Julie Strand
Senior Sales Manager, Maximize Events, Homewood, Calif.
What are three warm-weather adventure pursuits that are ideal for groups meeting in Lake Tahoe?
- Sand Harbor: Over in Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park is Sand Harbor, one of the most beautiful beaches on the lake. In July and August, groups can go kayaking in the morning and then hike the Flume Trail in the afternoon. There are some areas of the trail that are easy to moderate and some that are more difficult. Overall, though, if you kayak in the morning and hike in the afternoon, it is fantastic day. Instead of the Flume Trail, you can also hike the Tahoe Rim Trail, which goes around the lake and crosses into California and Nevada.
- Northstar-at-Tahoe and Heavenly: Northstar is known for its mountain biking. You can rent bikes there and take the tram up the mountain, then bike along the many trails up there. In addition to mountain biking, you can just enjoy a day at the Village at Northstar. There are tons of restaurants and stores there. On the South Shore, Heavenly has a zip line titled Heavenly Flyer. It is a lot of fun. Just take the Heavenly Gondola to the Tamarack Express. The zip line is about 3,100 feet and it goes above the tree tops at 80 miles per hour. For about 80 seconds you can see the lake.
- Balloon Over Tahoe: A hot-air balloon ride over Lake Tahoe is ideal for an incentive program. Groups start on a catamaran and take off from there. Afterward, you can have champagne on the boat and celebrate the experience that you had. It is a great way to see the lake.