Most people would advise spending more than just one day in Lake Tahoe California but alas, we are not most people.

You see, we were camping at Thousand Trails Snowflower and Lake Tahoe was only 45 minutes away.  This should seem like nothing to people who live in a house on wheels but to us, that is an hour and a half sitting in a car that could be spent outside.  So we quickly made the decision to only drive into North Lake Tahoe once during our 5 day stint in the area.  I know some of you are already thinking we’re crazy…hang in there, we do have our reasons.

First, there is lot of hype surrounding all that is Lake Tahoe; second its freaking huge; and third our campground offered more than enough to explore (AKA, we felt like being lazy and we still had work to do).  Yes, the water is a brilliant, crystal clear shade of deep blue, it’s surrounded by snowcapped peaks in the distance and the national forest areas go on for miles in all directions, so it’s a nature lover’s (yep that’s us) paradise.  We would normally be all about exploring every nook, cranny and famed spot but we were realistic with our limited amount time here.

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America so trying to decide which part to visit, which hike to take, and on which day was giving us a headache.  With only 5 days, we would never see it all, not even close, so why stress it.  We forwent any planning, picked a day and said, “It’s a Date”!

It was the perfect excuse to go on a date day (yes most love birds have date nights but we have entire date days!) and it turned out to be one of the best ways to experience Lake Tahoe!  We walked, we drove, we oogled at each other and the water, we sat with our feet in the sand and indulged in just being alive.

Speaking of indulgence, the best part of the day was when we stumbled into what might be one of the best little bakeries ever!  I honestly don’t remember who told us about this little gem but whoever you were…thank you!!!

Now, I bet your wondering what it is we did with the other 4 days.  Remember excuse number two, our campground?  Well, it really was a destination of its own with trails, ponds and some seriously GREAT trees.  Even the Smart car got in on some of the off road action!  It was definitely one of those locations where work and play were very blurred lines.

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Best Almost Lakeside Affordable Grub: Tuna Nachos at Tahoe Mountain Brewing Company, not some wanker sized portion this appetizer was a meal in itself…and while you’re there get the tasting tray of beer, after all it is a brewery!

Best Bakery:  Tahoe House is amazing and if you get the Swiss Chocolate Dipped Almond Biscotti you will thank me.  It’s not on the main street, but it’s worth the short drive out of the city.  Don’t forget to order locally roasted coffee to wash it all down. YUM!

Best Stop in Truckee:  Fifty Fifty BREWERY has excellent brews and yummy Food, make sure you take a bottle home or you’ll be kicking yourself (like us…because we were being cheap). BTW – if you mail us a brew we’ll owe you one 🙂

Save Your Time: We didn’t find much on the northern Nevada side of the lake…unless you want to gamble at the random casino at the border.

Your Turn!  What’s your favorite Lake Tahoe sights and stops?

Disclaimer: While we were compensated to film the campground (thanks Thousand Trails!)…all of our experiences and opinions are NOT purchased and are still our own.