The Best Dog-Friendly Hikes in Lake Tahoe

The alpine hamlet of Lake Tahoe is a doggie’s dream come true. When researching and scrutinizing the best Lake Tahoe dog-friendly hikes I came across a lot of info, but I had to dig deep to discover the more off-the-beaten-path hikes where I might actually find parking on the Fourth of July weekend. Sure, lots of people will tell you to trek with your pup around Donner Lake or the Rainbow Trail but those paths are blacktop and will reflect the heat if you go for a trek anytime after nine. This Fourth of July in Lake Tahoe, it was hot, hot, hot and both my pup and I had no desire to sweat alongside one hundred thousand other holiday vacationers. We chose to hike early just after sunrise and it was a wise decision. On a holiday weekend in Lake Tahoe, If you don’t park before seven a.m. you also will not find parking.

Lake Tahoe is such a gorgeous alpine paradise but my pup and I do not prefer crowds. Just where the hell should we hike on a holiday weekend in Lake Tahoe? Searching for the best Lake Tahoe dog-friendly hikes? Walk with me and my pup as we explore the best off-the-beaten-path treks that Lake Tahoe has to offer.

God bless America… Or Lake Tahoe

On this Labor Day weekend in 2024, our family decided to escape our alpine paradise in Big Bear Lake California for the Lodgepole pines of Lake Tahoe. We had big plans for the best Lake Tahoe dog-friendly hikes in the future. We had no idea that Lake Tahoe would be just as hot as at home, most days topping out at eighty-eight to ninety degrees!

Here in my hometown of Big Bear Lake California, we are in the midst of a ten-day heat wave. We never get ten days of ninety-degree temperatures! Normally in Big Bear Lake if the temps get above eighty-five degrees in the summer months, we get thunderstorms and thunderheads every single day. But not this year in these crazy times of 2024.

So I had to escape with my pup and find an alpine paradise in Lake Tahoe. Let me be clear, the best time to visit Lake Tahoe is absolutely not a holiday weekend. Lake Tahoe tends to see over one hundred thousand visitors for a holiday weekend. I have a distaste for crowds but we had to spend the holiday weekend somewhere…

Lake Tahoe or bust!

We were really not expecting Lake Tahoe to be that crazy hot but I packed plenty of bathing suits, SPF and my pups booties to protect her feet from the hot blacktop. And I also swore to her, that there would be lakes, so many lakes! Not to mention the wonderfully wet Truckee River in which to swim.

Please, please if you are vacationing in a summertime place and the temperature gets to be above 85 degrees keep your pup’s paws in mind! The UV rays are so much stronger at over six thousand feet! As we drove around Lake Tahoe we saw so many visitors walking their pups on the blacktop on these severely hot days. It was so hot, my sandals melted when I left them in the sun! Imagine how your pup’s paw pads must feel!

Our family really lucked out and we had a long getaway to Lake Tahoe. We were not just there for the holiday weekend. There are much better Lake Tahoe dog-friendly hikes when the holiday weekend is over and there are way less aggressive off-leash Labradoodles on every trail!

I was blessed to spend ten days in Lake Tahoe this last weekend of summer 2024 and we did all the things. We rented an Uber expensive boat. We hiked. And we hiked. And we hiked some more. We swam in crystal clear alpine lakes. And most importantly, we tried our very best to ignore the Lake Tahoe crowds.

Want the best tip on ignoring the Lake Tahoe crowds? If you are planning a trip to Lake Tahoe over a holiday weekend, start your hiking day early. I mean like hit the trails at seven a.m. This early, you will find parking and by the time you reach that alpine lake you just trekked to you can do a little morning fishing, have your breakfast sandwich and go for a swim. You can be wandering back to camp to relax and read your book while everyone else is just hitting the trail, fighting over the last parking spot at Echo Lake and trudging up the Mt Tallac Trailhead at ten a.m. in the hot blazing sun.

My pup and I took a cold plunge swim at eight a.m. the Saturday of Labor Day weekend in Eagle Lake and even though it was only sixty degrees outside after trekking up to Maggie’s Peak at sunrise that early morning swim felt amazing! We also barely saw another person on the Eagle Lake Trail because we did start right after sunrise.

