South Lake Tahoe Travel Forum

My husband's 30th birthday is coming up and we are planning to do a family vacation in Tahoe. There will be 9 adults and 2 children. We are renting a few campers and we don't know where is a better place to visit in September, North or South Tahoe. We want to do water activities, tours, etc... Any advice?

Both sides of Tahoe are wonderful and you can easily drive from one side to the other, enjoying the spectacular vistas as you go. For your special occasion and with that number of adults, I'd recommend the south shore because of all the entertainment: shows, casinos, shopping, etc. It's busier than the north shore but luckily you will miss most of the tourist season. There is so much to do and everything is easily accessible in South Tahoe. You may want to check out the camp grounds at Zephyr Cove--nice, fun beach, steamboat tours to Emerald Bay, watercraft rentals, etc, are right there, and the casinos in South Tahoe are about 10 minutes away. Check out www.zephyrcove.com. Another great place to camp: Camp Richardson Resort--check out its website at www.camprichardson.com. Lots to do for families and still close by to the activities at South Tahoe. Suggestion for a great birthday dinner--Edgewood Restaurant at Edgewood Golf Course--fabulous food and ambiance right on the lake: www.edgewoodtahoe.com. The north shore is quieter but there are still wonderful activities all along the lake. Let me know if you want north shore suggestions. Hope you have a fabulous time! :)

I have a few pages for places around there. I grew up on the north shore. I'd also recommend the South Shore if night time entertainment is a key attraction.

The north is quieter, but just for that, it has the feeling of being more a community and less a tourist haven.

How long will you be visiting? Will you have a car/van instead of only a camper? If you have a car, I could recommend a couple nice scenic drives. For example, over the Kingsbury Grade summit, down through the northern Carson Vally, through Virginia City, up NV-431 (Mt. Rose highway), and back through Spooner and Zepher Cove via highway 28. All stops along the way offer sites, hikes, history, etc.

Thanks! We are going to have the camper and a car. Now we're down to 7 adults an 2 kids. Thanks for the advice, I'm going to check out those places.

Thank you for your help. It sounds like South Tahoe has more activities. We will have a car and a large camper. Are those drives far? We went with Acker RV rentals. They set up the camper for us and I'm not sure if we can leave it there unattended. I'm new to the whole camping thing. I'm also new to this site. Thanks so much...

The drive I mention is not intended for an RV. You could do it, but it would be slow and the mountain slopes would be costly in gasoline. A car or van would be no problem.

Kingsbury Grade is a seasonal mountain pass that has some spectacular vistas. It goes from South Lake over the eastern range down to the Carson Valley. Takes ~1 hour.

From there to Virginia City, again ~1 hour. Virginia City is well worth the stop. Its what many call a "living ghost town" with an old west feel to it.

From Virginia City, you can go out the north side of town, as if you were going to Reno, and continue up NV-431. From Virginia City to Incline Village on the north side of the Lake takes ~1.5 hours.

Traveling between Incline and SLT on the eastern side will be ~45 minutes.