Known for it's vibrant green and blue hues and iconic granite boulders, Lake Tahoe straddles the California-Nevada border, is a sought after destination, and one of our favorite places to visit that I still can’t believe is just a few hours away from us. Tahoe sits at 6,225 feet above sea level and is the largest alpine lake in North America, and the second deepest lake in the U.S. just behind Crater Lake.

Lake Tahoe is divided into North and South Lakes. Both areas provide similar activities year round, but North Lake is known for being a bit more laid back than South Lake. We’ve spent most of our winter visits in South Lake, but for our summer trip we split time between both and enjoyed each one as much as the other.

When to visit Lake Tahoe in the summer with Your Dog

With nearly 300 days of sunshine a year, Tahoe is a year round destination for all types of travelers. It’s particularly fun to visit with your dog in the summer when more activities are open to them - like the aerial gondolas and mountain trails at the ski resorts and fun water activities.

For the full summer experience at Lake Tahoe, you should visit after Memorial Day and before Labor Day. We once came to Tahoe Memorial Day weekend and it snowed! If you’re not interested in high 80 degree days, come earlier in the summer. Unfortunately, Tahoe continues to see higher and higher temps each summer due to global warming, but it is still like the rest of California in that it cools off pretty dramatically in the mornings and evenings. So, don’t forget your layers.

I would avoid coming on a holiday weekend, like 4th of July. Lodging will be really expensive and the lake will be packed. I’d also keep an eye out for golf tournaments that can raise prices and lead to congestion - there are a handful that are played every year in the Tahoe area.

HOW TO GET TO lake TAHOE

If you’re flying into Tahoe, we’d recommend flying into Reno and you’ll want to rent a car. If you’re driving, make sure you hit the road at off times to beat the crazy traffic getting in and out of the lake for the weekend. People in the Bay Area practice Summer Fridays, so avoid Friday afternoons for your drive in and Sunday afternoons for your drive out. These times of day will easily add one to two hours onto your travel time. We’d also recommend planning for there to be daylight on your drive in. This is one of our favorite scenic drives that you won’t want to miss. The road is also a bit windy if you’re entering on 80 into South Lake, and feels less treacherous in the daylight.

Where to Stay when visiting Lake Tahoe

There are plenty of options when it comes to dog-friendly lodging in Lake Tahoe. Whether you prefer a hotel or a home rental, we’d recommend picking your lodging based on the location of your activities and the vibe of the area you’re looking for. We prefer home rentals or long term stay hotels with home-like amenities, and having a backyard or a grass area nearby. We’ve stayed at The Coachman for a quick weekend getaway and have rented several houses and a condo through AirBnB and VRBO. We were supposed to stay at this aframe for our recent visit but they had a bit of a house emergency with a pipe bursting, so this one is still on our wish list.

I typically like to find lodging within 30 minutes of most of our activities so we’re spending more time exploring instead of driving. If you’ll be in Tahoe for a decent amount of time then you should consider splitting your time between North and South Lakes - the whole lake is really worth experiencing! - and plan your activities accordingly.

Dog-Friendly Activities for Your Lake Tahoe Itinerary

We know it can be tough building an itinerary for a place to visit that has SO many things for you to do. That’s why we’ve rounded up all our favorite dog-friendly activities that we enjoyed (and will warn you against those that we didn’t) during our week stay in Lake Tahoe.

Catch a Sunset over Emerald Bay

Emerald Bay is located 12 miles north of South Lake Tahoe. Vehicles cannot drive down to the lake, but there are many vistas and hiking trails. This spot is particularly great for sunset viewing at inspiration point, which has a free parking lot adjacent to the viewpoint.

To catch the sunset, you’ll want to show up around 7 p.m. to catch the sun going down behind the trees, which is a perfect time for photos, and then grab a bench and stick around for the colors to change in the sky as sunset approaches around 8:20 p.m.

There is another viewpoint across the lake, Emerald Bay State Park Lookout, that’s worth checking out, but before sunset. This viewpoint also has a designated parking lot and if it’s full there is some room on the shoulder of the main road to park. The location of this viewpoint loses visibility of the sun by 7 p.m. from the sun setting behind the trees, so plan to visit this spot first and then head a few minutes down the road to Inspiration Point if you want to do both.

