The most read story ever on DogTrekker.com is Dog-friendly beaches at Lake Tahoe. With the snowmelt currently pouring off the surrounding Sierra Nevada, be forewarned that some of those beaches won’t be very wide or even very accessible for a few weeks yet. For on-water fun, try renting a large cockpit kayak from Tahoe City Kayak and taking a paddle with your pup along the North Shore. Tahoe Keys Boat Rentals and its affiliate locations will fix you up with a dog-friendly boat (and a “boat butler” captain, if needed) for exploring scenic Emerald Bay or simply cruising along the shore.
Tahoe is full to the brim, the Truckee River (which flows from Tahoe to Pyramid Lake in Nevada) was in flood stage in late May, ski lifts are still turning at Palisades Tahoe and hiking trails at higher elevations are buried under several feet of snow. It’s a welcome state of affairs after four years of drought, but does call for some workarounds for DogTrekkers.
So where to go and what to do? For one thing, you can enjoy long walks on the ever-expanding network of multi-use trails that hug the Tahoe shoreline and the banks of the Truckee River. Start by trekking a section of the 19-mile North Shore bike path, which encompasses a new Lakeside Trail section with plazas and picnic areas in Tahoe City. You can follow the trail alongside the Truckee River all the way to Palisades Tahoe, where a new rest area with restrooms, playground and pickle ball courts has been established.
A feast for the imagination and the eyes is yours at Tallac Historic Site, a collection of late 19th-century summer state homes and outbuildings about 7 miles west of Stateline casinos on the South Shore. Leashed dogs are welcome, and it’s especially enjoyable on the festival and living-history days with Big Blue winking in the background.
Later in the season, rent a raft from Truckee River Raft Rentals, which happily welcomes dogs aboard its commercial-grade craft for a 5-mile float out of Tahoe City down the scenic Truckee River, ending at River Ranch Resort (check the website to find out when water levels have subsided enough for the self-guided rafting season to begin).
