miles up the road from South Lake Tahoe, was a popular summer home site for the rich and famous at the turn of the century. Self-guided tour paths wind past the large wooden structures and go inside some of them. During summer, various jazz, bluegrass and chamber music concerts take place in and around the mansions.
- Fanny Bridge at Tahoe City is a great place to stretch your legs and watch the giant trout swimming in the water below. It's also the spot to rent rubber rafts for drifting down the Truckee River.
- The Ehrman Mansion at Sugar Pine Point State Park houses early artifacts from the Tahoe Basin, while Vikingsholm Castle on Emerald Bay (open July and August) is considered among the finest Scandinavian architecture in the Western U. S. The 38-room replica of a Norse Castle is a one-mile downhill hike from the highway - not to mention the uphill climb back - but it's worth every step of the way.
- Sand Harbor on the lake’s northeast shore has the reputation of being Lake Tahoe's most beautiful public beach. It's a grand place to commune with nature while getting your summer's share of entertainment/culture as "Music at Sand Harbor" in July and "Shakespeare at Sand Harbor" in August feature first class performers.
And there's much more -- fishermen's clinics, wooden boat shows,wildflower walks around nearby Spooner Lake; the Memorial Day race between the Tahoe Queen and M.S. Dixie, the regattas during Sail Week. For information on events during your stay, click on bluelaketahoe and gotahoenorth
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