HIKE as many dog-friendly trails as you have time for

In the summer, hiking and hitting the water are the two main dog-friendly attractions in Tahoe. AllTrails also has a great interactive map that shows all the dog-friendly trails around Lake Tahoe, so it’s really easy to find ones near your lodging or determine which ones make your must hike list. We did all of our hiking in South Lake and loved every trail we picked.

I typically look for easy to medium hikes that will take no more than 3 hours to explore. We like to do most of our hiking in the morning so it aligns with Ruby’s usual morning walks and this usually allows us to beat the crowds and have nice lighting and space for photos. After researching on AllTrails and a few Tahoe blogs, I landed on these hikes for the first few days of our trip in South Lake Tahoe.

Fallen Leaf Lake Trail

Fallen Leaf Lake Trail is an out-and-back trail near South Lake Tahoe. This trail is generally considered a moderately challenging route, but we would consider it relatively easy. There are a few tree obstacles along the way and a couple inclines, but the trail is relatively cleared and flat. The trail is mainly dirt with rock structures throughout, so you will need to watch your footing.

This is a very popular area for hiking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round, although the road is not plowed in the winter, and is beautiful to visit anytime. We encountered several dogs along our hike and from time to time some were off leash.

dog on fallen leaf trail — Fallen Leaf Lake Trail

In order to access the trail, you’ll need to pay a $10 day use fee at the Fallen Leaf Lake Campgrounds entrance. The attendant will give you a tag to hang on your dash and then you’ll turn around and take the road to the left of the entrance towards the day use parking lot. The parking lot is about a half mile down the road and you’ll see it just beyond the trailhead on your left. There are about 20 spots in the day use lot and there is a trail just in front of the lot that you can take to intersect with the main route.

The trail starts off with gorgeous views of the lake where you can walk down to the shoreline. There were several dogs making their way to water for a splashing good time. There are also a few benches along the way if you’d like to sit and enjoy the view and on our way back we noticed several campers were heading to the water at mid-morning to stake out their spots.

As you continue to the left for the trail, you bob and weave along the lake’s edge offering varying views of the lake and landscape, as well as some shaded areas. The trail is generally pretty well defined for the first 1.5 miles. I’d recommend using AllTrails throughout your hike to stay on track, we got a bit turned around the further we got and wound up in a pretty undefined area that was just open forest.

AllTrails says this hike generally takes about an hour, but we spent two hours here with stops for photos and our little off-trailing adventure at the end.

dog sitting on a bench at fallen leaf trail — Overlook along the trail

Make sure you pack plenty of water for you and your dog and pack out all your belongings. One thing to note is there are not trash cans in the area, not even at the trailhead, so be prepared to carry anything your dog may leave behind.

Chimney Beach Trail

Chimney Beach Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back trail near Carson City, Nevada. This trail is a bit more central on the lake, but closer to South Lake, particularly if you’re staying near the Stateline area. This is a very popular area for hiking, paddle sports, and walking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. We started our hike around 7:30 a.m. and had the trail and beach to ourselves.

There is a small, free parking lot at the trailhead that fills up fast in the summer. We were back to our car around 9 a.m. and the lot was full at that point with beachgoers for the day.

dog looking at camera and human looking at chimney beach — A pull off along the trail with Chimney Beach ahead

AllTrails considers this an easy route, and we’d agree for the way down, but there is quite an incline on your way back towards the parking lot. I’d plan for at least an hour to complete the out and back and allow for time to walk the beach a bit.

The best times to visit this trail are May through October. Dogs should be on leash, but the two we encountered were off leash on the beach. We would’ve let Rue off leash too, but she was very fixated on the little chipmunks running around.

We had originally planned to do Secret Beach first before heading to Chimney Beach. The location we were navigating to for the trailhead didn’t make any sense and was supposed to be a quick out and back to the beach. Since we were tight on time because we were checking out that morning; we skipped it. From the AllTrails map, it seems like you could walk to Secret Beach and Chimney Beach from this one trail depending on which way you go at the fork in the trail. Starting from this point, Secret Beach is further so plan to start earlier and give yourself more time if you’re going to explore both.

