In South Lake Tahoe, the lakeside's largest community, ranks of restaurants, modest motels, and pine-bound cottages stand cheek by jowl with the high-rise gambling dens of Stateline, just across the border in Nevada. If you happen to lose your money at the tables and slot machines, you can always explore the beautiful hiking trails, parks, and beaches in the surrounding area.
The Heavenly Gondola, in the heart of town, rises to an elevation of 9136ft (summer daily 10am–5pm; $30). From there, enjoy breathtaking views from East Peak Lake, East Peak Lookout, or Sky Meadows. Hikes are graded from easy to strenuous. Closer to the water, the prettiest part of the lake is along the southwest shore, at Emerald Bay State Park, ten miles from South Lake Tahoe, which has a number of good shoreline campgrounds. A mile from the parking lot, Vikingsholm is a reproduction of a Viking castle, built as a summer home in 1929 and open for hourly tours (summer daily 10am–4pm; $6). In Sugar Pine Point State Park, two miles north, the huge Ehrman Mansion (daily 11am–4pm; $6) is decorated in Thirties-era furnishings; the extensive lakefront grounds were used as a location in The Godfather II.
Another way to see the lake is to take a paddlewheel boat cruise on the MS Dixie II or Tahoe Queen, from Zephyr Cove.
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