Lake Tahoe- the place that should be on EVERYONE’S bucket list…

It all started in bed

while making my nightly thumb flicks up on the phone. That’s right, Pinterest. When all of a sudden this beautiful, turquoise colored water with massive boulders nestled in between mountains came across the screen. Guess where it was?!? Yep, Cal-eh-freakin-forn-yuh!!! Then BOOM! in that instant it became a “bucket list” item. The pictures all looked so beautiful, I just HAD to see it in person. BONUS- Mr. Leni (that is what I like to call my husband, it makes me feel cool or something) had an upcoming 96 that he was actually going to be home for. Oh, before I forget, Mr. Leni is an active duty (AD) Marine so he is often gone and a 96 simply means he gets four days off. Which essentially means I just have to cook more.

Now that you’re all caught up….decisions, decisions….

So last minute, of course, there I am attempting to find somewhere to stay near Lake Tahoe. Which admittedly it was pretty overwhelming initially. First, I had NO CLUE which side of the lake I should look into. I searched all over social media and Google looking for direction on which part (North or South) was most recommended. Little secret, it didn’t matter at all! Next stressor was finding WHERE to stay within whatever area, but honestly the Airbnb options were extremely pricey, as were the hotels, and all of the campsites within the lake area were booked. I finally found two campgrounds with availability (Fallen Leaf and Camp Richardson), but within minutes they were both booked too. I felt completely defeated and almost pushed the trip back until after my husband’s deployment. Thankfully, I did not and reluctantly pursued other options a bit further away from the lake. Tahoe Valley Campground is where I ended up snagging a campsite for three days (around $160).

Arriving

After what was supposed to be an 8 hour trip turned into a 12 hour drive, good ole L.A. traffic, we finally made it around midnight. It was late and we could not find our campsite, so we just pulled into a vacant spot within the campground and slept in the car that night. The next morning we went to the office to check in. Which is also when we realized I had the wrong booking pulled up on my phone, hence why we could not find our site the night before (oops, my bad). The ladies in the office were kind, polite, informative, and even offered us to move sites (fo’ free!) to a better area with less traffic. We took the offer, popped up our tent and we were off in a jiffy to explore this beautiful lake nestled in between California and Nevada.

WHERE to stay and eat

Depending on what time of the year you go depends on where you should stay. Hotels or Airbnb would be my personal recommendation if your pockets are deep- in May it was around $500 for three nights. HOWEVER, if you’re a balla on a budget (like myself) camping is an affordable option. I do not recommend tent camping unless it is between the middle of June until about end of August. Why? Well, continue reading my experience and you’ll see, but also since the lake sets 6,225 ish feet (thanks Google!) above sea level it can be chilly. Food wise, we only tried a few restaurants because we’re only part-time ballers. Mickey-D’s for the win- McDonalds, we mostly ate at McDonalds because it was conveniently located, right outside of the campground and because they have bomb hot chocolate-facts jack.

We did go to Heidi’s Pancake House one morning. It smelled a little odd and was crowded, but the food was good offering large portions, a little pricey, homemade muffins were good- not the banana one though and the staff was kind. We also checked out the little outdoor shopping area by the Casinos. They are just North/ East of the south Lake Tahoe’s most southern point, located on the boarder of CA and NV. Called “Heavenly Village” and there we stopped for food at this outdoor restaurant with live music. It had a really relaxing vibe and the appetizers were good. PERK, there is also a Nestle toll house bakery right in this are (treat yo self, I did).

WHAT to do, bring, avoid

To do? There are endless options, but again this depends on the time of the year you go. Summer time obviously the lake (paddle boarding, jetski, boats, swimming, you get it right?) outside of the lake are tons of hiking areas, shopping, casinos, and just wholesome outdoor options. In the winter/ cooler seasons some of the trails are not accessible, but there are still a lot of less treacherous ones available to explore or go skiing. Do not be intimated by the word “hike”..the only thing I ever run for is the oven timer for my cookies and I was able to hike no probllama, so y’all should be fine. Plus, the views ARE WORTH it.