Cave Rock Trail

Cave Rock Trail is recommended for sunrise views, but we’re not that early of risers so we opted for a sunset hike instead. This is a 0.8-mile out-and-back trail near Zephyr Cove, Nevada along the South Lake shore. There is a very small, free parking lot at the trailhead that can accommodates 5 or so cars, so arrive early or go during the week.

owner and her dog looking out over cave rock overpass — Cave Rock overlook before the scramble up

The trail itself is an easy walk on a dirt path with a gradual incline towards the overpass. There is a 5-minute scramble at the very end if you want to scale the overpass and see the sunset on the lake without obstructed views. Thankfully, we packed Rue’s K9 Sport Sack so we could do the scramble. If your dog is uneasy about the scramble or too big to carry, there are a few viewing points, like the one above and below, at the base of the scramble that are worth checking out. Your sunset view will be a little obstructed by Cave Rock, but I think these views are still worth the quick walk.

This is a very popular area for birding and hiking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring, particularly at sunrise and sunset. We started our walk around 7:30 p.m., an hour before sunset, and there were several people here taking photos at the base for special occasions and several people that had scrambled to the top of Cave Rock for sunset views.

Once you’re at the top, there is plenty of room to find a perch to watch the sunset. We went towards the front edge for the perfect unobstructed view.

If you go to the top with your dog, you’ll want to make sure you leave when there’s still a little bit of light for the scramble down, which I always think is the harder part.

One thing to beware of are the gnats. There were large groups of them that were swarming us and quite annoying because they’d get really close to your face. As the sun went down they got worse.

Kayak Lake Tahoe in a Clear Kayak

When visiting Tahoe in the summer, you have to spend a day on the water! Boat rentals were a bit pricey for just the three of us for a half-day rental, so we went with the next best thing - clear kayaks!

Clearly Tahoe runs one dog-friendly tour along their shoreline between Zephyr Cove and Cave Rock. The tour has a max of 6-8 kayaks plus your guide and you can either kayak as a single or double. After our traumatizing experience on Lake Powell as a double, I booked us single kayaks for this excursion with Ruby in my kayak for an additional $20. I also thought single kayaks would be easier for taking photos throughout the tour.

dog on beach in life jacket — On the beach before our Clearly Kayak tour

Upon the day of your tour, you’ll meet at a shopping plaza near the Nevada Stateline, check in with Clearly Tahoe at their blue booth, and then their shuttle will take you to the water to depart on your kayak. After your tour, the same shuttle will take you back to the shopping center where you’ll return your life jackets and dry bags.

We opted for the morning tour to beat the afternoon heat. Our tour started at 8:45 a.m. and we needed to check-in by 8:30 a.m. The tour itself lasts for 3 hours.

Each kayak comes equipped with a bucket seat for you to sit on and a rubber pad your dog can sit on. We took Ruby’s travel mat, but she didn’t use it. The tour also supplies mini coolers with water and snacks for each kayak.

Our tour guide was great and took pictures and videos for us as we explored, while also sharing a lot of interesting facts about Lake Tahoe and it’s surrounding areas. She even ended up pulling one of our kayaks when we turned ours into a double because Ruby wouldn’t settle if Mike and I weren’t right by each other.

The tour itself is very relaxing. The water is calm and you’re traveling a short distance east and west of your drop in spot to explore the shoreline. Being able to see through to the clear blue water, gold flecked sand, and boulders below you is a really cool experience.

view of cave rock from Lake Tahoe — Cave Rock

stretch your paws on kiva beach

California in general is known for its beaches, particularly their dog-friendly ones, but the beaches in Tahoe are a little different. For one thing, they’re not made of sand. They’re rock beaches and some are more finely grained than others. Second, most of the beaches are for humans and there’s a small section of them where dogs are allowed to accompany their humans. This means they’re generally pretty crowded and boundaries can be an issue.

There are four beaches around Lake Tahoe that are coined as “dog-friendly”, but you should only spend your time at Kiva Beach. We’ve been coming to this beach for years, but somehow it’s managed to stay a hidden gem. It’s also the closest beach in Tahoe to an actual sand beach, which trust me, does make a difference. Ruby doesn’t get her usual zooms or dig on rockier beaches.

