Travel Guide: 10 Best Things to Do in South Lake Tahoe in the Spring

We recently arrived home from our trip to South Lake Tahoe and it was such an amazing trip! Kale was a driving force behind our trip to South Tahoe, and we actually had this trip planned for just about a year, but it was postponed due to COVID-19.

At the time of writing this post and for our visit, Tahoe South was opened 35% for indoor dining. Even with the winter weather in March, we were still able to dine outdoors on heated patios in several instances. Check local news to keep up with openings and travel restrictions.

Keep in mind, this is a tourist destination, and the weekends get extremely busy. My best recommendation is to visit mid-week if possible, and book reservations for hotels, restaurants, and activities well in advanced to cover your bases.

We loved absolutely everything about this trip, and are already planning to go back! Kale even planned our magical engagement on the trip, complete with my family’s surprise appearance!

Top 10 Things to Do South Lake Tahoe in Spring

Casino at Mont Bleu

The first place we stayed was Montbleu Casino & Spa. Our room was absolutely incredible, and they also had an indoor pool and hot tub! We didn’t get to experience the spa, but it looked incredible. However, we did experience the casino! It was so fun to have the casino right down the elevator! We ended up down there each night we stayed and played a few slots, wandered around, and sipped some drinks! It was also a great place to people watch and be around the excitement.

Ski/Ride Sierra at Tahoe

Even in March, when the weather starts to warm up in Dallas, you can ski and ride in South Tahoe! We visited Sierra at Tahoe for our day on the mountain, and it was so much fun! I had some experience snowboarding in high school, but I really loved taking the lesson. My instructor was named Nemo, and with one other girl in my lesson, we were really split with our abilities. I should have been a class up, and she should have been in the beginner class. Since I had my turns down, at the end of the lesson, Nemo rode up to the top of the mountain, showed me the best view from the roof of 360 BBQ, and then rode down with me. Boarding in Ohio was completely different- the runs were 1/4 of the size of Sierra, and the mountains were no comparison!

Happy Hour and Hot Tub at The Coachman

There is nothing better after a day of rolling down a mountain in the snow than sitting in a hot tub to relax your muscles! We stayed at The Coachman for the second part of our trip. Even though it was in the 30s Fahrenheit, the hot tub was delightful! There were people enjoying it every evening when we returned to our room, and though I was skeptical and am cold all the time, I was so comfortable in the hot tub and the atmosphere was so cool and comfortable.

Visit Emerald Bay

Emerald Bay was where we got engaged! The location was stunning and could not have been more perfect. Even in the rain, the lookout point was such a great view of the lake, mountains, and close to hiking areas. After the rain, we saw the most beautiful rainbow over the bay, so don’t think that just because it is raining that you can’t visit the lookout point.

We went back and visited Emerald Bay for a second time in better weather, and the clear skies showed us more of the lake and even more clear views to mountains in the background. Even though it wasn’t raining, it couldn’t beat our first visit, I mean I did leave with a fiancé!

Hike to Eagle Falls

On our second visit to Emerald Bay, the weather was much nicer, and we hiked down to the nearby Eagle Falls. It is a small waterfall but paired with the Emerald Bay views, it was such a great stop in the day. While this is a public National Park and you don’t need a reservation or tickets to get in, the weekends do get busy, so I highly recommend visiting during the week for optimal views and photo ops.

MS Dixie II Sightseeing Tour

One thing we really wanted to do when we visited Lake Tahoe was getting on the water. Since it is still cold in March, our options were limited to covered vessels. We booked the MS Dixie II Sightseeing Tour which was so much fun! The boat has three levels, two of which are covered and climate-controlled indoors with the option to go in and out. The wind was frigid outside on the lake, so we spent a good amount of time inside, but we still had awesome views and learned a lot about the area from the tour guide! It was also a great view of different parts of the lake. We rode all the way over to Emerald Bay and saw the place we got engaged from a different vantage point.

Celebrate With a Nice Dinner at Edgewood Bistro

After our engagement, of course we wanted to celebrate! Kale had my family added to our reservation and we ended up getting to eat in a private room. It was the perfect touch to enjoy each other and catch up with my family after such an eventful day! I especially loved this option during COVID to not have anyone else around us. It was raining this evening, but we were told that when it was nice out, you could grab a drink on the patio after dinner and watch the sun set over the lake and golf course.

Watch the Sunset at Ski Run Marina Then Have Sushi at Yugen Cuisine

One thing we kept missing each night whether due to our dinner reservation or weather, was the sunset. On our last night, we checked in at Yugen Cuisine at about 6pm. Since they do not accept reservations we went early and made our way over to the nearby Ski Run Marina to watch the sunset. It was absolutely stunning and worth the wind chill! We made such perfect timing with dinner as well.

We were called to eat just as the sunset, so we drove a few blocks over and were back at Yugen Cuisine for sushi! Sushi is one of our favorite meals, so we had high expectations. A couple of rolls that we got were the Pink Lady and Fuji Mountain and they were amazing! We ended up eating outside in a little hut with a heater and a small fire on the table. We stayed pretty warm inside, it was such a great last meal!

Taphouse and Brewery Tour

I love trying local beer in new places, and the best way to do that is a taphouse and brewery tour! There are a lot of options in Tahoe South for breweries or places to drink. You really can’t go wrong anywhere, but we loved Cold Water Brewery! We were able to drink and snack outside around a fire, and while the wind was chilly, we actually had a great time!

Another great option is Thirdman Taphouse & Gourmet Deli. We stopped for lunch midday and enjoyed awesome sandwiches and drinks! I got the Buffalo Chicken Wrap, Kale had a Spicy Philly Cheesesteak, and my Dad had The South Shore. We all loved our meals and sipped on beer while we chatted waiting for our food.

Get Engaged!

If I could recommend doing anything in South Lake Tahoe, it would definitely be to get engaged. While that isn’t plausible for everyone, I have to share how magical it was! We were going to have an amazing trip regardless, but the cherry on top was really the surprise of getting engaged and seeing my family. It really drove home how perfect Tahoe South was for both families and couples.