We recently made our first trek over to Lake Tahoe for a little weekend getaway to soak up some autumn weather and take a break from city life. Tahoe has been high on my list to visit since we moved out west but somehow it took us ten months to get our butts there and I can already guarantee we’ll be back again soon! It was so nice to be surrounded by trees and gorgeous scenery – after living in cities for the past 4+ years being in the woods always reminds me of where I grew up and feels a little bit like home.

Although our trip was pretty short (we drove in Friday after work and left on Sunday afternoon), we found a perfect balance of relaxing and activities which left us feeling refreshed and recharged. A look at some favorites for a weekend in Lake Tahoe:

Where To Stay: We stayed at Basecamp Hotel in South Lake Tahoe and absolutely loved it! The entire hotel’s design was incredible and our room was really clean and cozy (the bed was so comfortable!). Our room was really affordable and we loved the complimentary breakfast in the morning – complete with waffles! – and beer garden + fire pits at night for hanging out outside and making s’mores. South Lake Tahoe was pretty convenient to everything and it was nice to have both hiking and shopping nearby, plus being on the California & Nevada border was pretty cool!

Where To Eat: We had breakfast at the Red Hut Cafe nearby (there are a few around the Tahoe area) and loved the genuine diner feel – any restaurant with paper checks and counter seating automatically wins me over and gives me flashbacks to my first waitressing gig in high school. I happened to get one of the very last orders of pumpkin pancakes for the morning which made for a perfectly fall breakfast when paired with a hot cup of coffee. For dinner we had a German food feast at Himmel Haus which was super tasty – definitely grab a beer (or two…) and try the spätzle or schnitzel! I’m very German on both sides of my family so I always love an excuse to eat German food and Himmel Haus was an amazing spot for a post hike dinner.

Things To Do: We brought Callie with us for the weekend and found Kiva Beach while searching for dog-friendly activities – it was a secluded area visited by mostly locals and she had a blast running free along the beach. Kiva Beach is a great spot whether you have a dog with you or not as it has gorgeous views and is really quiet and peaceful (we also heard there are lots of bears there usually since it’s river with salmon!).  After our beach trip we hiked some of the Tahoe Rim Trail which was a nice moderate hike with amazing views of the lake. On our final day in Tahoe we took a friend’s recommendation and drove north along the lake up near Tahoe City – the views along the drive were unreal. During our drive we pulled off at Inspiration Point for stunning views of the lake and trees; it was almost as pretty as Big Sur which ranks #1 in my books.

Have you ever been to Lake Tahoe? Anyone have recommendations for our next trip?