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.

13 attractions

Mountain Resorts

Lake Tahoe Mountain Resorts

3 listings

Featured

$$$

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.

SkiingGondolaViews

2 hours to full dayGet Tickets

$$$

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.

SkiingAerial TramOlympic History

2 hours to full dayGet Tickets

$$$

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.

SkiingBike ParkFamily-Friendly

Half day to full dayGet Tickets

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.

HistoricTourHidden Gem

2-3 hours with transportGet Tickets

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.

HistoricFree GroundsBeach

2-3 hoursGet Tickets

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.

HistoricMuseumLake Beach

2-3 hoursGet Tickets

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.

Balloon FlightBucket ListSunrise

4 hours (45-60 min aloft)Get Tickets

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.

KayakingClear WaterNight Tours

2 hoursGet Tickets

Natural Wonders

Lake Tahoe Natural Wonders

1 listing

Featured

Emerald Bay State Park & Vikingsholm

Tahoe's postcard — a glacier-carved bay of surreal green-blue water around the lake's only island, with a 1929 Scandinavian castle at its foot. Overlooks, the Vikingsholm trail, summer castle tours, and kayak-in camping.

ScenicState ParkCastle

2 hours to half dayGet Tickets

Cruises

Lake Tahoe Cruises

1 listing

Featured

$$$

M.S. Dixie II Emerald Bay Cruise

Tahoe's grand paddle-wheeler — daytime and sunset dinner cruises from Zephyr Cove across the cobalt to Emerald Bay, with narration, full bars, and the only easy way to see the castle and island from the water.

CruiseEmerald BaySunset

2.5-3 hoursGet Tickets

Beaches

Lake Tahoe Beaches

1 listing

Featured

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.

BeachClear WaterState Park

Half day to full dayGet Tickets

Outdoors & Adventure

Lake Tahoe Outdoors & Adventure

1 listing

Tahoe East Shore Trail

Three paved miles hanging over the lake's clearest water — a stunning bike-and-stroll path from Incline Village to Sand Harbor, with boulder coves below, bridges cantilevered off the granite, and the parking-free way into the famous beach.

Bike PathScenicFree

1-3 hoursGet Tickets

Family Fun

Lake Tahoe Family Fun

1 listing

Heavenly Village & Stateline

South Lake Tahoe's walkable heart — the gondola's base village of shops, restaurants, cinema, and winter ice rink, flowing straight into Stateline's Nevada casinos: dinner, a show, and a blackjack nightcap in one stroll.

VillageCasinosNightlife

2-3 hoursGet Tickets

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