Best Hikes In Tahoe - Skunk Harbor, East Shore

Category - Moderate

View Rating - 7 out of 10

Distance - Approximately 3 miles round trip (As always on any hike of any distance, bring extra food, water, and clothes!)

Elevation Gain - 650 feet (Note that this hike descends first, then ascends on the return)

Highest Point - 6900 at the highway where you park

The beach at Skunk Harbor

Another great hike that is overlooked by the hiking guidebooks is the hike to Skunk Harbor. It follows an old, closed road from East Shore Hwy 28 down to a spectacular cove on the lake. Because the road is wide enough for people to walk side-by-side, and because the grade is gentle, it is a great hike for groups.

There is a small parking area on the highway 2.4 miles north of the intersection of Hwy 50 and Hwy 28 just below Spooner Summit. 

The trail is behind the gate. There is enough parking for 6 or 7 cars.

Although most people don’t know about this hike, if you want to get a parking space, you should get there in the morning (shoot for 9 a.m.) and you should avoid weekends. There is a space for six or seven cars. If they are all taken, you’ll have to find a place down the highway, and walking any distance along the highway is not recommended.

From the moment you step past the locked gate, you will see the spectacular views that are present on the entire hike. Much of the lake is spread out below you, and you will marvel at what you can see, especially if you bring binoculars. Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows and Homewood ski resorts are all in front of you across the lake.

Alpine Meadows on the left and Squaw Valley on the right.

The trail is wide enough for groups of people.

When you get down to the postcard-perfect harbor, you’ll find the old, dramatic remains of the George Newhall summer getaway. Newhall was a 1920’s playboy with great inherited wealth. He and his family had a large estate on the West Shore, but they wanted a play spot on the East Shore. There was no road to Skunk Harbor at the time. So they built their wonderful Skunk Harbor getaway with materials and labor all brought in by boat. Talk about Beach Party Heaven! You’ll have fun exploring the beach, the boulders, and the stone house, which is closed off, but you can peer into the windows and imagine what life must have been like for very wealthy Tahoe residents during the Roaring Twenties.

Those posts in the water used to hold up a large pier.

Nice little getaway cottage!

Note the outdoor fireplace

Plan to have your picnic lunch on the beach before you head back up to the highway. You will marvel at the clear water and the perfect little bay while you transport yourself back ninety years to another era.

Water doesn't get much more clear!

Here is the sand beach where the Newhalls used to party.

This is the next cove to the north.
The East Shore is full of these spectacular, secret places
that you can only get to by boat or by hiking.

The Tahoe Ethos

Tahoe is about calm and lack of stress. We slow down when driving, give bicyclers wide berth, and we don’t honk except in emergency. Please leave your rush-rush city driving habits back home. When you tailgate, you transfer your stress to everyone else on the road. If it takes you another couple of minutes to get to your destination, consider it an opportunity to appreciate the beautiful surroundings.

Nothing better than ultimate calm for a Tahoe experience.
Photo Kim Small, Fine Art America

Tahoe is about healthy life-styles and respect for the environment. We don’t smoke in the forest (and when forest fire danger is high, it is illegal). Actually, we mostly don’t smoke at all. You’ll find a lower percentage of Tahoe locals who smoke than nearly anywhere. We don’t throw out anything that can be recycled. When we throw out something hazardous (batteries, electronics, etc.) we make a special trip to the hazardous waste facility. We don’t pour out any hazardous liquids like solvents or paint or used motor oil or old gasoline. And we regard people who dump any liquid more dangerous than water on the ground to be committing a grave sin. Whenever and wherever we go, we carry a bag or pack into which we can stick any litter we find and haul it out of the forest or off the beach.

PaddleBoarding is a wonderful way to enjoy the lake.
Photo Phyllis Watson

Tahoe is about quiet and enjoyment of nature. Please don’t feel like you need to “share” your music preferences with the entire neighborhood or show the whole world just how loud your motorboat or motorcycle can be. Nearly all Tahoe lovers would rather listen to the birds.

