Two fabulous Tahoe hikes offer spectacular views, lake-hugging trails and beaches for days.
TRAILS & TREASURES
Stunning beach views, a dangling wooden swing and an impressive boulder, its features carved into a gorilla’s profile, await on the trails near Incline Village at Lake Tahoe. And if you need even more incentive — beyond clear mountain air and views to forever — behold the delights of the Tunnel Creek Cafe, a casual breakfast and lunch stop housed in a rustic mountain-style cabin.
The cafe is next to the trailhead for the popular Flume Trail and easy access to the new East Shore Trail that runs to Sand Harbor — and it rents mountain bikes. Did we mention the breakfast burritos?
What better way to fuel up before that hike than an eggy burrito filled with potatoes, black beans, cheese and your choice of sausage, bacon or ham? (It’s $9, by the way, plus $1.50 for the avocado you definitely should have.) The cafe does fluffy brioche French toast ($10), too, and
veggie or protein breakfast bowls ($9). Enjoy those bites out on the deck as you soak up the scenery — or take advantage of post-hike beer service there later.
There are plenty of places to break off for a hike or ride right from the cafe’s doors, including the newest trail, spearheaded by the Tahoe Transportation District in cooperation with 13 other agencies as part of a stateline-to-state-line Lake Tahoe plan that will connect more than 30 miles from North Shore to South Shore. This paved 3-mile stretch connects Incline Village to Sand Harbor with access to East Shore beaches, including Chimney Beach, Secret Beach, Sand Harbor and Skunk Harbor. It’s dubbed the East Shore Trail — its nickname is the Impossible Trail.
For this 6-mile roundtrip trek, leave your car in one of the 91 new parking spots at the northern end of the trail (not in the business parking lot; roadside parking along Highway 28 is also prohibited). Then, take the paved road to the right of the building, heading toward Sand Harbor Beach.
Over the course of 3 miles, you’ll enjoy views of the lake across the road, hook under a tunnel and trace a trail that winds the majority of its route from beach to beach with lookout spots, benches and beach access along the way. There’s a slight elevation gain — less than 500 feet — as the terrain mixes uphills and downhills before ending at Sand Harbor Beach. Relax on the sand for a while, before retracing your steps back to the car.
If you’re looking for something more off the beaten path and a tad more rugged, choose the trail behind the Tunnel Creek Cafe that leads to scenic hot spots including Monkey Rock, which boasts some of the best panoramic views of the lake. From here, you can see 71 miles of Lake Tahoe shoreline.
The trail gets its name from the distinctly gorillashaped rock at the end of the path. Legend has it that the rock was always somewhat monkey shaped, but its features were carved years ago
by an Incline Village local — as a therapeutic exercise during a difficult divorce. Vandalism distress aside, Monkey Rock is a local landmark — and it’s the halfway point on the 2.6-mile, round-trip trail, which connects to the Flume Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail as well.
The Monkey Rock hike is easy to access, with twothirds of the trip running along the U.S. Forest Service’s paved Tunnel Creek Road. At the end of the paved section, there are a few unmarked trails that head straight up the mountain. The rock is just on the other side of the ridge, and that monkey makes a perfect selfie partner.
On the way back down, you can follow Tunnel Creek Road back or take a steep shortcut along the gas line trail. If you look across the way, you may spot a wooden swing fastened to a tree overlooking the lake that does a disappearing and reappearing act throughout the year. It’s pulled down for repairs and rehung again when you least expect it. If it’s there, it makes a fine photo spot, so you may want to walk the extra hillside slope to the top for pictures before heading back down. The trail is moderate, short with a decent uphill ascent, but the payoff is huge with views that rate a perfect 10.
If you didn’t get a chance to grab breakfast before heading out, stop for lunch instead. Tunnel Creek Cafe does grilled sandwiches, burgers, wraps and brews, including local picks from Truckee and Reno. Be sure to drink a toast to the monkey.