After shifting to the west coast, Lake Tahoe was on the high of my bucket listing for the crystal clear lake, the mountain climbing, and the watersports, however my husband had already been and was not inclined to return.
When he rejected all of my concepts for a Labor Day getaway close to dwelling, he revealed the explanation – a shock journey to Lake Tahoe with our child for my 30th birthday!
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Getting from the Airport to our Lake Tahoe Lodging
We flew from Portland to Reno, which is the closest airport to Lake Tahoe.
We rented a automotive for our time exploring Lake Tahoe with a child. Since we had a rental automotive, we introduced an toddler automotive seat which inserts into our journey stroller.
The stroller/automotive seat combo is our favourite for flying with a child. We will simply navigate the airports with our child and this journey system. It’s straightforward sufficient to push the stroller, with the automotive seat connected and a few baggage all with one hand.
Are you flying together with your toddler in your approach to Lake Tahoe? Make it a profitable journey expertise with my finest ideas for flying with a child.
The place to Keep in Lake Tahoe with a Child
North Tahoe is quieter, extra peaceable and costlier, with fewer shops and eating places. South Tahoe is extra city and busier, with a wider vary of lodging and extra shops and eating places.
There are a bunch of casinos on the Nevada aspect of the lake (the north aspect), which is a draw for some, however with infants you aren’t even allowed to stroll via a number of the on line casino entrances to inns.
Whereas visiting Lake Tahoe with a child, we stayed on the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort. We couldn’t have extra good issues to say about our keep on the Hyatt Regency.
We acquired an improve to the Regency Membership with entry to complimentary breakfast, snacks, and cocktail hour (with desserts!). The indoor/outside pool on the Hyatt Regency was heated, which was key for our time at Lake Tahoe with a child because the lake was freezing chilly.
The seashore on the Hyatt Regency was breathtaking. We liked that the lounge chairs by the seashore all had umbrellas so we may maintain child within the shade and never have to fret about solar security. A transportable child seashore tent would have additionally labored effectively, however fortunately we already had this key child seashore important taken care of!
The Hyatt Regency resort in Lake Tahoe additionally has a spa, complimentary yoga courses on the seashore, and smores by the fireplace pit each night time. When selecting a resort for our child, I hadn’t realized how vital the resort facilities can be in having fun with our journey to Lake Tahoe with our child, however they turned out to be a giant a part of what made the journey so fulfilling.
As for different child journey necessities, the resort supplied a pack and play, so we didn’t must pack a child journey crib. To get our child sleeping on trip, we did what many different mother and father do… at bedtime we turned off all of the lights after which mainly hid within the lavatory consuming dinner.
Getting Round Lake Tahoe with a Child
With so many issues to do in Lake Tahoe, it’s finest to have a rental automotive for farther distances.
A journey stroller can be price bringing, because the paved pathways are a good looking straightforward stroll. Like many locations, selecting to carry a stroller vs a child service is a tricky selection.
For Lake Tahoe, we suggest bringing each. Whereas the stroller is handy for the airport and the paved pathways, a child service for mountain climbing can be crucial. We introduced our Lillebaby service for mountain climbing with our child.
Issues to do in Lake Tahoe with a Child
East Shore Path
The Tahoe East Shore Path is a paved lakeside path that runs from Incline Village right down to Sand Harbor State Park. You’ll be able to both stroll or bike on this paved lakeshore path and cease at one of many 11 seashores it passes alongside the three miles.
We walked the East Shore Path with our journey stroller and stopped at seashores alongside the way in which. You’ll find bike leases together with trailers that work for infants older than 12 months outdated or toddlers.
Relying on the place you might be staying when visiting Lake Tahoe, there are different choices for Lake Tahoe biking just like the household pleasant 5 mile Historic Truckee River Bike Path from Tahoe Metropolis.
Lake Tahoe Household Photoshoot
A household photoshoot is a wonderful approach to protect recollections out of your journey to Lake Tahoe! Get $25 off your first Flytographer picture shoot.
Lake Tahoe Mountain climbing
There’s no scarcity of mountain climbing round Lake Tahoe, with choices for all ability ranges. Most of the Lake Tahoe hikes have lake views however there are additionally loads of forested trails.
If happening a busy weekend it’s vital not solely to set out early (which we did) but additionally to concentrate on driving distances and visitors as a result of there’s simply the one highway going across the lake and there’s no escape if it will get backed up. You additionally need to guarantee you will get parking as shut as attainable to the trailhead.
We did the Rubicon Path in D.L. Bliss State Park, with spectacular views of the lake, a principally shaded path, and a path right down to the water on the finish for some swimming! This mountain climbing path connects D.L. Bliss State Park to Emerald Bay State Park, which additionally has loads of mountain climbing trails.
The 7 mile out and again Rubicon Path additionally has a couple of entrance factors so you’ll be able to select how lengthy of a hike you need to do.
There was quite a lot of visitors driving from the north finish of the lake to the south finish, although this will have been principally because of the vacation weekend. We weren’t capable of park on the precise Rubicon trailhead and needed to park on the aspect of the freeway a couple of quarter mile away.
The Tahoe Meadows Interpretive Loop is one other straightforward path that you would be able to hike with a toddler or child. It has loads of wildflowers and wood boardwalks that toddlers will like to cross.
As you’ll be able to see, a child service is a vital accent for outside household actions. Discover the one which’s finest for you in my listing of child carriers for mountain climbing.
