South Lake Tahoe: What's Not to Love?

WHEN DID I GO: August 18, 2017

WHY DID I GO: USA Road Trip - checking out Cali before heading home to Seattle!

HOW LONG WAS I THERE: Probably about 5-6 hours. Definitely could be a place that you swim and hike at all weekend!

WHERE DID I STAY: Acorn Campground, New Hogan Lake, Valley Springs, CA

Here starts the beginning of my solo adventuring! You'll notice that all of the pictures of me are selfie style now! #Sorrynotsorry

I have always wanted to visit Tahoe, especially since one of my friends moved to Truckee and is always posting gorgeous pictures of this area. It has everything scenery-wise that I LOVE. Mountains, evergreens, and water. Sold & sold.

The Highlights:

The Rubicon trail. As I was trying to decide how I was going to spend my time at Tahoe, I stumbled across this hike. I was looking for something that would be a bit of a challenging hike, but that would put me in proximity to the lake in case I wanted to dip my toes in and would have beautiful, scenic views. This hike delivered on all levels. It skirted the lake  There was a little bit of a fee to get into the State Park that was at the head of the trail, but honestly, it was so worth the $5. This was the only hike I had time to do at Tahoe, but it was amazing and exactly what I wanted. It's a 12-mile round-trip out and back trail that starts at the top of the trailhead by the D.L. Bliss State Park lighthouse, and drops down the hill toward the lakeshore. For there, you skirt the lake for the remainder of the hike as you head toward South Lake Tahoe and Vikingsholm. It was beautiful and I highly recommend it. Trail deets can be found here. 

My awesome little campground. I didn't plan ahead super well for this part of the trip, meaning that booking campsites happened at the last second. I'm not the kind of person that just shows up at a campsite and hopes there's an opening. Especially in August. Especially when I oftentimes dont' even roll into the city I'm staying in until late at night. This was one of the moments when this started to backfire. Tahoe in August before a weekend right before the Solar Eclipse was packed and I couldn't find a campsite anywhere. Not in Reno or Truckee or basically anywhere nearby. So, as I was hustling around trying to find a place to stay and I stumbled across the Acorn Campground in Valley Springs, CA. Now, you might see that and (if you're familiar with Cali) see that it's really far away from Tahoe. About 3 hrs. But I chose it because a) it was cheap, b) it was available for all the nights I needed, and c) it was actually a great half way point between the next few stops on my road trip. About 3hrs from both Yosemite and Sequoia. 

It was all practical! So, when I arrived at this campground, I was pleasantly surprised by this place! Firstly, when I arrived it was Thursday night and the place was empty. I could hear my neighbors in the other loops, but I was the only person in my loop. Across the road from my campsite was the incredibly peaceful and pristine lake, and trotting through my campsite were rabbits and deer! It was amazing! And I spent my first night reading in the peace and quiet of my little-slice-of-heaven campsite.

The little moments of solitude. Both on trail and at the campground, there were all these little moments of solitude. Where it was nothing but me, the view, and the water. Cheesy and cliché, but I can't tell you how damn relaxing that was.

Oh hey good looking group of shirtless dudes. Yes, I went there! There was a group of really good looking shirtless guys in front of me on the trail for a period of time (hey I have short legs and they were hiking too fast) and yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Sue me! ;-)