Travel Tahoe in the Summer

I hope everyone had a spirited long weekend!

For the fourth of July, my friends and I ventured to Lake Tahoe for a summer weekend full of classy beer, stand-up paddleboarding (aka SUPing), sailing, and hiking. As this trip has become an annual tradition, we book our Airbnb months before and have an enthusiastic spreadsheet of food and games. I spend the weeks leading up to Tahoe feeling giddy with excitement, because every time we do this trip, it’s incredibly fun and makes me appreciate my friends and the outdoors so much.

As a California girl, I’m a water girl, so every chance I get, I want to be outside during the summer and preferably by a place where I can swim and enjoy the water. While I’m sure Tahoe during the winter is beautiful, my heart belongs to summertime by this lake. The temperatures are warm at all times of the day, the water is cool and refreshing, and everyone is friendly. Most importantly, there are dogs EVERYWHERE. Basically heaven.

I already cannot wait until next year’s excursion. If you find yourself in Tahoe this summer or want to go next summer, here are a few things I recommend you do:

Get your Airbnb early { Spots fill up extremely fast in Tahoe. Even if you don’t have a fully formed group yet, reserve your house and find people to fill it up }

 Stay on the North side { South Tahoe is just as beautiful, but it ends to be more crowded. The North side is more privately owned so it’s calmer, and you can ogle at some of the insane boats on the water }

Sailing { It doesn’t get more American than boating on the lake with a Coors light in hand }

Tubing { I didn’t post pictures of this because I look absolutely mortified, but admittedly, this was the most fun thing I did while at the lake. Pray you have a nice captain and hold on for dear life }

 SUPing { A relaxing way to spend an afternoon on the lake }

Hike the Tahoe Rim Trail { The trail is tens of miles long, but find a spot close to you that gets you a view of the lake }

Divide Meals { The easiest way to make sure everyone eats and not get too nitpicky about costs is to assign everyone in your group a meal to cook. As you can see, I obviously was in charge of my favorite meal—breakfast }