Kiva Beach is located right across the street from Fallen Leaf Lake in South Lake Tahoe and has it’s own free parking lot with a dog bag stand and trash cans. From the parking lot, it’s a short walk to the shore and as you veer to the left slightly through some large bushes the pathway opens up onto the beach.

Kiva Beach is also the largest dog-friendly beach of the four in Tahoe. The entire beach is open to dogs to stretch their legs and the beach has the perfect incline into the water for your dog to ease themselves in if they’re not a swimmer. And did we mention the views? I mean look at the picturesque mountains and trees surrounding this secret spot.

view of kiva beach and mountains — Backdrop of Kiva Beach

While this beach isn’t very well known, we’d still recommend coming early to have the whole beach to yourself. We arrived around 7:30 a.m and it was so peaceful being the only ones here. A local with his two dogs showed up when we were on our way out around 9 a.m. We chatted with him briefly and he confirmed locals don’t really come to Kiva Beach for whatever reason, so it stays pretty quiet.

This would also be a great spot to SUP and launch directly from the beach. The water is very calm and the buoy is pretty far out for boat wakes.

The other beaches around Lake Tahoe that are dog-friendly are Regan Beach, Nevada Beach, and Coon St. Beach (North Lake). In our opinion, none of these beaches are worth a visit. I wouldn’t even call Regan Beach a beach and Coon St. Beach and Nevada Beach are both very busy because they’re human beaches where one sliver of it at the end allows dogs to accompany their humans on the beach.

FLOAT TRUCKEE RIVER

Floating the Truckee River is the activity of the season. You can either float the river with your own devices - we saw several people in fun pool floats or on their SUP/kayak - or rent through various rafting companies.

We opted to rent a large raft for our group of six plus the two dogs through Truckee River Raft Rentals (orange paddles!). It was $65/person and the rental company provides the raft, life jackets for humans, a couple oars for steering away from trees and boulders, and transportation at the end of the float back to your car.

Upon your arrival in Tahoe City, you’ll park in their designated lot and check in with their staff. They’ll evaluate the size of your group and how much stuff you have and then place you in the right size raft. We brought two small yeti coolers for the six of us filled with water, beer and snacks to keep at the front and back of the raft. You will also want to make sure you take a life jacket for your dog to wear.

dog in raft floating on Truckee River — Floating the Truckee River

You’ll drop into the water at the check-in location and then it’s time to relax and enjoy. The water is calm for most of the float so you really don’t need to paddle and there are plenty of areas to pull off, take a dip in the river, and just hang out. It’ll take two to three hours to complete the five mile float depending on how often you stop.

As you near the end of the float at River Ranch Patio, there are small rapids for the last 2-3 minutes where you’ll need to hang onto your dog for the bumpy/bouncy ride. There are guides from the rental company at the patio that will direct you to your unloading spot and help you get all your belongings out of the raft.

You can either stop for a drink at River Ranch Patio (last call was around 4 p.m. when we got off the river and I heard they might not be dog-friendly), or head to the front and wait for the shuttle to take you back to your car.

This was such a fun activity that the whole group really enjoyed - even the dogs! To catch a glimpse into our day floating on the Truckee River, check out our recap on TikTok.

explore truckee

Downtown Truckee, California has maintained it’s old-west mountain charm and is a cute town to walk around and explore for a morning. The main strip is on Donner Pass Rd. and is home to several restaurants, shops, and coffee spots.

We enjoyed breakfast at the old timey diner Coffee And after finding out Squeeze In only had one patio table. The food was just as you would expect and the pancake was totally worth the splurge.

After breakfast we did some shopping in CA 89. They have a home and clothing store just a block away from each other and I literally wanted to buy everything in the home store. We took a peek inside their new dog store Wild Ruff that had just opened. They had a great selection of outdoor gear, toys, and high-end treat brands. We found the “Welcome to Truckee” mural at the Post Office that’s a block up from the main downtown area and enjoyed a lavender latte from Drink Coffee Do Stuff.

dog in front of welcome to Truckee sign — Welcome to Truckee sign at the Post Office

If you have more time, go beyond downtown a few miles and check out Donner Pass and Donner Lake.

