Looking for a little West Shore Lake Tahoe fun? Late summer/early fall is one of our favorite times to head to Lake Tahoe. The temps are perfect and the crowds are minimal. Today we are taking a look at CA State Park, Sugar Pine Point and the Ehrman Mansion on the West Shore.
Sugar Pine Point Park meets Lake Tahoe just south of Tahoma and just north of Meeks Bay. It is a gorgeous stretch of beach. You can rent kayaks and paddle boards or anchor a boat along the shore. The pier is a popular spot to jump from (in spite of the ‘no jumping’ signs) to plunge into the crisp aqua water of Lake Tahoe. You can take a hike or mountain bike the miles of trails that string the lake and the campground to the west or simply stroll the paved path that follows the shoreline. Plenty of picnic tables make it a perfect spot for lunch with sweeping views of the lake and the east shore beyond.
One of our favorite activities is to bike the Tahoe City Bike Trail which begins in Tahoe City and will take you all the way down to Meeks Bay in the south and out west out to Truckee. It’s a really well laid path, mostly flat, paved, and family friendly. We put on our swimsuits, pack a picnic and bike over for an afternoon of exploring. From May to the end of September, you can also take a tour of the historic Ehrman Mansion. This is the oldest of the few original lodges built on the lake in the early 1900’s. The Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay and the Thunderbird Lodge in Nevada are the only others I know of that still exist on the shore. I always try to imagine what the lake must have looked and felt like back then.
See our full Lake Tahoe collection here.