Nothing like quiet to connect with Mama Nature
Photo Nice Cool Pics Quiet Getaways

Tahoe is all about exercise. Whenever possible, we walk or bike instead of drive. Why drive to the beach, when you can bike or ride? Most lodgings in Tahoe are just a few blocks from the beach. A picnic carried in a backpack is more rewarding than one carried in the pickup. If you’re looking for something fun to do, take a tip from locals. We go on hikes or bike rides. When we’re not up on the mountain skiing, we snowshoe or cross-country ski out our door. There are hundreds of trails to choose from, and there are many books and internet resources to guide you. Gambling may be fun, but you can do that anywhere. It goes without saying that you will enjoy your vacation more, and feel better about it when you get home, if you get some exercise.

Get out and move. Your brain and body and friends and family will all thank you.
Photo Adventure Sports Journal

8 Things To Know Before You Come To Tahoe

The perfect vacation starts with a reservation
Photo Squaw Valley Lodge

1) Think Reservations. If you come to Tahoe during the High Season months, July, August, Christmas Week, February, and March, plan on making your hotel and dinner reservations in advance for all days of the week. All of which suggests that the other times of the year are great times to enjoy Tahoe without the crowds (what we call the Shoulder Seasons).

In June, September, and early October, you may not need to plan your week days, but you will likely need hotel and dinner reservations for the weekends. I recommend keeping your schedule flexible and watching the forecast. If the weather is going to be beautiful at any time during the Shoulder Seasons, you can often come up the mountain and have a great time without any advance planning. October and the beginning of November often have great weather. May is often glorious. (And often snowy, too!) If you want skiing without crowds, plan on early December, all of January, or early April.  The Shoulder Seasons provide good deals on lodging, and you can have Tahoe to yourself.

The rest of the time, come armed with reservations and you’ll be happy.

Check out the Cedar House Sport Hotel

2) If at all possible, try NOT to drive into Tahoe on Friday afternoon or evening or drive out on Sunday, especially during the High Seasons of July, August, Christmas week, February and March. At those times, the highways can become choked with stop-and-stop traffic. And when a holiday falls on Monday, the bad time to leave Tahoe switches from Sunday to Monday. Whenever possible, try to adjust your weekend to the middle of the week! If that’s not possible, try to drive earlier on Friday morning and later on Sunday.

Are these people all trying to get to Tahoe?!
Photo 7 Reasons .org

3) Remember that many if not most of the people who will help you with your lodgings and your meals and your ski/bike/kayak rentals earn their money from tips. Their hourly pay is usually pretty bleak, and most of them try hard to make your experience in Tahoe a good one. Also, remember the staff in the shadows that you sometimes never see. When your maid does a nice job cleaning up your hotel room, please tip generously. A small amount for you is likely a large amount for them.

Tips make a resort area function
The Economist

4) Yes, Tahoe is all about casual, mountain living, but we still appreciate people who wear clothes. For lots of locals, dressing up means tucking your flannel shirt into your jeans. But when you get off the beach, please put on some shoes and shirt and shorts or pants before you descend on the grocery store and other shops.

Thanks for putting on some clothes before you head to the supermarket!
Photo Zazzle.com

5) Remember that the most popular places in Tahoe are places to avoid on weekends, especially on Saturday. In the winter, the ski resorts are the most crowded on Saturday and the second-most crowded on Sunday. On summer weekends, this means stay away from Emerald Bay, Sand Harbor, most of the parks. Locals avoid anyplace in Tahoe City on weekends because its conjunction of three highways and its one-lane-each-way road and pedestrian-friendly crosswalks and its overall attractive charm slow traffic to a stop.

