Relaxing at Incline Village, North Lake Tahoe - Wisetrips Travel Blog

For the July 4th weekend, Inna made reservations at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Incline Village, Nevada (North Lake Tahoe).

Thursday, July 4, 2024

At 10:00, we loaded our Tesla Model Y with our bags and set out on the long drive to North Lake Tahoe. Traffic was not too heavy, but I felt extremely sleepy. On the way there, we stopped for coffee and lunch at The Pour Choice in Auburn. We ordered the following brunch items and rested while waiting for the food to arrive:

• Appetizer: Pretzel Braids with mustard
• Boris: Hot Mocha, Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich with Sausage
• Inna: Hot Latte, Sparkling Lemonade, Loaded Salad

I liked my Biscuit Sandwich, though it was small. The Pretzel Braids were lovely, too. Inna really enjoyed her Loaded Salad. My mocha was delicious and helped to keep me awake.

After lunch, we stopped by the nearby Tesla Supercharger to charge our Tesla to 80% (our battery was down to 34%)  and continued our drive to Incline Village in North Lake Tahoe.

On arrival at Hyatt Regency, we unloaded our bags and had the valet park our car (self-park was full). We explored the area, walking to the nearby private beach and hiking trails.

At 18:30, we walked to dinner at Le Bistro near our Hyatt Regency Hotel, where Inna had made a reservation in advance. After searching for Le Bistro, we found it hidden behind the main buildings.

After checking in with the hostess and being seated indoors, we patiently waited 20 minutes for service. We were thirsty and eager to get started (so that we would have adequate time for the upcoming fireworks). However, there was only one waitress, and she was busy with other tables. We grew impatient and decided to try another restaurant. We left Le Bistro and headed to Fumo, a nearby restaurant. We do not recommend dining at Le Bistro (if you are in a hurry).

We stopped at Fumo and were seated outside, though service was slow. However, we were provided with water right away. We ordered the following dinner items at Fumo:

• Appetizer: Beet Salad
• Boris:  Cherry Hibiscus Kombucha, Burrata Sliders
• Inna: Mountain Mojito, Rack of Lamb
• Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake

I liked the Beet Salad, and my Burrata Sliders were excellent. Inna's Rack of Lamb was also delicious.

After dinner, we returned to our Hyatt Regency to prepare to watch the July 4th fireworks at the private beach.

The private beach was packed, but we found a nice place to sit and watch them. The fireworks started at 21:30 and were not too bad.

Friday, July 5, 2024

I woke at around 07:30, showered, and dressed. I made coffee in our room's coffee maker and waited for Inna to shower and dress.

We decided to bike around the area and stopped by the Big Blue Bike Rentals shop just outside the hotel. Inna chose an E-bike and loved riding it along the East Shore Trail to Hidden Beach, Emerald Cove, and Sand Harbor Beach. I selected a regular sports bike, which was tolerable but lacked front-fork suspension (as expected for a bike in its price range).

As Inna wanted to eat breakfast, we biked for 10 minutes to the Drink Coffee Do Stuff coffee shop. I locked the bikes while Inna queued up in a long line. We waited over an hour for coffee. It was a big waste of time (as I don't eat breakfast, and we were losing precious morning hours when the temperature was more relaxed).

We decided to bike the East Shore Trail and set out on a long ride to Sand Harbor, stopping at Hidden Beach, Emerald Cove, and a few scenic viewpoints along the way. The lake was beautiful, with clean, transparent, emerald-green water everywhere.

After hiking around Sand Harbor (and learning about the annual Shakespeare Festival from July 22 to August 8), we stopped by the local restaurant, but it looked too busy (and we did not queue up in the long line).

We biked back along East Shore Trail, stopping at Tunnel Creek Cafe for lunch and drinks. We were starving and thirsty. As I locked up the two bikes, Inna queued up in another line (but we did not have to wait long). We ordered the following items for lunch:

• Boris: Yerba mate (too much sugar), Hoss Burger (with 2 4-oz patties), salad 
• Inna: Green Tea, East Shore Cheese Steak, salad

After lunch, we decided to hike along Tunnel Creek Road to see the famous Monkey Rock. It was a steep uphill climb to an overlook of the Monkey Rock. We were exhausted from the hike, though the way back down was much faster and easier.

We stopped by for a few more drinks at the Tunnel Creek Cafe, ordering the following:

• Boris: Iced Mocha, green tea
• Inna: Iced Mocha, green tea, lemonade

From Tunnel Creek Cafe, we decided to bike along Lakeshore Boulevard to see the famous mansions of the billionaires here. We biked along the lake but couldn't tell which homes belonged to the ultra-wealthy.

