Lake Tahoe is an amazing – and expansive – Shaka Guide tour. Although this road trip is a clockwise ‘loop’ around the 72-mile lake, there are numerous stops within two states, and four places to begin the tour, depending on where you’re coming from. The tour takes you to:

• Towns that surround the lake in both Nevada and California
• Shorelines/beaches
• Parks
• Historic mansions/castles
• National forests
• Hiking paths

Although you could theoretically drive around Lake Tahoe in under four hours (if there’s no traffic and if you don’t make any stops), you’d need two or three days to enjoy everything that Shaka Guide wants to show you in Tahoe!

So if you only have one day for this tour, you’ll have to choose your stops wisely.

Start Planning!

• This tour travels in a clockwise loop around the lake so that it’s easier to pull off at all of the stops on the lake. (Shaka Guide does not currently offer a counterclockwise tour route.) 
• This tour has four starting points:
  • Reno, NV, starting on Hwy 431/Mount Rose Hwy
  • Reno, NV, starting on Hwy 341 through Virginia City and Carson City
  • Pollock Pines, CA, starting on Hwy 50/El Dorado Fwy
  • Truckee, CA, starting on I-80
• Many stops on the tour require entry fees during peak times in the summer. These vary, but fees for parks and beaches are generally within the $10 to $15 range per car. For a complete budget breakdown, check out “Budgeting” below. 
• The stops on the tour have varying hours of operation — check out “Hours of Operation” below to plan accordingly. 
• We recommend starting the tour early — around 7 a.m. — to avoid crowds and fit in as much as you can! 
• This tour is a spring, summer, and fall tour – not a winter tour due to road closures around the lake once the snow hits. 

Budgeting

There are several different agencies — each with its own rules, regulations, and hours — that operate the parks and attractions along the Shaka Guide tour route of Lake Tahoe. 

Some Nevada State Parks have also begun implementing a reservation system, so check the parks before you go to see if you’ll need a reservation, depending on when you’re going.

Sand Harbor is most likely to require day-use reservations during certain hours in the summer.

Summer Season Hours & Admission Fees

Here are some of the tour stops that may require parking or admission fees (subject to change):

• Sand Harbor State Park
  • Open 8 am to 1 hour after sunset.
  • Parking is $10 per vehicle for NV residents, $15 for non-NV residents.
  • DAY USE RESERVATIONS: From April 15 - October 15, between 8 am and 10:30 am, reservations are required for entry.
  • But entry is first-come, first-served before 8 am or after 10:30 am. 
• Cave Rock State Park
  • Open Sunrise to sunset.
  • $10 per vehicle for NV residents, $15 for non-NV residents 
• Zephyr Cove
  • Open Sunrise to sunset.
  • Parking starts at $20/day per vehicle, but can go much higher based on day/demand
• Nevada Beach State Park
  • Open 8 am - 8 pm.
  • $10 per vehicle for NV residents, $15 for non-NV residents 
• Heavenly Gondola
  • Runs 10 am - 5 pm.
  • Rides up the mountain can cost $75 for adults (or higher), children’s prices vary, and kids under 5 are typically free
• Camp Richardson
  • No specific hours are designated.
  • The restaurant and beach bar on the sand — Beacon Bar and Grill — is open from:
    • 11:30 am until 7 pm on Fridays/Saturdays
    • 11:30 am - 6 pm on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
    • A varying parking fee applies if you park on Jameson Beach Road
• Tallac Historic Site/Baldwin & Pope Museums
  • The grounds are open daily so you can walk around and see the historic homes from the outside
  • The museum tours inside some of the homes are only open from Thursday through Sunday, 10 am - 4 pm.
  • It’s free to enter, and parking is usually free.
• Taylor Creek
  • The trails are usually open Wednesday - Sunday,  9 am - 4 pm
  • The visitor center is open daily, 8 am - 5:30 pm.
  • There’s no entrance fee to walk the trails, but parking usually runs $5 - $15 per vehicle for multi-day parking.
• Eagle Falls
  • The trail is open from sunrise to sunset.
  • $10 per vehicle for the day, or $3 per vehicle for one hour
• Emerald Bay/Vikingsholm Castle Parking
  • Open sunrise to sunset to hike down to the beach and walk around the outside of the castle.
  • The Vikingsholm visitor center is typically open 10 am - 4:30 pm. $10 per vehicle per day or $3 per hour
• Vikingsholm Castle Guided Tour
  • The tours run every half hour, 10:30 am - 4 pm.
  • Get your tickets at the visitor center.$18 for adults, $15 for students and senior citizens
• D.L. Bliss State Park
  • Open sunrise to sunset.
  • $10 per vehicle to park, but weekends and holidays cost $20
• Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Park
  • Open 7 am - 8 pm for the park.
  • The visitor center hours are typically 10 am - 4 pm. $10 per vehicle to park
• Hellman Ehrman Mansion Tours (at Sugar Pine Point State Park)
  • Open daily, 10:30 am - 3:30 pm.
  • $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens, students, and military.
  • Purchase tickets at the visitor center.
• Gatekeeper’s Museum/Indian Basket Museum/Watson Cabin
  • Open Wed-Sun 11 am - 4 pm.
  • $10 per person, kids 12 and under are free. Seniors $9,
  • Students and the military are free.
• Commons Beach
  • Sunrise to sunset.
  • Parking is free, and the beach is free!
• Kings Beach
  • The parking lot is open 6 am - 9 pm. $10 per vehicle

On the California side of the lake, if you pay an entrance fee to park at any state park tour stop, that ticket is good for any additional state park tour stops that you make on the same day. So hang onto your receipt/ticket!