Sand Harbor is one of the places that gets really crowded on weekends
Photo TouringTahoe . wordpress .com

6) Take boat inspections seriously. If you are bringing a boat into the Tahoe Basin, please get it inspected before you bring it near any body of water. Our precious lake is suffering the indignity of multiple alien species of plants and animals all because careless people thought the intakes on their Jetskis or the centerboard channels on their sailboats were clean when they weren’t. Watch for Boat Inspection signs when you come into the basin. If you don’t see them, please look up the inspection locations online and get your watercraft inspected before you launch into any of our lakes. As an added incentive, if you are caught on any watercraft without a boat inspection permit, your pocketbook will be very unhappy with the ticket. Thank you in advance for your care about this.

Please get all watercraft inspected before you put them in the water.
It will save Lake Tahoe, and it's the law.
Photo TahoeBoatInspections .com

7) Bring hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen for your kids! We constantly see families with parents wearing hats and sunglasses while their little kids - often with blue eyes and blond hair - have no sun protection! 

The children are burning their retinas and skin, getting understandably irritable, often crying, and the parents scold them for being in a bad mood! It doesn’t matter if your kids don’t want to wear sun protection. You have to teach them that it is necessary, otherwise everyone will be miserable. In addition, early, high-altitude sun exposure substantially increases cancer risk in later life.

Suns protection can prevent a vacation disaster
Photo ToastCarsonTahoe .com

8) Be certain to actually see some of the sights that make Tahoe so great. Locals often bump into tourists who spent their entire Tahoe vacation in the casinos and restaurants. That’s not Tahoe. I have personally met people who came to Tahoe and never saw Emerald Bay, never went up on the mountain either by hiking or riding the gondola or cable car, never skied or rode a bike, never drove around the lake. Get out and do stuff. It will make your vacation a thousand times more enjoyable and memorable. Gambling is fun, but you can do it anywhere. Try on some of those experiences that you can only do in Tahoe. You’ll be very glad you did!

Just Another Day In Paradise
Photographer: Jim Stamates

Jim Stamates is one of Tahoe's most famous photographers. Click on the image, check out his work, and maybe buy a piece or two. And when you get to Tahoe, go visit some of the places you found on his website! It will make your vacation!

What Happens To Tahoe's Sewage And Garbage - Especially Dog Waste?

Because Lake Tahoe is so pure and the Lake Tahoe Basin is ecologically fragile, all human sewage is first treated and then pumped out of the basin to be used for gray water elsewhere. The South Shore’s treated waste irrigates ranching country in Alpine County to the south. The North Shore’s treated waste goes to Douglas County, south east of the basin. Treated sewage from the northwest part of Tahoe (Tahoe City) is pumped out of the basin along side of the Truckee River to Truckee where it joins other waste treatment.

Tahoe’s solid garbage is split into two groups. An increasing portion is recycled. The remainder is trucked to landfills in Nevada.

But what about other waste like dog waste?

Yes, I know we have a lot of territory where dogs can run. What harm could a little doggie waste do? A lot, actually. There are no hard numbers on how many dogs live in Tahoe. But we can extrapolate.

The permanent population in Tahoe runs from about 50,000 people in the winter to 90,000 in the summer. Across America, there is roughly one dog for every four people. That would imply approximately 12,000 dogs during Tahoe’s winter, swelling to 22,000 dogs in the summer. 22,000 dogs produce approximately 11,000 pounds of feces a day. And that doesn’t count the dogs that tourists bring. Assuming the summer population lasts for three months, and the winter lasts for nine months, the total works out to 3,555,000 pounds of dog waste each year. Add the waste of dogs brought in by tourists, and we have something approaching two thousand tons of waste dumped onto our woods, our roads, our beaches every year.

That adds large amounts of fecal coliform bacteria into the environment. It also adds nutrients that feed a wide range of plants. When the bacteria and nutrients run off into the lake, it produces an explosion of algae, which in turn feed other creatures, both plant and animal. Two thousand tons of unintended fertilizer each year is a huge accelerator in the process of turning Lake Tahoe into a swamp, what scientists call eutrophication.