Note: This area is named after the ill-fated Donner Party explorers that migrated to California from Illinois and Missouri on the Oregon trail, and unfortunately, got trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountain range during winter.

Donner Lake

Donner Lake is one of the highlights when visiting the Truckee area. Donner Lake is a freshwater lake in Northeast California about 20 miles northwest of the much larger Lake Tahoe.

The lake is surrounded by lake homes with docks, with a marina and a beach on the west end. The north side of the lake features 37 public piers that anyone can use to soak up the sun or gain access to the lake for swimming or water sports like kayaking or stand up paddle boarding. There’s also a tasty ice cream shop on the north side called Little Truckee Ice Creamery that makes all their recipes in house. The cookies and cream, cookie dough, and gingerbread ice creams were really tasty.

Donner Pass

Donner Pass is a 7,056-foot-high mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park. This is where the Donner Party was trapped and now represents the most important transmontane route (rail and highway) connecting San Francisco with Reno. It also makes for a pretty viewpoint.

RIDE AN AERIAL GONDOLA

In the summer, most aerial gondolas at ski resorts open up to dogs and you and your furry friend can enjoy the scenic views, hike the ski trails, and even enjoy lunch at some mountain tops that have amenities. Depending on where you’re staying, you have a few options for checking out an aerial tram/gondola with your dog.

Palisades Aerial Tram

The Palisades Aerial Tram runs from 11 a.m - 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and offers panoramic views of Lake Tahoe and surrounding mountain vistas on it’s 10-minute ride up 2,000 vertical feet. Season pass holders and dogs ride free. Kids ride free with a purchase of an adult ticket. Their website recommends purchasing your lift ticket online 2 days in advance to take advantage of this deal. Ticket are $39/adult.

The tram will drop you at High Camp, where you can explore a vast network of trails, roller skate, and grab lunch at their marketplace or on the patio of Granite Bistro Cafe. Once you get back down, you can walk around The Village at Palisades and it’s many shops and restaurants.

We had a bit of a lodging snafu during our trip that put this activity further away from us than originally planned, so we weren’t able to check it out. It’s definitely still on our list for next time.

Note: You might formally know The Palisades as Squaw Valley Ski Resort. They changed their name in late 2021.

NorthStar Gondola

The NorthStar gondola experience starts on the Village Gondola, whose enclosed cabins run to the mid-mountain Lodge at Big Springs. From there, you can hop aboard a gondola on the Zephyr lift for a ride to the upper ridge-lines for sweeping views of Lake Tahoe and the snow-crusted Sierra. Season pass holders and dogs ride for free. If you need a lift ticket, check their website or call for pricing. I read online that tickets were $6 and then when we went to the counter they were $23/adult.

The gondolas only run for so long, so make sure you head up the mountain so you can get all your exploring in. We, unfortunately, got a late start on the day we had planned to do this and decided not to spend the money for an up and back ride.

Instead, we rode the Highlands gondola at NorthStar that’s free and takes you up to the Ritz-Carlton, where we enjoyed cocktails and charcuterie on their beautiful patio.

dog in front of highlands gondola at Northstar resort — Highlands Gondola at NorthStar Resort

Dine on a dog-friendly patio

Since the weather is usually pretty perfect on a summer day in Tahoe, dining alfresco with your dog is a much enjoyed activity. Most restaurants have patios around Tahoe, but it’s always good to call and check that it’s dog-friendly. Here’s a list of some of the places we’ve enjoyed:

Azul (South Lake)
Blue Dog Pizza (South Lake)
Basecamp Pizza (South Lake)
Revive Coffee + Wine (South Lake) - don’t miss their breakfast sando on a roll from their food truck
Sprouts Natural Foods Café (South Lake)
The Hanger (South Lake brewery)
Jimmy’s at the Landing (South Lake)
Little Truckee Ice Creamery (North Lake)

We also tried Aleworx for dinner one night and while we enjoyed their patio, we did not like their food.

Drop us a comment if you have any questions about visiting Lake Tahoe with your dog, or check out our TikTok for daily video itineraries to help you plan your trip even further!