A few weekends ago my husband and I took a weekend getaway to Lake Tahoe without the kids. It was a nice time to reconnect the 4+ hours in the car, chatting, listening to music, and relaxing, plus doing some activities we wouldn’t normally do around the lake!
Something we could easily do with the kids, but they would probably grumble through it is take a scenic hike. We decided on hiking at Emerald Bay down to Eagle Falls and Vikingsholm Castle. This trail starts at Eagle Falls Picnic Area, highway 89 across from Emerald Bay, and with a requires a $7 hiking permit you can pay for at the trailhead. The hike is only about 2 miles round trip to Eagle Lake (only about 1/3 mile to the falls), the terrain varies from steep to flat and crosses beautiful Eagle Falls on a steel footbridge.
The road you hike down is gravel then paved, wide, and easy to manuever. There are tons of spots to stop and get some shade and even water to cool down (not to drink). We went about 9am and with the sun coming out, it can get pretty warm. The views are gorgeous, you can even see the Tahoe Queen come cruise through.
Once at the bottom you can tour Vikingsholm Castle, one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the western hemisphere through a paid guided tour. You can dip your toes in the lake, take a tour through the Visitor’s Center and Museum, or hike over to Eagle Falls (if you didn’t divert first like we did). The dirt path on the falls is rocky and only slightly steep at the most, it’s a perfect photo spot once you reach the top! The walk up doesn’t seem to be too tough, but remember you are in higher elevation, it takes some energy out of you! Take water and a protein bar. After exploring for a while we were back up to the car by noon.
After a visit to the hotel hot tub and a shower, my hubby and I decided to walk over to Tahoe Bowl. One of our favorite local hangouts, we’ve taken the kids here to burn off some steam. In this case, being alone, we skipped the bowling and enjoyed the Blue Dog Pizza located within the bowling alley and also enjoyed some beer and sports in the bar! Luckily we were within walking distance from our hotel, so it made it a safe trip!
With plenty of activities just across the stateline, my husband and I decided on a bit of gaming and more fun. With casinos like MontBleu, Harrah’s and Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, you can try your hand at lady luck, see a show, listen to music, and like me maybe win a few dollars ($30 total, better than losing!) With that extra money in hand we were excited to do what we like best, laugh! Later that evening, we called up the Improv at Harvey’s Casino and booked tickets ($30 each) to see some comedians. I was so excited to hear Dat Phan was performing, we had watched him win the reality show, Last Comic Standing in it’s first season, plus two other comics.
The show was hilarious, an hour and 45 minutes worth of laugh to tears comedy. A waitress comes to take drink orders during the show if you wish, and the theater is personal (be careful if you sit in front, you’re bound to get “teased!” and seats comfortable. For an additional $10 you can get a booth with friends!
Just outside the theater you’ll find the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant and stage. Saturday nights at about 10-10:30 you’ll get live music on the stage (classic rock that night) and with ample seating and dancing you can have a ball! We decided to share a late dinner and dessert, so our table was in great view of the action. We hung out until near midnight and it was a fun filled day for sure!
The next morning we were excited to go back to a wonderful place to eat, The Red Hut Cafe.
Sunday mornings are busy, go early and get your name in! We met some friends from Sparks and waited about 40 minutes for our table, but it was worth it, the food and service are great!
There are a million things to do in Tahoe, we love it and go back as often as possible any season of the year!
All opinions are our own, we were not compensated in any way for this post.