But what if everybody picked up their dog waste and put it in the garbage?

Giant problem solved! It would be trucked out of Tahoe to the landfill, where it could slowly break down far away from a pristine lake.

It is so easy to stuff clean-up bags in your pocket when you walk your dog. And it would make such a difference.

Let’s all be responsible dog owners and Tahoe lovers and clean up after our dogs.

When Water Gets Vertical - Tahoe's Biggest Waterfalls

WIth 60-plus streams flowing from the surrounding mountains down into Lake Tahoe, you’d expect there to be waterfalls, and you’d be right. There are dozens of small-to-medium waterfalls and hundreds of cataracts within the Tahoe Basin. Many of the places where water gets vertical are far up on the mountains in places where few people ever see them.

But what about big waterfalls? Is there anything really spectacular to see?

If your yardstick for spectacular is based on Yosemite waterfalls, then the answer is no. Same if you’re comparing things to Yellowstone or Niagara Falls. But if you’re thinking about other waterfalls scattered across the country, then Tahoe’s biggest do a pretty good job by comparison.

What’s the biggest Tahoe waterfall?

Eagle Falls at Emerald Bay. (Yes, 200-foot Cascade Falls is definitely in the running for prettiest waterfall in Tahoe, but it is much less voluminous than Eagle falls. You can read about hiking to Cascade Falls here.)

Cascade Falls is at the very bottom of the pic

There is a lot of backcountry to the west of Emerald Bay, and all that snowmelt comes down in a rush when the sun starts to rise high in the spring. The river down from Eagle Lake to the highway is a constant, impressive cataract, and it is well worth hiking up to the lake just to see it. After that water rushes under the highway bridge, it tumbles off of two separate dropoffs for a grand total of about 210  feet. (For comparison, Niagra Falls, with really big-time-volume, is only 165 feet high).

Upper Eagle Falls up close

Before you go to see Eagle Falls, please consider that approaching it from the bottom has three big advantages. One, you get more exercise hiking down from the Vikingsholm’s parking lot. Two, you will see the grandest portion of the falls and see it from a great perspective. Three, you’re unlikely to die.

No joke, that. In their rush to see the falls on the fast plan, some people pull over on the highway up above and scramble over the rocks for a quick look at the falls from above. That is fine unless you fall, which people have done to the lasting regret of those who are left spending their vacation making funeral arrangements. The rocks are smooth and slippery, and they slope down, and there are also little “ball-bearing” rocks to speed your descent over the precipice. Just to make it even riskier, there is a nice mist getting things wet so the rocks will be even slipperier.

Upper Eagle Falls from the most dangerous vantage point. Don't get swept away!

Be safe. Park in the large Vikingsholm lot on the north side of the bay. Take a leisurely hike down the paved path to the castle and beach and then up the short path to the base of Eagle Falls. Bring a picnic lunch and eat on the beach. Take a tour of Vikingsholm while your at it. You’ll have a better, safer time, get some easy exercise (about 2 miles round trip) and get better pictures, too.

Lower Eagle Falls from below - the safest viewing place down near the Vikingsholm castle

A fun thing to do on the way back from Emerald Bay (assuming you came from the South Shore), is to stop at the Camp Rich Ice Cream Parlor for a treat. Or turn in toward the lake and drive to the Beacon Restaurant and have a drink out on the deck overlooking the water.

What is Tahoe’s second biggest falls?

Glen Alpine Falls is at the southwest end of Fallen Leaf Lake near Tahoe's South Shore. At 75 feet, it isn’t as high as Eagle Falls, but the river is as voluminous or maybe more, and it too is a fantastic picnic spot.

Glen Alpine Valley comes down from just below Lake Aloha and the Crystal Range behind and to the south of Mt. Tallac. 