The very best Lake Tahoe dog-friendly hikes are at Mt Tallac

If you are planning Lake Tahoe dog-friendly hikes, this has to be the first on your list. Yes, it is a hard hike. Yes, if it’s a holiday weekend, you want to get to the trailhead at seven a.m. There is a good amount of parking for Mt Tallac and you can park on the sides of the forest road but it’s Lake Tahoe on a holiday weekend. If you plan to start a hike at nine a.m. you will sit in traffic for at least thirty minutes with every other hiker in their brand-new North Face T-shirts.

Mt Tallac may be the hardest hike you accomplish during your week in Lake Tahoe. It is mostly uphill. There is a lot of scree and rocky sections but the views at the top are so worth it. It has multiple lakes like Floating Island Lake on the way up that you can take a dip with your pup as you meander uphill in South Lake Tahoe. Be aware once you get a few miles from the summit, there are marmots in this area. They are adorable but you don’t want your pup to chase them and their giant sharp teeth.

Mt Tallac is almost ten miles round-trip with over three thousand foot altitude gain. You absolutely can’t beat the views from the top over Lake Tahoe!

Lake Aloha

Lake Aloha will have you saying A ‘o is! Lake Aloha is frankly just gorgeous. If you don’t take the water taxi expect the hike to take over twelve miles roundtrip as you meander through the historic Glen Alpine Springs in John Muir’s footsteps. Yes, that John Muir! If this trek is good enough for the original naturalist himself then I guess it’s good enough for my pup and me! The trek is much longer from Glen Alpine Springs but man is the whole thing just gorgeous. You also trek by Susie Lake, which is a treasure all in itself! You and your pup will love swimming in these crystal-cool waters. Keep an eye out for bald eagles fishing at Susie!

The Glen Alpine version of the hike that starts out of Fallen Leaf Lake is the most scenic but the road past Fallen Leaf Lake can be a challenge in a large vehicle. The road is extremely narrow, barely paved and almost like an off-road drive. If you encounter other vehicles coming towards you, expect to have to back up down the narrow lane to maneuver around one and another. If you are coming from Tahoe City, you don’t have to drive as far out of town to Echo Lake to start the hike. The Glen Alpine version takes you past Susie Lake and Heather Lake and you could continue on towards Clyde Lake if you want, or loop back on the southern trail. Expect to take your fishing pole and swim gear and swim and relax with your pup at the Aloha Lakes all day long.

But if you want to do an easier and much shorter Lake Aloha trek, feel free to use the water taxi out of Echo Lake. Just expect to quadruple the number of other nature lovers out on that trail! I suggest paying for a water taxi and cutting out basically half of the mileage of the hike you could do for free around Echo Lake. You do need a group of at least four to take the water taxi. (Or you can just pay $88 for the whole taxi ride. It’s often easy enough to find other hikers to share a taxi.  The water taxi takes cash. You also must pay for your pup to take the taxi. Wet doggos are not allowed on the boat.

If you decide to holiday in Lake Tahoe during the Fourth of July weekend or Labor Day, try your very best to drive as little as possible. These are awesome hiking ideas but finding the perfect Lake Tahoe dog-friendly hikes can be frustrating during a holiday weekend. Try to plan hikes that are very close to your lodging, especially for the Saturday or Sunday part of your vacation.

On our recent holiday trip to the mountains we stayed near Tahoe City so we tried to plan Lake Tahoe dog-friendly hikes as close to our campground as possible. the Tahoe Rim Trail basically covers one hundred and sixty-five miles of gorgeous Lake Tahoe Forest. You can probably jump on it pretty close to your lodging and so many parts of it are so gorgeous. We jumped on the trail in multiple spots and it was very scenic.

Enjoy the Gondola at Northstar or Heavenly with your pup

So many ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area have gorgeous ski lift rides you can take in the summertime. But not all of the open-air chair lifts are dog-friendly. You have to find a ski resort with an enclosed gondola. Lake Tahoe has two of these on different sides of the lake, Northstar and at Heavenly.

