South Lake Tahoe

A tale of two hikes.

Emerald Bay and Vikingsholm

Emerald Bay is a California State Park on the southwestern side of Lake Tahoe.  You can park at the parking lot near Eagle Falls and the Emerald Bay Overlook and take the Vikingsholm Trail (about 1 mile) down to a nice beach overlooking Fanette Island. There are kayaks to rent if you're into that. Also there is a gorgeous house that you can tour for $10.  The hike down and up is pretty steep, but it's worth it. When I go back, I will want to try out the Rubicon Trail that connects Emerald Bay Park with the adjoining DL Bliss State Park.

Summer Hiking at Heavenly Ski Resort

Usually I am more of a public parks kind of lady, but we were staying right by Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe, and the ski lift up the mountain was spitting distance from our hotel. So we paid the extra money to take the lift up. After getting off the main gondola, we got on a second lift (the Tamarack Express) that took us to the California Trail. We hiked up the mountain until we got on the Skyline Trail, and we took that all the way to the peak at 10,040 feet. I have to say that it was a pretty cool hike, unlike anything that I had ever done before!