by Sarah Clement

A three-day trek to Tahoe is a great way to begin high-altitude hiking with your dog. You´ll be able to explore mountain trails, lakeside beaches, and vis-tas of bright blue water and sky. Depending on your energy level and other weekend fun agenda items, you can experience all five of these excursions in one weekend.

From Marin and Sonoma Counties, getting to Tahoe is a snap. Simply make your way to Highway 80 east and follow it to the town of Truckee, then take Highway 89 to North Lake Tahoe. You can also cut over to Highway 50 when you reach Sacramento, and take Highway 50 through Placerville to South Lake Tahoe.

Once you reach Lake Tahoe, there are several dog-friendly hotels, motels, and inns throughout the area. Check out the websites listed below for lodgings in Reno and Tahoe that welcome dogs. There are also several campgrounds that are open and ready for families and their dogs. Before you hit the trails, however, it´s a good idea to make sure you´ve chosen the right pack to keep your dogs comfortable and safe while they hike with you.

Remember, whichever trails you take, Lake Tahoe´s elevation is 6,000 to 8,000 feet and higher. Hiking at this elevation can be quite tiring, so don´t overexert yourself or your dog. Carry plenty of water on the trail, and stop if you get tired. There are so many amazing views of the lake; stopping occasionally to take it all in is a real hiking treat!

Easy, shady stroll

Prey Meadows⁄Skunk Harbor – East Shore. This is a great, easy walk for the whole family and the dog. It´s a flat dirt road high above the lake that stretches approximately 1.5 miles, providing filtered views of Lake Tahoe through thick pines. The pine trees provide a nice source of shade on a hot day.

You can walk the whole 1.5 miles or turn around at any point and shorten your walk. The day I was there in early June I passed only a few people and one other dog. This is a nice stop if you are spending the day driving around the lake, want to stretch your legs, and also give the dog a little exercise. Dogs are required to be on leash so it may be a little confining for puppies and dogs with a lot of energy. The trail sprouts many wildflowers in the spring (late May/early June). An added bonus is the very clean bathroom facilities about a half mile down the trail.

Directions: From South Lake Tahoe take Highway 50 North toward Carson City and turn left at Hwy 28 toward Incline Village. After about three or four miles look on the left for a small parking lot or iron pipe gate. The trail starts at the south end of the parking lot. You can also park in the turnouts along the highway. From North Lake Tahoe take Highway 28 along the East Shore through Incline Village and past Sand Harbor. Look for a small parking lot or iron pipe gate on the right side of the highway, about 6 miles past the old Ponderosa Ranch. Park in turnouts along the highway, making sure not to block the gate.

Rugged terrain

Hawley Grade National Recreation Trail, South Lake Tahoe. This is a scenic trail not too far from the bustle of South Lake Tahoe. It can be steep and rocky, but generally not a problem for healthy dogs. The entire trail is a 3.5 mile loop, but you can stop where you´d like when you get tired or want to have a snack.

Directions: Take US 50 to the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe, and turn left on Highway 50. Follow south for 5.3 miles, and then turn left on South Upper Truckee Road. The road narrows to one lane about three miles into the drive. Follow 3.8 miles and turn at the Hawley Grade sign. Continue to the end of the road and park your car off the road.

Last one in...

Mt. Tallac/Kiva Beach. This is a spectacular spot nestled at the south end of Lake Tahoe in the shadow of Mt. Tallac. Tallac Historic Site was the summer playground for the Heller, Pope, and Baldwin families, all of whom built beautiful estates here in the early 1900s. The U.S. Forest Service now runs the site, which includes a very interesting exhibit of the wealthy Tahoe lifestyle in the early days.

The access and parking for the Tallac Historic Site also provides access to a great dog-friendly beach called Kiva Beach. Unlike other dog beaches, Kiva Beach stretches quite a distance and provides easy entry into the lake for dogs who love to swim and fetch sticks beyond the swim area buoys. The water is that clear, deep blue that Tahoe is famous for and the views of Lake Tahoe are beautiful. The beach has fine, clean sand; it´s not rocky. The day I visited, there were only three other dogs playing on the beach. I didn´t get the impression it´s a dog colony beach, but rather a beach for both fami-lies and dogs to have fun. All dogs at the beach were off leash, but they are required to be on leash once you enter the Tallac Historic Site. This is a per-fect spot to pack up the car, the cooler, the kids, and the dog(s) and spend the whole day at the beach while learning a little history.