The Crystal Range snowfields that feed Glen Alpine Falls

To get to the falls, plug “Fallen Leaf Lake, South Lake Tahoe” into Google Maps. You may have to zoom in a bit before Fallen Leaf Road appears. The easiest way in is the route from Highway 89 near Kiva Beach and Camp Richardson. It’s a narrow, slow road, mostly paved but with lots of potholes. The road takes you through the forest and then, when it reaches Fallen Leaf Lake, shows you some of the world’s greatest views looking across the lake at Mt. Tallac.

The road winds back and forth and is only one lane wide in many places, so be sure to drive slowly. It goes to the end of the lake and then continues on toward the forest for the equivalent of a couple of blocks. Soon, the road rises up at a steep angle and brings you right next to the falls. There are small areas here and there where you can park on the side of the road. As with Eagle Falls, please watch your step! This falls is less dangerous, but you can still fall on the slippery rocks!

Glen Alpine Falls runs into Fallen Leaf Lake, which drains
into Taylor Creek, which in turn flows out to Lake Tahoe.

By the way, the road along Fallen Leaf Lake makes for a great bike ride, better on a mountain bike than a road bike due to the potholes. You can get there by riding the bike path that goes through the woods for several miles from South Lake Tahoe all the way out to Spring Creek Road. Between the beaches and Fallen Leaf Lake, you can have a great day. You can rent bikes at Anderson Bike Rentals near town.

By comparision, biking out to Emerald Bay is only for serious bicyclists. The highway is narrow, the switchbacks are steep, and the cars drive fast.

You will be smart to avoid both falls on weekends, especially in July and August. May and June are best after the snow melts off the road. (Fallen Leaf road is not plowed in the winter.) Going in the fall is beautiful, but the falls will have very little water.

The small little store at the end of Fallen Leaf Lake is also a good place to get a treat before you head back out.

Bring your camera and have fun!

Best Hikes In Tahoe - Tahoe Mountain, South Shore

Category - Moderate but for experienced hikers due to confusing trails

View Rating - 8 out of 10

Distance - Approximately 4 miles round trip (As always on any hike of distance, bring extra food, water, and clothes!)

Elevation Gain - 950 feet

Highest Point - 7249

Overlooked by the hiking guidebooks, Tahoe Mountain provides fantastic 360-degree views of surrounding, loftier mountains, along with sweeping vistas of Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake. Tahoe Mountain's views are more spectacular than those of many “famous” hikes.

Lake Tahoe with sailboat and Mt. Rose in the far distance

The reason few people pay much attention to Tahoe Mountain is that it is a modest little bump just west of South Lake Tahoe, and its trails are somewhat disorganized and confusing. Because it doesn't look like much, people don't think to climb it. And if you like to tell others about your grand Tahoe hiking accomplishments, it doesn't sound very impressive to regale people with your amazing hike up Tahoe Mountain. But it is hard to find a more accessible hike that will give you such a choice of gorgeous lunch spots. (Bring a picnic in your pack!)

Tahoe Mountain can be accessed from many locations from Fallen Leaf Road to Camp Richardson to the Gardner Mountain/high school area. But the best, clearest, and easiest access is from Lake Tahoe Blvd. where it intersects with Sawmill Road.

Go to Google Maps and plug in “Sawmill Road and Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.” After the map loads, click on “Satellite” view in the upper right corner. Zoom in and you will get a clear picture of the trail from the highway up to Tahoe Mountain.

Google map with Fallen Leaf Lake on the left. The red teardrop is the
beginning of the hike, and Tahoe Mountain summit is near the top.

The parking area is directly across from where Sawmill Road comes to Lake Tahoe Blvd.

The parking area is on the divided portion of Lake Tahoe Blvd.
right across from where Sawmill Road intersects from the left.

There is a Trailhead sign with a somewhat confusing map, but combined with your Google map printout, it should be clear.

