Dog Friendly North Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is beautiful anytime of year, but it is particularly magical in the winter and early spring when snow blankets the region. North Lake Tahoe is the perfect blend of snowy adventures, scenic landscapes, and wildlife encounters making it great for both day trips and longer getaways. Here are a few of our dog friendly highlights:
DONNER SUMMIT SNO-PARK
As with other SNO-Parks we’ve visited, Donner Summit SNO-Park is a designated recreational area with a cleared parking lot and pit toilets. Donner Summit, located off highway 80 near Boreal, is great for sledding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and dog sledding. This very popular SNO-Park can get crowded on weekends and holidays. However, as with other SNO-Parks we’ve visited, the majority of the crowds were near the parking lots. Once we got deeper into the forest, we were able to find our own sledding hills and snow play spots. While the humans snowshoed and sledded, Luna ran alongside, explored, and rolled around in the snow. A perfect place for a husky!
Parking is $15/day or $40 for the season which runs from November through May. Parking needs to be purchased in advance online or at a local vendor.
Reactive Note-Since we had never been to Donner Summit SNO-Park, we decided not to bring Linus. It was also a holiday weekend, so there were definitely a lot people and dogs! Although we could have worked through it, sometimes we also like to enjoy the day without having to be on high alert. And Linus was able to have a stress free relaxing day at home. For a less crowded SNO-Park experience, try the Bear Valley area.
CHICKADEE RIDGE
The name says it all! This popular area off the Mt. Rose Highway is best know for the chickadees that will eat right from your hand. Just look for the cars parked along the road near a large meadow. The meadow side is a dog friendly area for snowshoeing and cross country skiing. Across the highway from the meadow, is a big sledding hill. So you can choose your own adventure!
We snowshoed across the meadow into the forest in search of the adorable mountain chickadees. They came flying near us even before we brought out the bird seeds. The area is dog friendly, but dogs may scare the birds away. Luna mostly ignored the chickadees, and just enjoyed playing in the snow.
We understand that there’s a debate about whether or not to feed the birds at Chickadee Ridge. We always hear, don’t feed wild animals! Researchers at the University of Nevada have found that supplemental feeding may not significantly impact the populations of wild mountain chickadees in the Sierra Nevada, however they should be fed food similar to what they eat in the wild like unsalted pine nuts or black-oil sunflower seeds. But we are not scientists! We are just trying to find the balance of enjoying and respecting nature in general but especially with our dogs.
SAND HARBOR
Sand Harbor is a stunningly picturesque area situated along the northeastern shores of Lake Tahoe in Nevada. The sandy beaches and crystal turquoise waters make it a very popular and crowded area in the summer for swimming, boating, and paddle sports. However in the off season-October 15-April 15 Sand Harbor is tranquil, serene, and best of all-open to dogs! Linus hasn’t been to Sand Harbor yet, but Luna loved digging in the sand, playing catch on the beach, and even going for a little swim. Brrrrrr.
Sand Harbor is located off Highway 28 in Nevada
Parking is $10.00 per vehicle (Non-NV Vehicles: $15.00 per vehicle)
The visitor center and restrooms are open year round
Reactive Note-Linus has not been to Sand Harbor, but it probably would not be his favorite adventure. We were able to walk to the end of the beach, and had our own play area. No dogs approached, however dogs were running in the distance off leash playing catch, so it likely would have been stressful for a reactive dog like Linus.
Sometimes Linus would rather be relaxing with his favorite 3 legged cat buddy, Mochi.
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