Paddle Boarding on Lake Tahoe
Rise up paddle boarding on Lake Tahoe was one exercise we actually wished to do, however on a busy vacation weekend it simply wasn’t within the playing cards for us. With water so clear and big boulders to discover, it seems to be like an unbelievable place to face up paddle board.
We tried twice to lease paddleboards at Sand Harbor, and each occasions arrived when the parking zone was already full (at some point within the late morning and at some point at 8am). Sand Harbor opens at 7am and after the parking zone fills it doesn’t open to new automobiles till late afternoon (by which period the paddle board rental is closed).
We ended up going later within the day simply to discover and swim just a little.
If Sand Harbor doesn’t work out, there are different locations to lease paddle boards across the lake that is perhaps much less busy. Different locations to paddle board are D.L. Bliss State Park and Emerald Bay.
Different Watersports on Lake Tahoe
There are various operators on the lake for boating, waterskiing, parasailing, and jet snowboarding. We booked a parasailing journey via the Hyatt and took turns holding the infant and having fun with the stress-free trip within the sky. Our boat captain was additionally capable of level out fascinating mansions and tales of the individuals who stay in them as we rode across the lake.
We introduced an toddler life vest on the journey particularly for this exercise. Our daughter didn’t complain about carrying it however she appeared all squished up in it and I don’t suppose she had a lot enjoyable.
Sadly, if a life vest goes to do its job for a child as younger as ours was, there’s no approach for it to essentially be comfy. I don’t suppose I’d do it once more simply because she appeared so uncomfortable, however my husband jogs my memory that she didn’t complain.
There are such a lot of issues to do in Lake Tahoe! Try these superb Lake Tahoe Excursions.
Lake Tahoe Seashores
There are simply too many seashores alongside Lake Tahoe to rely! Our favourite Lake Tahoe seashore with a child was Hidden Seashore, which we stumbled upon whereas out for a stroll on the East Shore Path.
Hidden Seashore has a little bit of shade, which is so good when going to the seashore with a child. It additionally has enjoyable, massive boulders to climb on. Our daughter was fascinated with the feel of the sand.
As an additional benefit, it was the proper size from our resort for an excellent stroller nap!
Different family-friendly Lake Tahoe seashores are King’s Seashore and Frequent’s Seashore, which each have sand and playgrounds for anybody touring to Lake Tahoe with toddlers.
Sandy seashores are nonetheless uncommon on Lake Tahoe and whereas Hidden Seashore was positively extra fascinating, the Hyatt Regency has its personal seashore with very good sand and the identical distant views of the mountains rising from the water on the opposite aspect.
What the Hyatt lacks in cool boulders it makes up for with tranquility (solely friends are allowed, so no crowds) and the flexibility to order drinks and meals proper out of your lounge chair on the seashore. This was particularly helpful for when our daughter was napping on the seashore.
Swimming
We additionally spent a while simply hanging on the heated pool. We introduced little floating toys for our daughter to seize and did a bunch of floating and swimming.
The place to eat in Lake Tahoe with a Child
We didn’t eat out at any eating places whereas in Lake Tahoe. For us it was simpler to eat on the resort and get takeout meals for dinner.
We ate breakfast on the resort membership, had gentle lunches on the go or by the seashore/pool, and certainly one of us would choose up meals for dinner whereas the opposite put the infant to mattress. We stopped in Reno for some fundamentals and groceries earlier than driving to Tahoe as a result of the whole lot is cheaper there, although you should purchase something round Lake Tahoe as effectively.
For feeding our child solids on trip, she was new to consuming solids so she acquired small bites of no matter we have been consuming.
What to Pack for Lake Tahoe with a Child
Bringing the appropriate gear (and leaving the remaining at dwelling), is a vital a part of each journey with a child. See what I believe is a very powerful gear in my listing of important child journey gear. It’s also possible to obtain my full packing listing for journey with a child.
In case you don’t really feel like packing all of it, you can also make your life straightforward with BabyQuip Lake Tahoe Child Leases.
Last Journey Ideas for Lake Tahoe with a Child
Although our journey was on a vacation weekend, we discovered it to be fairly crowded. We’d suggest avoiding vacation weekends when touring with a child to Lake Tahoe.
For a visit to Lake Tahoe with toddlers or older infants, most of the seashores are rocky. If it’s vital to you to have a sandy seashore, you’ll must perform a little analysis on the seashore earlier than you head out.
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Rikki Valverde
Rikki Valverde and her husband, Lawrence, like to journey and need to instill curiosity and a love for journey of their two youngsters (2 years and 5 months outdated). Rikki’s forte is analysis and itinerary planning, and Lawrence likes utilizing bank cards to reinforce our journeys with upgrades, lounges, and first-class flights.
Celine Brewer is the proprietor of Child Can Journey. Not solely does she have years of expertise touring with infants & toddlers, however she’s helped hundreds of thousands of recent mother and father journey with their infants and toddlers for over a decade. Along with writing on her child journey weblog, she has shared her experience on touring with a child or toddler by contributing to articles about touring with a child with the Washington Publish, USA In the present day, the Lonely Planet journal and Being pregnant & New child journal.
Celine additionally writes about household journey on the positioning FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns together with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her ardour about her dwelling and journey to Banff Nationwide Park and space on their website TravelBanffCanada.com.