The main thing to remember is that the trail from the trailhead sign takes to you to a broader trail where you turn right. Then watch for a left turn onto another trail, and take that.

You are now heading up the mountain on a gentle, winding path. Here and there you will come across intersecting trails. At each juncture, take the fork that goes up. Occasionally, a “Y” intersection will have just one trail that goes up, and two or more trails that go down. This is easy to navigate on your route up, but confusing on your route back down! (TIP: you can use your phone to take pictures of the intersections as you go up and then consult them coming back down.)

Trail rising up through the Angora Fire area

The trail leads you through the Angora Fire burn from 7 years ago, and it is fascinating to see how the landscape is returning. Although the fire was a terrible tragedy, the burn area is now starkly beautiful and provides the advantages of great vistas that were once hidden by the thick forest.

Eventually, you will come to the first of two humps that make up the Tahoe Mountain summit with a long saddle connecting them. In some sections, the trail is broad and open as it goes past the tower that supports the red navigation light for aircraft. There is also a tacky-looking shed that houses a radio transmitter.

But you won't notice these as the amazing views unfold.

Be sure to walk the entire saddle over to the second, higher bump that is the true peak of Tahoe Mountain where the views are best of all.

As you pause and look around, you'll enjoy large views south back to Christmas Valley with 10,059-foot Steven's Peak at its end. Behind and to its right is 10,381-foot Round Top in the Mokelumne Wilderness near Carson Pass, 18 miles distant. 

Christmas Valley with Steven's Peak to the rear on the left,
Round Top in the distance in the center. Just out of sight behind the ridge to the right is Kirkwood Ski Resort

To the south-southwest and closer, you can see some runs of Sierra At Tahoe up beyond Echo Summit.

Ski Runs at Sierra At Tahoe, just past Echo Summit

The winding trail provides great views

To the southeast is Freel Peak (Tahoe's highest mountain at 10,881'). Directly to the east, you look over South Lake Tahoe and 10,067-foot Heavenly resort beyond.

The ski runs of Heavenly to the left
Freel Peak is to the right.
The Angora Fire, tragic as it was, created open vistas.

As we hiked on April 18th, the snow was completely gone off Tahoe Mountain, but the ski runs of Heavenly still had lots of snow.

To the north is a “wow” view of Lake Tahoe stretching all the way to Mt. Rose, 10,778 feet high and thirty miles distant. It is easy to imagine where Reno lies just beyond and over 6000 feet below Mt. Rose.

Tahoe's East Shore in the distance

Below is the Tahoe Keys, a residential area crisscrossed with canals

To the northwest are enticing points of the big lake's West Shore, Eagle Point by the entrance to Emerald Bay and beyond it, Rubicon Point, which is the top of one of the world's tallest underwater cliffs.

Tahoe's West Shore

To the west lies the incomparable Fallen Leaf Lake, site of multiple Hollywood movies like Kevin Costner's and Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard. Fallen Leaf Lake is towered over by Mt. Tallac, Tahoe's most famous mountain rising directly from Fallen Leaf's shore to 9735 feet. 

Fallen Leaf Lake with Mt. Tallac

Completing our 360-degree view is the Glen Alpine valley to the southwest. 

Glen Alpine Valley is to the left, stretching up to Lake Aloha at 8116 feet of elevation

The snow fields reach from Stanford Camp at the end of Fallen Leaf Lake, up the valley and over Cracked Crag to the Lake Aloha Basin and Pyramid Peak, a picturesque, pointy peak just 17 feet shy of 10,000 feet. As you walk north along the ridge of Tahoe Mountain, Pyramid Peak disappears behind Mt. Tallac.

Pyramid Peak poking out behind Cathedral Peak, which is actually
the shoulder of Mt. Tallac. Magical Fallen Leaf Lake is below.

Find a nice log to sit on or lean against to have lunch. It will become one of the most memorable lunch spots you'll ever have!