Summer Packing List

• Cell phone car mount
• Cell phone car charger
• Hiking boots or sneakers
• Jacket/rain jacket
• T-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, and sweatshirts for layering
• Swimsuit 
• Sunscreen
• Hat and layers for early mornings and chilly evenings

Seasons of Tahoe

Spring

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Temperatures steadily rise from early to late spring, from the high 40s in March to the low 60s by May.

During this transition time from ski season to beach season, crowds are lower than in peak winter and peak summer.

(Although if there’s still good snow through April and even May, you’ll sometimes have a ski crowd nearly right up until summer hits!)

Summer: June - August

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Summertime is the most popular time to visit Lake Tahoe.

Temperatures can reach the high 70s or low 80s, the trails are free of snow and not muddy, the beaches are ready to lie out on, and the lake is ready to be paddled.

But just for the record … the water never really warms up. Lake Tahoe is an alpine (aka cold) body of water that never really gets above 68 degrees Fahrenheit!

Still, the shoreline gets crowded in the summer – especially on weekends in the heart of the day. 

Hotels are liable to be sold out or quite expensive if you don’t book months in advance!

Fall: September - November

Temperatures start to drop, going from the low 70s in September to the high 40s by the beginning of November.

And with colder winds blowing and kids back in school, tourism is lower.

Late September is the last of the really good hiking weather. By late November, it’s liable to be more about snowshoeing than hiking.  

Summer Crowds and Parking Tips

The summer season in Tahoe is the most crowded season around the lake.

So if you’re taking this Shaka Guide tour between Memorial Day and Labor Day, you’ll need to get an early start in the morning in order to find parking at some of the most popular spots along the tour route.

And when a park gets full, the gates close – at least for a while until guests begin to leave.

That’s why Shaka Guide provides several options for beach and shoreline visits.

The upside of visiting in summer is the abundance of daylight hours.

If you can’t get into a park in the morning, you can try later in the day—or stay for a spectacular sunset over the lake!

When is the best month to visit Lake Tahoe?

September is an ideal month to visit. Most of the tourists have gone home, but ski season hasn’t yet begun.

So you have less traffic, plus a good shot at finding parking all day long in any place you visit, with most (but not all) attractions still operating!

Plus, the weather’s still warm enough to hang out on a beach if you want to! 

Additional Things to Note!

There are a few places around Lake Tahoe (not on the actual tour but additionally recommended for those with extra time in Tahoe) where reservations or advanced online ticket purchases may be necessary.

But one thing to consider is that if you’re not sure where along the lake you’ll be at a particular time, you might want to hold off trying to score a reservation for an experience until you are sure you’ll be within proximity of that location.

Some of those additional activities include:

• Thunderbird Lodge historic mansion tours, leaving from Incline Village. This estate is on a private road, run by a non-profit, and not accessible any other way other than by reservation. It’s well worth the price of admission if you have a few hours to spare. (Not for young children, though).

• Rum Runner boat cruises to Emerald Bay from Camp Richardson.

• Paddleboat Cruises of Lake Tahoe, leaving from Zephyr Cove.

• Shakespeare Festival tickets for outdoor summer performances at Sand Harbor in Incline Village.

If you’re planning a two- or three-day trip to Lake Tahoe, it’s best to book lodging strategically.

Stay one night on the north side and one or two nights on the south side of the lake to avoid backtracking and unnecessary driving between towns and hotels.

Three-Day Lake Tahoe Tour Itinerary

Here’s how to do the Lake Tahoe tour in three days and two nights: 

If you’re starting in Reno via Mount Rose, for example, you could do the first leg of the drive from Incline Village down to South Lake Tahoe on Day 1, then stay overnight in South Lake Tahoe.

On Day 2, you could cover the section of the tour from South Lake Tahoe through Tahoe City, and stay overnight in Tahoe City.

Then on the final leg on Day 3, you’d finish seeing everything in and around Tahoe City and finish the lake loop past Kings Beach, then wrap up the tour route all the way back to Incline Village and onto Reno. 

Visiting Lake Tahoe should be on everyone’s bucket list. And with Shaka Guide, it’s that much better! So get out there and explore Tahoe!

About the Writer: Lizzie Gerecitano

Lizzie lives on the northeast coast but is an explorer at heart whose biggest challenge is staying in one place. She finds fulfillment in discovering the beauty that lives in every nook and cranny throughout the world, and often captures those images in photos.

She's continuously in search of new paths to walk, hidden adventures to uncover, local flavors to taste...and she wants to share it all with you.

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