Directions: From the West Shore, take Highway 89 South past Emerald Bay about four or five miles and look for the Tallac Historic Site entrance on the left. Coming from the south, take Highway 50 to the "Y" and turn left onto Highway 89 North (toward Tahoe City). Go about three miles; the entrance to the site is on your right. Coming from the East Shore, take Highway 50 to the "Y" and turn right onto Highway 89 North (towards Tahoe City). Go about 3 miles; the entrance to the site is on your right. Once you enter, follow the road back to the parking lot. While facing the lake, the main path to access Kiva Beach appears to be to the right; there is a set of steps at the end of the path that lands you on the beach.

Lake and meadow

Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park, East Shore. Five separate areas make up the park, each area uniquely different in beauty, history, and attractions: Sand Harbor, Spooner Lake, Cave Rock, Highway 28 beaches, and the Marlette/Hobart backcountry. The entire park offers a variety of hikes with varying de-grees of difficulty, as well as other outdoor activities including fishing, boating, swimming, picnicking, and incredible mountain biking (home of the fa-mous Flume Trail).

Spooner Lake is the only area that allows pets and is definitely worth the visit with your canine pals. The Interpretive Trail, which is the main trail around Spooner Lake, is an easy two-mile dirt trail stroll for the whole family, including dog. While the surrounding lake area is generally calm and spa-cious, it is surrounded by aspen groves and meadows and has easy access to the water. While dogs are required to be on leash, I couldn´t help but unleash my Labrador Retriever for a little dip in Spooner Lake. Because Spooner Lake is part of the Nevada State Parks, I can´t comment on how strongly they enforce the leash requirements; do this at your own risk. Spooner Lake also has a number of picnic sites if you want to pack a lunch and relax after your walk around the lake.

Directions: From North Shore head south on Highway 28 and drive about eight miles south of Sand Harbor. Look for the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park Spooner Lake entrance on the left (if you hit the Highway 50 intersection you´ve gone too far). From South Shore take Highway 50 toward Carson City. Take Highway 28 toward Incline Village when you get to the intersection of Highway 50 and 28. The Spooner Lake entrance to the park is about 1⁄2 mile off Highway 28 on the right hand side.

Privacy in the pines

Fallen Leaf Lake, South Lake Tahoe. This is a beautiful lake with the base of Mt. Tallac on one side and Eldorado National Forest on the other. The lake is surrounded by dramatic, snow-capped mountains and semi-dense forest. This is a really nice and easy two-mile trail around the lake.

Because of the heavily-wooded area you feel as if you have some privacy as you walk the trail. Because of this, I let my dog off leash to burn up some of his puppy energy and cool off with a dip in the lake. When I passed another person and his dog off leash I was somewhat relieved that the leash require-ment did not appear to be strictly monitored. Remember, not all dogs are friendly and not all people like dogs.

As you wind through the trail along the lake´s edge you encounter a combination of aspen groves mixed in among the pines as well as numerous mead-ows. Because of its location and exposure to snowmelt, parts of the trail can often be under water in the early spring. You can certainly cross the water, but be prepared to get your feet wet.

What I enjoyed about this walk was not only the views of the mountains, but the sound of the trees blowing and the nice breeze the trees created. There are a number of other trails to explore here, and not far from the lake is the gateway to the Desolation Wilderness, with thousands of miles of high-country hiking trails.

Directions: Follow the directions for Tallac Historic Site/Kiva Beach listed above - Fallen Leaf Lake entrance is directly across from the Tallac Historic Site entrance on the South side of Highway 89. The best parking to access the lake is the free day-use parking area that is about a mile back through the campground. There´s a short trail called Moraine Trail that is the most direct access to the main trail that goes around Fallen Leaf Lake.

Editor´s note: Sherrill Steele-Carlin, author of A Bark in the Park: The 40 Best Places to Hike With Your Dog in The Reno/Lake Tahoe Region, selected the hikes for this article and contributed to it.