For my birthday last month, my husband booked us a trip to Lake Tahoe! I’ve had it pinned on my Pinterest for years and have always wanted to go- my dad grew up going as a kid but never took us because our summers were full of traveling for soccer. So finally getting there was really a dream come true!

It was the best trip and is now for sure my second favorite place on the planet (second to Disneyland 😉 ) The pictures I took just don’t even do the place justice, it’s absolutely breathtaking and you can’t help by just be at ease while you’re there. I’ll break down our itinerary and all the details below!

We left our house at 6 am on Sunday morning, thinking that little Avery bean would continue her “night sleep” for the first 3-4 hours of the trip, BUT our little party animal was wide awake and ready to rock. We consider the actual road trip to be part of the vacation because we love road tripping so much. We had a few stops planned along the road but ended up skipping 2 of them because we were just on a roll and didn’t feel the need to get out just yet.

Stop #1 : Tule Elk State Natural Reserve : so we got here around 8:30 am and saw zero elk. I was told by many people in my DMs that to see the elk, you have to either be there by sunrise or closer to sunset. Apparently elk lay low during normal human waking hours. So if you’re stopping by, try to aim for around these hours in order to see the elk! It was still a nice place to walk around and stretch our legs, there’s a ton of space to let little ones run around. Avery liked chasing some of the chipmunks around and we also saw a baby duck which was really cute!

Stop #2: Sacramento Capitol Building : we’ve been to Sacramento a lot but have never actually seen the capitol building, so we did a little drive by before stopping for lunch! It was really cool to see in person and (being the nerd I am) I wanted to stop by the museum, but Avery happened to fall asleep right when we got here, which was around 12 pm, so we let her nap and just did a circle in the car around the humongous building.

We made it to Lake Tahoe around 3:45 pm and immediately went to the closest lake front parking lot. We stayed at an AirBnb in North Lake Tahoe and couldn’t check in till 4 pm so we had some time to kill. The lake was instantly stunning (duh) and I was just so happy to be there! We walked around the lake for a little bit before driving to the local grocery store to get a case of water (and some sparkling water) and some milk for the mornings.

After checking in, we unpacked and got cozy for our first night! Our AirBnb was so cute and Avery loved having so much freedom to run around and explore. We went into town for take-out pizza (Whitecaps Pizza) to eat back at the cabin and it was the best way to relax after the road trip!

Day #2

So this day ended up being a complete accident and it ended up being amazing and we saw so much more of Tahoe than we originally had planned. Because North Lake Tahoe was expected to get thunderstorms and lightening in the afternoon, after breakfast we drove towards South Lake Tahoe, did all the sightseeing stops and ended up riding bikes to a little historical village I had no idea even existed!

We walked to breakfast from our Airbnb, which was so nice! We ate at SpindleShanks and then walked from there to a local coffee shop, Tree House Cafe. The coffee shop was right near the lake so of course we went straight back to play in the water and the sand before heading home.

After relaxing on the couch for a bit, we packed up the car and got out of North Lake Tahoe right before the rain started! We were sitting on our balcony when we started to hear the thunder and knew it was time to rock and roll!

We drove into Heavenly, a ski resort in South Lake Tahoe to walk around and shop, Joey also wanted to try a burger spot he’d read about, so we ate lunch at Burger Me! before shopping around. Whenever we visit somewhere, I always try to find the visitor center to grab some maps and info for the remainder of our trips. I also keep all the handouts to use in the scrapbook I’ve been making for Avery! When we got to the visitor center, we learned about this historic lakeside village that is on a bike route, and since Joey packed the bikes, we thought we might as well visit it while we were in the area.

After parking along the highway, we got the bikes out and followed the signs down to the Tallac Historic Site!

Tallac Historic Site

The site is a huge piece of land that once housed the “Grandest Resort in the World” as well as the summer estates of three of San Francisco’s socially elite.

The buildings all still stand and you can walk around and peek into the windows to see the actual items still in the houses and rooms. They do offer tours of the grounds and the insides of all the houses but they are seasonal and weren’t being offered when we were there. I felt like we were transported into an old school Disney princess movie to be honest, it’s such a cute , quaint little village full of the families homes and where their employees lived as well (butlers, tudors, nannies, cooks, etc). 

