We had an enjoyable week in Lake Tahoe, visiting Truckee, Donner Lake, Tahoe City, Sand Harbor State Park, and South Lake Tahoe.
We had good weather for our drive to Village Camp in Truckee, which served as our base camp for the trip. From our base camp, we make day trips to the surrounding area. We find this is better than moving the RV for a night or two in each area.
Truckee
Village Camp is an older RV park they are trying to update, and they have done a nice job in areas. However, pretty much all the site are “buddy” sites, so you get to know your neighbors. Luckily we had good neighbors for the week.
Downtown Truckee is less than 3 miles away, and its a great place for food and shopping. You can bike there from Village Camp, but its hilly, so it’s easier to drive, and there is plenty of parking.
Little Truckee Ice Creamery is located as you enter historic downtown, and has very good ice cream, though we found their prices are high and their scoops are on the small side.
I really enjoyed bike riding throughout the Tahoe area. In Truckee, there is a great trail that starts downtown and continues along the river for miles. Here is my route.
At the beginning, the railroad is on your left, and I was lucky to have a freight train pass by just at just the right time.
Then the bike trail parallels the river. Very peaceful and serene.
This way across the river looks fun, but I kept to the bike trail. 🙂
Towards the end, the bike trail climbs up a steep hill…that was my cue to pedal back to Truckee. Out and back was about 10 miles.
And when you get back to town, the Cornerstone Bakery is a great place to get coffee and a pastry.
Tahoe City
A 13 mile drive to Lake Tahoe brings you to Tahoe City and more great bike trails! We got to 64 Acre Park early in the day to avoid the crowds, and biked back up the river towards Palisades (Squaw Valley), home of the 1960 Winter Olympics.
First, we stopped for breakfast at The Dam Cafe, and enjoyed their patio. Food was just okay, but it was convenient to our trail.
We rode past the boat rentals. Looked like a lot of fun. Maybe on our next trip… Here’s a map of the bike trails on this side of Lake Tahoe. They are extensive, but our route from Tahoe City to Palisades is the most scenic. Be sure to bring plenty of water and sunscreen on your ride. While it was cool when we started, it was pretty sunny and hot by the end of the ride!
Within minutes on the trail, we spotted a bear in front of us crossing the road. After stopping and getting my camera out, I nearly missed him, but you can spot him here. That started things off with a little excitement!
Otherwise, its a very nice ride along the river past anglers and rafts.
After a rest at River Ranch Landing, it was time to head back to Tahoe City. Our first stop was the dam, which is pretty interesting to explore. It’s the only river flowing out of Lake Tahoe. We wanted to visit the Gatekeepers Museum next door, but it was closed on the day we visited.
We parked our bikes at the nearby park to rest in the shade,
and watch the ducks swim in the shallow, but very cold, water. After that we rode into town and had lunch at Rosie’s Cafe. We enjoyed lunch on their patio overlooking N. Lake Boulevard.
Sandy Harbor State Park
Our next day trip took us to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe to the famous Sand Harbor State Park. This place gets crowded, so plan ahead and secure a parking reservation, which is about $20 for non-Nevadans. Is it worth it? Yes!!
This park has irresistible natural beauty. Just looking at this photo makes me want to dive into the water again!
How could anywhere be better than this?
There is also a great bike trail from here back to Incline Village, though it can get a little crowded. We enjoyed the views while riding the trail there and back, a short 3-4 miles each way. There is a big hill at the end, but very doable. It all helped us work up a good appetite so we had lunch at the Tunnel Creek Cafe in Incline Village, and really enjoyed it.
Back at Sand Harbor, here is what you might see in a post card…
…and here is what you see in real life at the closest beach to the parking lot! Everyone seems to be here!
However, If you are willing to walk a little further, you get back to postcard perfect beach!
We practically had this little cove to ourselves.
South Lake Tahoe
Further down the Nevada side is South Lake Tahoe. We decided to take the gondolas to the top of Heavenly. There was no snow up there, but the views were amazing.
From there you can take in the entire lake at once!
Back down the mountain we had dinner at Base Camp Pizza. It was very good, and their live entertainment was pretty good too!
Donner Lake
Near Truckee is Donner Lake. We visited the state park museum, which was very well done.
Here is the Pioneer Memorial, dedicated to the pioneers who crossed the Sierra on their way to the West. It stands on the spot where one of the cabins used by the Donner Party once stood. The pedestal is 22 feet high, the level the snow reached the year the Donner Party tried to cross, and faces West towards Donner Pass.
We hiked along the lake and could only imagine the suffering of the pioneers who tried to cross in bad weather.
Across the Lake is Donner Pass, our next stop. If you look closely you can spot the train tunnels built in 1867!
Here is Donner Lake from Donner Pass.
And here are some of the train tunnels. The concrete structures were originally made of timber. The line was used as late as 1993, when it was abandoned in favor of a newer line nearby, which cost less to maintain.
The tunnels are very dark and a little spooky to walk through. You will notice lots of graffiti at the beginning and a constant drip of water from the ceiling.
Old Highway 40, the Lincoln Highway, also crosses Donner Pass in this area. It’s pretty curvy, but was a huge improvement over the previous road, which had 18% grades! I don’t think the Big Blue Box could have made it over the pass back then! With the addition of Rainbow Bridge, built in the late 1920’s for a whopping $37K, the pass opened up to many more travelers. Rainbow Bridge was a high tech marvel for its time, the first highway bridge with a compound curve.
It’s still a beautiful bridge and worth a stop to admire.
But our visit to Tahoe was coming to an end, and it was time for us to head back to the Bay Area. We had a refreshing week in the Tahoe area, and hope to be back again next year. We decided to take a detour to Grass Valley for a few days and I’m glad we did.
Al & Deb
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