Heading to Tahoe

[magene]

We're going to spend a week in Tahoe near the end of August and I'm looking for some local knowledge. How cold is it going to be? Do we need full wet suits? We're staying at Tahoe Keys and will be able to keep the boat in the water the whole week. It seems clear we need to be on the water early for good water. Any particularly good places for calm water near Tahoe Keys? Can we ski in Emerald bay, seems like that would be pretty neat.

I'm also looking for a small wakeboard for my 8 year old daughter and her friends to start wake boarding on. Is there any place I could rent one in South Lake Tahoe?

Thanks for the help

Gene

[SkiMatt]

Hi Gene,
We go to Tahoe every year and have a great time. We will be up there Aug 13-15 with the boat. The weather is usually hot during the day (80 to 90's) with occasional thunderstorms and lightning. It cools off fast at night. Tahoe keys is a great place to boat from and they have a nice facility. There is a channel going out from the keys so definitely stay within the channel till you hit dark blue water. The shallow areas sneak up on you. Calm water is hard to find in Tahoe. You are right in going out early to get good water. I'm not 100% sure but I think Emerald Bay is a no wake zone. We went to the little Island last year and hiked up to the stone house built for the woman who owned Vikingsholm.
Check out the Ehrman Mansion which is North of Emerald Bay, pretty interesting.
I would definitely take a shorty at minimum. One of my friends who does a lot of boating in Tahoe said to stay on the East side of the lake in the morning and move to the west side of the lake in the afternoon to avoid rough water. I told him everything in Tahoe is rough for a Nautique. There is a rental shop at the keys.......I don't know if they have wakeboards.
Do you have to pay extra to moor your boat in the keys? If so could you tell me how much it is a day?
Thanks, I hope this info helps.
Matt

[FLCERIK]

Gene,

I live in Reno and make it up to Tahoe a few times a year with the boat. I would say Matt is right on with his information. The best hours of wakeboarding is 6am to 9am. After 9 I would not plan on good water. Tahoe is great for booze cruzing and eating great food during the day. There are a bunch of bars around the lake that everyone boats to. It seems to be the thing to do during the day. If you are on the other side of the lake and the wind picks up or you see a sign of afternoon thunderstorms get home quickly. It is not uncommon for Tahoe to have 5ft swells. Lake Tahoe is a fun place with great weather and the keys are pretty cool. If you need any other info let me know.

Erik

[winebrad]

Hey Gene,

My Wife and I grew up in South Tahoe and have since move to Santa Rosa. We Vacation every year in July or August and moor in the Keys. I rent a slip for the duration and it works out great. The marina has wakeboard and tube rentals as well. We always found that the best water in is in the Southwest pocket of the lake, that would be just west of Baldwin Beach or as we call it Ski Beach. Also Rubicon Bay is great. Generally the wind will come from the west therefore making the east shore extremely rough. We will go out and board in the morning in the Baldwin Beach area then Anchor and set up camp at Ski Beach. We just returned from our annual vacation and the water was 70 degrees and other than boat wakes the lake was calm most of the day. Generally if you are out before 9:00 the lake will be relatively calm. I would be very wary of the East shore in the afternoons and I completely agree with the prior post in regard to watching the weather very closely. The thunderstorms are great to watch from you house but not from your boat! About two years ago a group of 9 rented a Sport Nautique from Sunnyside and found themselves near Cave Rock on the East Shore in very high waves and basically swamped the boat and I believe the driver and his wife we lost and never found. A good rule if thumb is if you see a black line forming toward the middle of the lake the get off because that black line is rough water comming in. Also Emerald Bay is not open to Skiing or Wakeboarding. I don't know if you have gone to Sunnyside for breakfast/cocktails but that is really fun as well. It is best to call ahead to reserve a bouy though. Also Camp Rich allows you to moor your boat for 2 hours so you can stop for a Rum Runner. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me. Also maybe we will see you up there sometime!

Brad

[magene]

Thanks for the great information. Now, I've got to figure out how to stay calm for the next 2 weeks before my vacation starts.

[bkhallpass]

Why not buy a wakeboard/binding setup for the kids. I don't know what
rentals will be in Tahoe, but in the Bay Area, they are typically $30-$50 per
day. On the other hand, I've seen A LOT of kids setups online for under $200.
You'll be even in just a few days.

BKH

[magene]

Must be something about great minds thinking alike. I made a few phone calls without success and then ordered one on-line. Cost about $210 bucks all together for a Hyperlite Diva with bindings. Guess my daughter will just have to work her way through college. Oh well, at least maybe the guys will stay away if she can wakeboard better than they can.

[magene]

Whoops, it's a Hyperlite Divine.

[magene]

"Do you have to pay extra to moor your boat in the keys? If so could you tell me how much it is a day?"

Matt - Sorry I missed your question. We are renting a house in the Keys and it comes with a boat dock. No extra charge although the house isn't cheap. You can check out rental properties at the Keys and prices at

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/region/usa/california/lake-tahoe-ca/south-shore/south-lake-tahoe#6748

and

http://www.tahoevacationguide.com/TKR/tahoekeysresort.html

[magene]

Just got back from a a great vacation and wanted to say thanks for the help and pass on what we learned about Tahoe.

Having a house and dock in the Keys was great and having the boat right there on the dock was definitely worth the price. It was about $2400 for a nice 4 bedroom house that sleeps 10 for 6 nights. You can check it out at http://www.vrbo.com/9539. We had 4 adults, 2-13 year old boys, 2-8 year old girls, 1-2 year old boy and a dog. Most of the time everyone was in the boat including the dog and we got the 8 year olds up wakeboarding for the first time.

We got up early (0730 to 0900) and skied/boarded until 1030 or 1100 when it got too windy. Early in the week we went out again in the evening and tubed/boarded until dark. We wore the kids out after 3 days of morning/evening sessions and with our kids, that is quite an accomplishment. We usually started just west of the channel to the Keys, skied past Camp Richardson and skied off of Baldwin Beach. We never had more than 2 or 3 boats in the same area and everyone was able to stay out of each others way most of the time.

I just skied in shorts and a rash guard and never used my wetsuit. The kids had full wesuits and they really needed them. The boys went in a couple of time without them and survived but quickly gave up the macho act. Even with the full suits, the girls were shivering while they were trying to learn how to get up.

Overall we had a great time. Tahoe is a beautiful lake and there is a ton of stuff to do. We went downhill mountain biking at Northstar (after a morning ski/board session) along with, hiking, gondola rides, biking, volleyball and hot tubbing. We boated over to Emerald Bay after one morning session and had a great time on the beach and on the island there. However, I sure would like to find a warmer, calmer lake. We stopped at New Melones on the way up and had a great day there. I'm just not sure about camping there for a whole week. Maybe we will check out Shasta or Trinity next year.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions, they all helped make a great vacation.

Gene

[SoCalNautique]

I know this is an old thread...but any new thoguhts or recent advice? I'm heading up This weekend and staying at a family friend's house in Incline Village (North Shore). Taking the 96 SNOB out for the whole week and want to know what to avoid and what not to miss!

Thanks in advance... Chris