There are three family estates. The first one we explored was the Pope Estate, it’s the oldest of the three estates and was originally built in the 1894 by Lloyd Tevis, the former president of Wells Fargo Bank. 

The second estate we explored was the Baldwin Estate. This was once the location of the home of Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin, who came to Lake Tahoe in the 1920s and bought 2,000 acres of land lakefront. On his land, he built what was once the Tallac House Casio and Hotel, which is long gone now. The only house that still stands is Baldwin’s granddaughter’s house.

The third estate is the Heller Estate, also known as Valhalla. This estate also features a Boathouse Theatre and Valhalla Grand Hall. The Valhalla Grand Hall has been restored and actually hosts weddings a few times a year! 

It was so cool to walk around and view the houses and rooms from the outside. It’s a beautiful place to bike ride and take in the lake as well! 

Afterward, we drove to Emerald Bay, which is beautiful look out point to view the only island in Lake Tahoe. Of all the stops to make, I definitely recommend this one. It’s absolutely mind blowing how beautiful it is looking down onto the water from so high up. 

Emerald Bay is in South Lake Tahoe, so we completed the whole loop around the lake, stopping through Truckee on the way up, which is a really cool old fashion town! Then it was back home for dinner and root beer floats before movie night! We bought groceries to cook dinner at the Airbnb on Monday, instead of eating out! When we got back to the house, the ground was completely soaked, but the rain had stopped and the clouds had all gone away, so I’m glad we chose to leave and get out before the rain started! Luckily, South Lake Tahoe was nothing but sunshine! 

Day #3

Tuesday was kayak day! For whatever reason, despite staying up later than usual, Avery decided to get up at 6:30 in the morning. I think she probably heard something outside in the trees because I was waking up a little bit each morning for the same reason. Joey likes waking up early and was already ready to hit the water so we got ready, jumped in the car, grabbed some coffee and bagels at Drink Coffee Do Stuff (which was AMAZING) and drove straight to Sand Harbor to get a parking spot and beat the crowds. If you’re planning a trip to Tahoe, I definitely suggest getting to your location early for hiking, biking, or kayaking. The parking lots fill up fast and once they’re full, the gates are shut for the day. We were one of the first people on the lake and it was so beautiful, calm, and peaceful! The water was still and looked like glass, it was amazing. By the time we got on the water, it was around 9 am. 

We kayaked for about 4 hours and then got out to go get some lunch. Sand Harbor has a restaurant and snack bar that you can walk to for food. Then, we drove out and parked the car in a near by lot while Avery napped in the car (so did Joey lol).

Once everyone woke up (about an hour later, which was now about 4 pm) we got the bikes out of the back of the truck and did a bike path right along the water and above where we were previously kayaking. Tahoe has all these paved paths specifically for biking and walking and its so nice to look over the lake while you’re riding. 

On the way home, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant for take out and then had dinner at the AirBnb! Joey and I fell asleep watching Moana on the couch with Avery (who every time I mentioned to her that she had been sleeping, shouted “No, Avery watching Moana.” It. was so cute. Eventually, around 10:30 pm, we all got up and actually went to bed in our beds LOL. It was such an amazing day.

Day #4

Sadly, our last day! Joey and I got up early to do laundry, clean up, and pack the truck up (I love doing Airbnbs over hotels because I like to leave knowing I don’t have to do a ton of laundry when I get home! We pack everything up clean, just how it came!) 

We had breakfast at Tunnel Creek Cafe and then did one more stop by Drink Coffee Do Stuff because their chai tea was THAT good! I could not leave without getting one more! By the time we left Tahoe, it was around 11 am.

On the way home, we took a different route and ended up doing one stop near Mammoth and then another stop at June Lake for pizza!

I always loathe the drives home, they’re always so much longer and just really the thought of returning to reality is just tough lol.

I absolutely loved Tahoe and Joey and I already want to make this a yearly trip as a family. It is so beautiful and just such a peaceful place to be!