At the end of Labor Day weekend, my pup and I took the Jeep on a little afternoon road trip to Northstar to check out the area. The Northstar Resort is absolutely huge! I was not expecting that as I drove up! I visited Northstar with my pup on Labor Day Monday and there was no one at the property. It was weird, creepy even. You want to park near the village to take the gondola. When you drive into this massive sprawling property, hey the chair lifts are over here, is not clearly marked. Just head for the village and if it’s not a busy day you should be able to walk to the village without taking a shuttle.

My pup and I chose to ride the first gondola up and hike to Sawmill Lake. It was only two miles roundtrip, a perfect quick afternoon hike. After Northstar, you can also check out nearby Donner Lake or Martis Peak for some photo ops, while you are in the area. Or you can take selfies in the gondola of you and your smelly hiker dog. Thank God, no one else joined us in this gondola as we were as smelly as we looked, here on day six of camping.

You can also take the gondola up at Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe with your favorite pup. Both ski areas are just gorgeous in the summer months with fantastic views from the top.

Eagle Lake extravagnza

The sunrise over Eagle Lake is not to be missed! My pup and I hit the trail for Eagle Lake just after six a.m. and watched a dazzling sunrise unfold over South Lake Tahoe. Hiking to Eagle Lake so early in the a.m. is a great way to avoid the crowds and actually find parking at this popular Lake Tahoe summertime destination. We trekked this trail on the Saturday before Labor Day and didn’t see another person on the trail until almost nine a.m. When we made it back to the Jeep, the other day hikers were practically coming to blows over my parking space. But if you hike here midweek and show up before seven a.m. you should have no issue finding parking. Do be cautious if you park on the highway at Eagle Lake. A lot of areas are marked no parking, tow away zones and so many people park there anyway.

This alpine lake is awesome for swimming any time of day. My pup and I did a cold plunge at eight a.m. when it was sixty degrees out in the mountain air and it felt so amazingly refreshing! Nothing makes me happier than throwing my sweaty body in an alpine lake in the summertime. And my pup absolutely agrees!

Granite Lake to Maggie’s Peak

This is a stunning hike to the top of Maggie’s Peak. If you want to do a longer hike and go skinny dipping at Dick’s Lake you can do the longer ten-mile loop. A pesky blister kept us from the longer hike but we still trekked four miles round trip with our favorite adventure dog to the top of Maggie’s with a stop for swimming and fishing at Granite Lake on the way back. The first two miles of this hike are steep, all uphill. I recommend starting before seven to avoid the heat! Strangely the parking was nuts at Eagle Lake the day we trekked here, but there were just tons of parking at this Bayview Trailhead just up the highway!

Don’t be a dick; pick up your bright pink dog poo bags.

We all know our dogs crap does not smell pleasant, but holy fuck, Don’t leave it behind on a trail you’ve never hiked before. I guarantee you will never be able to find that bright blue bag, again underneath that one white pine that you hiked past three hours ago.

Crag Lake and Lake Genevieve

We did this stunning hike as a mountain bike/hike. Having a pup who adores running fast made this the perfect half-day trek for us. The first two miles of this hike, though gorgeous, are all flat and kind of boring. Mountain biking basically to where the Desolation Wilderness begins was such a fun way to do this nine point six-mile trek. Make sure you grab a free permit at the trailhead anytime you trek into the Desolution Wilderness!

I highly recommend mountain biking the first two miles with your pup on this one. The first two miles are very easy riding past beautiful meadows and for us the start of the fall colors. Just bring a bike lock to attach your bike to one of the nearby white pines once the single track begins. Lake Genevive is such a gorgeous alpine lake for swimming with your pup. Once you have reached Genevive, Crag Lake is right around the corner.

Dog-friendly amazing beaches

• 64 Acre Beach near Tahoe City
• Kaspian Beach near Homewood

If you are headed to scenic Lake Tahoe this September, there are just so many dog-friendly options! We didn’t even make it to any of the dog parks I researched for this trip! The dog-friendly beaches I have mentioned near Tahoe City had easy parking and most of the time we were the only ones there.