Attractions & Tours
Things to Do in Lake Tahoe
Tours, attractions, and experiences in Lake Tahoe — booking direct where we can, vetted affiliate partners where we can't.
28 attractions
Mountain Resorts
Lake Tahoe Mountain Resorts
8 listings
Heavenly Mountain Resort & Gondola
Tahoe's biggest mountain, straddling two states — 4,800 skiable acres in winter, and year-round gondola rides from South Lake Tahoe's village to a 9,123-foot observation deck with the lake filling the horizon.
Kirkwood Mountain Resort
Tahoe's powder-and-steeps mountain — 2,300-plus acres of chutes, cornices and bowls south of the lake off Carson Pass, with a high base that holds snow and none of the casino-strip bustle of the South Shore.
Palisades Tahoe & Aerial Tram
The 1960 Olympic mountain — 6,000 acres of legendary steeps across two connected valleys, North America's only ski-resort aerial tram gliding to High Camp's 8,200-foot pool deck, and summers of alpine hiking.
Northstar California Resort
Tahoe's polished family mountain — 3,170 groomed-to-silk acres above a pedestrian village with an ice rink and s'mores hour, plus summer lift-served mountain biking that ranks with the West's best parks.
Sierra-at-Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe's friendly local hill, now in its 80th season — tree skiing, terrain parks and a well-run kids program off Highway 50, rebuilt and replanted after the 2021 Caldor Fire burned through the mountain.
Diamond Peak Ski Resort
Incline Village's community-owned ski hill, celebrating its 60th season — a small Nevada mountain with a ridgeline run so close to the lake it feels like skiing into it, plus short lift lines and a family-scale base.
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe
The Tahoe ski area closest to Reno, with a high base that holds snow when others struggle — and The Chutes, 200-plus acres of steep, north-facing lines among the most serious lift-served terrain in the Sierra.
Sugar Bowl Resort
California skiing's historic heart on Donner Summit — founded in 1939 with Walt Disney among its backers, home of the state's first chairlift, and still a high-snowfall, character-rich mountain right off I-80.
Beaches
Lake Tahoe Beaches
3 listings
Sand Harbor State Park
Tahoe's most beautiful beach — Caribbean-clear coves between granite boulders on the Nevada east shore, with white sand, kayak rentals, a boulder-scramble shoreline, and July's lakeside Shakespeare Festival.
Pope Beach
The South Shore's long, pine-shaded sand — a Forest Service beach with shallow, gently sloping water, Mount Tallac views and kayak rentals, the easy family beach closest to South Lake Tahoe's town center.
Kings Beach State Recreation Area
The North Shore's big public beach — a long stretch of sand on the edge of a casual lake town, with a playground, picnic tables and calm swimming water, and taco shops and paddle rentals a short walk away.
Historic Sites
Lake Tahoe Historic Sites
3 listings
Thunderbird Lodge Tour
Tahoe's most eccentric Gilded Age estate — a 1936 stone castle on the secret east shore, with a 600-foot underground tunnel to the boathouse of the legendary mahogany yacht Thunderbird. Summer tours only; book early.
Tallac Historic Site
Tahoe's Gilded Age, preserved in the pines — three grand 1890s-1920s estates on a walkable lakefront stretch of South Shore, with summer museum tours, gardens, a brilliant beach, and the Valhalla boathouse theater's festival.
Donner Memorial State Park
The Sierra's most sobering story, told where it happened — the Donner Party's 1846 winter camp beside its namesake alpine lake, with a modern museum, the Pioneer Monument's 22-foot snow-depth pedestal, and summer beaches.
State Parks
Lake Tahoe State Parks
3 listings
Sugar Pine Point State Park
The West Shore's quiet grand estate — a 1903 lakefront mansion with summer tours, a pier and lawns facing the lake, old-growth pines, and in winter more than 20 km of marked cross-country trails on former Olympic ground.
Van Sickle Bi-State Park
A free trail park straddling the California-Nevada line right behind Heavenly Village — walk from the casinos into pine forest and granite outcrops with lake views, and connect to the Tahoe Rim Trail.
Spooner Lake and Backcountry
The quiet Nevada side of Lake Tahoe State Park — an aspen-ringed mountain lake with an easy loop trail, the gateway to Marlette Lake and the Flume Trail, and free groomed Nordic trails in winter.
Tours
Lake Tahoe Tours
2 listings
Lake Tahoe Balloons
The world's only hot-air balloon flight launched and landed on water — lift off from a custom catamaran mid-lake at sunrise, float above the cobalt with the whole Sierra in view, and toast the landing back on deck.
Clearly Tahoe Clear Kayak Tours
Paddle a transparent kayak over Tahoe's glass — guided small-group tours in clear-bottom boats where boulders, trout, and hundred-foot visibility glide beneath your feet; sunset and LED-lit night paddles included.
Hiking Trails
Lake Tahoe Hiking Trails
2 listings
Rubicon Trail and D.L. Bliss State Park
Tahoe's classic shoreline hike — granite ledges and clear turquoise coves from D.L. Bliss around Rubicon Point to Emerald Bay, with a tiny historic lighthouse and some of the clearest water anywhere on the lake.
Tahoe Rim Trail
A 165-plus-mile loop along the ridges around the whole Tahoe Basin, through two states and three wilderness areas — most visitors hike a day segment for the lake views, and thru-hikers circle the lake in a couple of weeks.
Natural Wonders
Lake Tahoe Natural Wonders
1 listing
Cruises
Lake Tahoe Cruises
1 listing
Outdoors & Adventure
Lake Tahoe Outdoors & Adventure
1 listing
Family Fun
Lake Tahoe Family Fun
1 listing
Museums
Lake Tahoe Museums
1 listing
Nature Centers
Lake Tahoe Nature Centers
1 listing
Towns and Waterfronts
Lake Tahoe Towns and Waterfronts
1 listing
Looking for a place to stay near these attractions?
Browse Lake Tahoe Hotels →