One of my very favorite ways to explore is to get out in nature with people I love. Recently my husband and I were able to sneak away for a couple of hours for one rad Day Date in Lake Tahoe. Walking in the woods is literally the best way I can think to spend a day together. We had a beautiful sunny day ahead of us. We decided to head up to the East Shore to hike part of the famous Flume Trail. The entire hike I kept thinking to myself how awesome it is that Nevada has done such a beautiful job preserving their side of the lake. Then vacillating to the other side wishing they would sell off some of it so that more people could enjoy it. What I would give to wake up to views of the lake from this perspective!
This portion of the Flume Trail is actually the northern tip where it merges with the Tahoe Rim Trail and into the Tunnel Creek Trail. Since this is an early season hike, we were fortunate not to see a lot of people and not to have to compete with many mountain bikers. Though one day, I’d love to be strong enough a mountain biker to do the whole Flume Trail. The start of this hike can be accessed a few miles east of Incline Village along Highway 28 also known as Tahoe Blvd.
The views are simply amazing. Legend has it that this is the entry point from which Mark Twain first saw Lake Tahoe. {Fun Fact: Did you know that Lake Tahoe used to be named Lake Bigler?} Twain was deeply moved by his time spent at Lake Tahoe and later wrote about his experience in his book Roughing It:
At last the Lake burst upon us – a noble sheet of blue water walled in by a rim of snow clad mountain peaks…as it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed on its surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”
I couldn’t agree more. As we looked out over the mountains at the glistening deep blues of the lake below, the reflections of the mountain were indeed photographed on the lake’s surface. The east shore is a lesser traveled gem. It’s waters range from deep cobalt to Caribbean turquoise blues. Large boulders protrude from the crisp lake water and make the best climbing spots. We spotted a lucky kayaker out that early spring day, with the lake entirely to himself. I started to envy him out there with Tahoe all to himself. Stopped myself from envy, knowing that familiar feeling of the sun on my back and that Tahoe Sparkle on the water, he was in heaven.
We ended our hike with a stop at the Tunnel Creek Cafe. This is also where you can catch the shuttle to the southern tip of the Flume trail at Spooner Lake State Park then bike the trail north, back to your car at the Tunnel Creek Cafe. We had fantastic sandwiches and a nice cold Deschutes beer to end a perfect Day Date with my man.
Check out more of our hikes around Lake Tahoe like D.L.Bliss, Emerald Bay, and Five Lakes. Take a drive out to Sugar Pine Point Park and the Ehrman Mansion or play in the water near Rubicon. If you prefer the winter months around Lake Tahoe, we got you covered there too!
We recommend staying at Hyatt Regency in Incline or the Ritz Carlton in Truckee.
