Northern Lake Tahoe in Summer with Kids

During our trip to the western coast of the United States, we had the opportunity to drive from Reno to Sacramento.  Heather, being the excellent planner, she is, charted us a route that took us past Northern Lake Tahoe.  The idea being that we wanted to get in every possible site we could while there for the brief time we were. 

But what’s there to do in Lake Tahoe in summer with kids?  Here’s a list of some of the things we found to do, and a few we didn’t get a chance to try.

Drive/Viewpoints

The drive along North Lake Tahoe takes you up high into the mountains to elevations over 9000 feet.  This elevation allows for some breathtaking views of the valley and the lake below.  It’s a long winding journey up, but the scenery is beautiful the entire way.  There are also road markers that tell you how high above sea level you are as you continue to travel skyward.

In addition to the scenery, there are the North Lake Tahoe viewpoints.  These are designated areas that you can pull off the road to stop and look at the expanse of the lake.  It’s a great place to stop and take pictures or just reflect on the beauty of nature.  The landscape is truly unbelievable and worth stopping for. 

Incline Village

Incline Village is a small town to the North of Lake Tahoe.  We stopped here to take a break from our drive and get a bite to eat (more on that later.)  It was a neat little town with lots of shops and restaurants. 

T’s Mesquite Rotisserie

T’s Mesquite Rotisserie was a small restaurant that we decided to try at Incline Village.  It was recommended to us by the waitress we had at Our Bar, a restaurant we ate at while in Reno.  The food here was great.  T’s is the self-proclaimed “local’s favorite restaurant” and after eating there we can see why.  All the meat choices were cooked over the open fire rotisserie.  They offered delicious tacos, burritos, nachos, and more.  The food was great, and they were well priced.

King’s Beach

King’s Beach is another town along the shore of North Lake Tahoe.  This town is also full of lots of shops, restaurants, and places to stay but the main attraction of this town is the beach.  Here you can access the lake for swimming, surfing, boating, and more.  We didn’t take a dip in the lake but did walk out on to the beach to see it up close. 

While in town, we did stop at one of the stores and got our hands on some ice cream, more on that later.  The beach also had a public parking lot by the beach and a rest area.  They offered bathrooms, water fountains and places to get changed if you did want to hit the sand. 

The Robin’s Nest

Another place we stopped at King’s Beach was a bright yellow barn-style building called The Robin’s Nest.  They consider themselves a true “Tahoe Style” gift shop.  It’s a cute little store that features lots of great items to buy.  Some of the items they feature are hand-carved bears, soaps, shirts, decorative items, gifts, and more.  They also are a good spot to grab some Lake Tahoe Souvenirs. 

Log Cabin Caffe & Ice Cream

We stopped at the Log Cabin Café for a little ice cream break.  The café had inside and outside seating available and featured an outside walk-up window for ice cream purchases.  We did the walk up and sat outside.  The outdoor seating area was nicely decorated, and the ice cream was delicious of course.  A great place to stop and cool off in Lake Tahoe in the Summer.

Things We Didn’t Try

There are a lot of other things to do in North Lake Tahoe in the summer that we just didn’t have time to check out.  Here are some of those things.

Water Activities

The lake is huge and offers lots of opportunities for water sports.  You can boat, kayak, surf, swim, canoe, and more in the lake.  They also have a lot of places along the lake to rent equipment if you don’t have your own.  You can also charter a fishing excursion on the lake. 

The most unique water activity though is the Lake Tahoe “Jetovator.”  This is a high-pressure personal watercraft that uses high-pressure jets of water to propel you up into the air and achieve flight over the lake.  To ride the Jetovator you must be 16 years of age, so this is not suitable if you’re traveling with small children.

Restaurants

King’s Beach is full of great places to stop and eat.  We were there at an off time, so we weren’t looking for a meal, which is why we went with ice cream.  However, if we were looking for food, there would have been a lot of options to choose from.  There are also a couple of locally-owned coffee shops if that is more your speed.  We were stuck choosing between ice cream and coffee due to time constraints, so this time ice cream won out. 

Shopping

We did go into one of the stores, but there were numerous other stores that we wished we had time to check out.  The stores range from typical tourist stops to cute boutiques to art galleries and just about everything between. 

Other Outdoor Activities

North Lake Tahoe offers lots of other outdoor activities.  There is great hiking, with hundreds of trails to explore.  They have more typical activities like bike rentals and mini-golf.  They also have full-size golf courses.

Unique Experiences

Some other more unique experiences are available at North Lake Tahoe.  They are not suitable if you have small children, but for the more adventurous travelers, there are some more interesting options available.  One option for those looking for something unique is hang glide over Lake Tahoe. 

Another available option is to charter a small plane that will fly you over the lake at 300 miles per hour.  This provides views that you can’t get any other way.

Final Thoughts about Lake Tahoe in Summer

In closing, there are tons of things to do in North Lake Tahoe in the summer with kids.  We were only able to spend a portion of the day there as we were traveling from Reno to Sacramento and made this a stop on the way. 

However, this is a stop we were incredibly happy that we made.  North Lake Tahoe is beautiful and worth the visit.

Speaking of beaches, here are our favorite Jersey beaches!

Have you been to Lake Tahoe in Summer? with kids?