We biked back to the Hyatt Regency and dropped off our bikes. We spent a few hours on the beach, savoring the beautiful weather. We managed to find some unoccupied umbrellas and chairs. Both Inna and I brought our Kindles, and I read and relaxed.

At 18:45, we returned to our room, changed out of our swimwear, and headed to Fuma for dinner. After being seated at an outdoor table, we ordered the following items:

• Appetizers: Wedge Salad, Wild Mushroom Brie
• Inna: Blackberry Cooler, Rack of Lamb, Hot Tea
• Boris: Cherry Hibiscus Kombucha, Burrata Dinner Sliders

Though service was not especially fast, we were prepared to wait, as we had brought our Kindles to read. The Wild Mushroom Brie was quite delicious, as were my Burrata Sliders and Rack of Lamb.

After dinner, we stopped at Cool Mess for ice cream. We ordered a cup with 2 scoops of Rocky Road and Espresso. It was expensive ($8 for 2 scoops) but no better than Häagen-Dazs from Safeway.

Saturday, July 6, 2024

We woke later, exhausted from the previous day's activities.

After stopping by our Hilton's coffee shop for mochas and pastries, we decided to walk along the East Shore Trail and explore the hidden beaches. It was scorching out, and we found a few places with shade.

Along the way to Sand Harbor, there were many hidden beaches. We stopped by one for a few cold drinks. We thought about swimming, but the water was quite chilly and crowded.

We returned to our Hilton Hotel and rested by the pool.

For dinner, Inna made 18:30 reservations at the Lone Eagle Grille on the private beach of the Hyatt Regency. After sitting down and looking at the menu, we ordered the following:

• Appetizer: Ahi Poke
• Boris: King Salmon
• Inna: Seabass
• Dessert: Baked Tahoe

 The Baked Tahoe was sweet and delicious!

The entrees were well-prepared, but nothing extraordinary. Service was fast and efficient (much better than other Incline Village restaurants).

 

Sunday, July 7, 2024 

I woke at 06:45 to get ready for wakeboarding with North Tahoe Wakesurf & Charter. I hoped for Inna to join me, but she did not sleep or feel well enough at night.

 

I made a small cup of dark roast coffee in our room's coffee machine and put on my swimsuit. I got the Tesla Model Y from the valet and drove 20 minutes to Carnelian Bay, parking at the following address:

5000 N. Lake Blvd

Carnelian Bay, CA 96140

I parked my Tesla Model Y and met with Moose Halpern on the boat pier. After slipping into the Bodyglove wetsuit, I was ready for wakesurfing.

Here is a video of my wakesurfing:

 At first, I tried wakesurfing on a 5'8" longboard and had good success surfing on this board. I then tried a shorter version of the board. It was more responsive but also more unstable. I surfed on this shorter surfboard for the rest of the session.

 

I spent two hours wakesurfing and getting more comfortable surfing the boat's wake. I did not have time to ride real wakeboards.

The overall cost of the two-hour wake-surfing session was $700 plus tax (very expensive).

After my session, I returned to the Hyatt Regency Hotel at Incline Village. Inna was waking up and feeling a bit better. We packed our bags and decided to grab breakfast downstairs.

We checked out of the Hilton and picked up our Tesla Model Y. The staff at the Hilton charged it for us (even without asking), which was very thoughtful. We started our drive home with a stop for coffee at The Pour Choice in Auburn. It was a scorching day, and cold mochas helped me stay awake.

On the way home, there was heavy traffic, and we also needed to stop for a few minutes to charge our Tesla Model Y at the Tesla Supercharger in Pleasanton. 

Lake Tahoe Trip Review

Highlights

• Wakesurfing with Moose Halpern of North Tahoe Wakesurf & Charter.
• Biking along Tahoe's East Shore Trail to Hidden Beach, Emerald Cove, and Sand Harbor Beach
• Hiking Tunnel Creek Road to see Monkey Rock. A short but very strenuous uphill hike with fantastic views of Lake Tahoe and Monkey Rock.
• Terrific Independence Day fireworks at Incline Village
• Dining at Fuma was pleasant (though service was slow)

Lowlights: 

• Slow, unfriendly service at Le Bistro, Incline Village (avoid!)
• Very long lines for coffee at Drink Coffee Do Stuff (we waited over an hour for coffee)
• Crowded beaches during the July 4-5 holiday