Like so many Sacramentans do, we recently went to Lake Tahoe for a quick getaway. Our first night was in South Lake, which offered a great starting point for driving up and around the lake. On the way to our next stop (Sunnyside on the West Shore), we went to Chimney Beach, a gorgeous and quiet cove you can access after a ½ mile hike downhill, and Tahoe City for lunch and shopping.
If you haven’t been, Sunnyside is like a place out of a movie – a restaurant and deck overlooking the lake, a dock that makes for the best platform to watch sunrises, and slips for only the most pristine of boats. I’ve been to Sunnyside before, but I had never experienced the grand scale of its energy. This place offers the quietest, calmest scene at 5:45 am as the sun rises over the mountains and glistens across the expansive lake. With every hour, the energy level grows as people gather to get on their boats, go stand up paddle boarding, and relax with a cocktail at the bustling restaurant.
Vacations are only as fun as the people in them, and it’s the people who made our trip memorable. We happened to run into Bill’s nieces at Sunnyside and then 3 couples we know from Sacramento. Visiting with friends while cruising on the lake, wake surfing, and anchoring on a Caribbean-like beach, truly made for the most spectacular trip.
My new love for the West Shore has me laser-focused on finding a place to rent next summer for the month of July. Please DM me or Bill if you have a recommendation for a small-ish house that is dog friendly.
