Hikes on Hikes on Hikes (and Beaches)

October is a beautiful time of year in Tahoe. Days are in the 60s/70s, evenings in the 40s, with a consistent, gentle and cool breeze.

We’ve been averaging 2-3 family hikes a week, going to a new location each time. Some hikes are in our neighborhoods, others are a half hour drive away. Sometimes we hike, sometimes we just head straight to a beach and explore.

Cave Rock: This beach is a small and private one in the town of Glenbrook. There is a hiking trail nearby, but it wasn’t until yesterday that we actually hiked up with our buddy Bridget who visited from LA. What a difference perspective makes! I should also note the water is frigid, so cold, your body shudders with just your feet dipped in. More on this below.

Round Hill: This is the neighborhood we live in, so it’s the most convenient set of trails. We returned here for a second hike and tried a different way to find some GeoCaches (or treasure hunting, as Maia likes to say). We were two for two on this hike!

Castle Rock via the Tahoe Rim Trail: After brunch a couple Sundays ago, we embarked on an unplanned hike, starting from one of the neighborhoods in Kingsbury Grade. While we were all wearing our skater shoes and casual pants, this was one of the prettier and fun hikes we completed. It also feels great to walk off a heavy brunch!

Diamond Peak Ski Resort Trail and Sand Harbor Beach: We approached this next mid-week hike a little more prepared than the last. We brought the toddler carrier, binoculars, extra water and appropriate hiking shoes 🙂 After breakfast at Tunnel Creek Cafe, we headed up to the Tirolian Village neighborhood to park. The climb was the most difficult yet, with an elevation gain of 728 ft.

After our hike, we stopped by Sand Harbor for a quick dip and rest. Freezing cold water feels AMAZING on the feet/legs post-hike! Note: we were NOT prepared for the beach (no towels)… still a great time though.

Nevada Beach: This is one we frequent as it is just down the road from our house. On this visit, we brought along the balance bike for some practice on the paved trails to the beach, followed by another cold dip!

Sand Harbor and Incline Village: Returned to the gorgeous Sand Harbor for some paddle boarding, only to find out that the age minimum is 5. So, we rented just one board and took turns watching Maia on the beach, while the other paddled away. When we were done, we witnessed an out-of-town family get their kayak stuck in some rocks just to be “rescued” by the rental company guys.

Hawley Grade Trail: After our last hike at Diamond Peak Resort, my brother Sepehr sent us this chilling video of a mountain lion stalking a runner in Utah (later, we found out she was just protecting her cubs and he was being a dumb-ass). Regardless, I got all paranoid and made Adam packed a sizable knife on this next trail which was pretty secluded and up there in the mountains south of Myers, CA. Luckily, we didn’t need to use it after all. But, I did quickly learn not to do an out and back trail that involved downhill first half, uphill second half. BRUTAL!

Round Mound Trail: This climb is right next to Nevada Beach, about a mile out and back. Mostly uphill to a gorgeous summit, sprinkled with visits from Stellers Jays and sugar pine cones that are longer than Maia’s torso.

We just wrapped up a great couple days with Bridget; will write more about our adventures soon!