If you do decide to shop, I would not recommend going into any of the bigger name stores here (North Face, Vans and so on) as I found their prices kinda steep. If you stroll through Heavenly Village there are tons of little shops that have good prices for t-shirts and souvenirs. IF YOU GO CAMPING, make sure the campground supplies fire rings, if not bring one because they are expensive to purchase in the area. Also make sure you bring plenty of blankets. It gets cold at night and we ended up going to TJMaxx to purchase extra blankets- we were not as prepared as we thought.

Things to avoid? Well, if you get a little carried away at the Casinos, avoid yacking outside next to your tent because there are Black Bears and Mountain Lions (I will explain later)..

Personal Experience

Location wise, where we stayed was nice. We had the chance to check out some of the other campgrounds and I was glad we did not get a spot. They were kind of crowded and the location for some were a good drive from the Heavenly Village (which in my opinion had the best variety of things to do). Our campground was a good location, quiet, and nicely priced. Given the chance to do it again, I would definitely stay closer to Heavenly Village in a hotel or at one of the campgrounds there (they were on the water with flat campsites). I would HIGHLY suggest hiking down some of the hills (on the Eastern side slightly north of Heavenly Village).

Yes, the hike up sucked, but I personally found these views much more breath taking. We also hiked some of the trails (you can get a free map with them all labeled at the visitor center) and they were not difficult, even with snow and had some pretty beautiful waterfalls, but go off the beaten path- it is worth it. Since we went in May, it was not peak season meaning less traffic. We went ahead and drove around the entire lake in about two hours (making lots of stops). Obviously peak season will prolong that trip, but if you are able to do it, you should. Stop in and grab a map so you can identify the areas you want to stop and hike or just check out (the dam is pretty neat)

Which Side????

The Western side of the lake had endless hiking opportunities, the roads wind up and down the mountains offering beautiful peaks to stop and take photos. The Northern end (Incline Village) was the same, only not so desolate. There are some incredible homes up there, little family owned shops to stop in and of course nice views of the lake. The Eastern side of the lake (Nevada side) is not as “twisty and turny”, but it is every bit as beautiful! This was my favorite side because there were hiking options, beach (well lake) access, a mixture of family and chain restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. The Southern part of the lake is a nice affordable option with convenient access to both sides of the lake. Of course any “side” of Lake Tahoe is a good choice!

Now, let me tell you about the last day

Let me paint the mood here….it was our last night. Mr. Leni was new to the casino world, so I popped his cherry (that’s a first) and off we went. BOY! Talk about those free drinks while you play….let’s just say we had a good night and I foolishly switched from beers (at the restaurant) to liquor at the casino. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! Everyone knows, “liquor before beer, you’re in the clear” but “beer before liquor, never been sicker”…I don’t know who came up with that, but it is catchy and quite correct.

So later that night, sleeping in the tent it hit. I barely made it out of the tent to barf and Mr. Leni had the wonderful opportunity of holding my hair back (for the second time in our four years of being married). I literally puked RIGHT. OUTSIDE. of our tent next to a tree (cuz hey something had replace the support of what would usually be a toilet). No big deal, I then got it together long enough to walk to the restrooms to finish barfing and cleaning myself up. Fast forward, I am sleeping again and Mr. Leni starts with his “babe, babe. BABE I think something is outside of our tent”. I grumbled, “there’s nothing out there, just go to sleep” even if there were, why was he telling me?! As I am falling back asleep, I hear it too…the crunching of twigs on the ground, so I whisper to Mr. Leni, “hey…do you hear that? I think something is out there” we both began to listen. Within about a minute something BIG began brushing up right against our tent (right next to where I am laying-might I add).

The combination of my half chewed food spewed up against the tree and the (awful) smell of vomit emitting from the tent (my poor husband) something was enticed or at least curious. We still have no idea what it was, but it was big. That night was also freezing, like unbearably cold. We had no idea there was a winter weather advisory that night- yes, in May. When we woke up the next morning the place was covered in snow that was accumulating rapidly. We swiftly packed our site up and left, barely making it out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (due to inclement weather).