3 Best Sights in South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe

Whether you ski or not, you'll appreciate the impressive view of Lake Tahoe from the Heavenly Gondola. Its eight-passenger cars travel from Heavenly Village 2.4 miles up the mountain in 15–20 minutes. When the weather's fine, you can hike around the mountaintop and have lunch at Tamarack Lodge. The thrilling gravity-powered Ridge Rider alpine roller coaster, which zips past boulders and trees, closed in 2023 because of snow damage but was expected to reopen in 2024.

This lively complex at the base of the Heavenly Gondola has good shopping, an arcade for kids, a cinema, a skating rink in winter, miniature golf in summer, and the Loft for magic shows and other live entertainment. Base Camp Pizza Co., Azul Latin Kitchen, and Kalani's at Lake Tahoe for seafood stand out among the several restaurants.

Heavenly Gondola cars glide above this 756-acre day-use-only park that straddles the California–Nevada border steps south of Heavenly Village. Several trails wind up the mountain to sigh-worthy vistas. Colorful spring wildflowers and fall foliage provide further incentive to bring a picnic and hike, bike, or ride horseback. The park's Rim Trail Connector leads to the Tahoe Rim Trail, which for more than 165 miles follows the ridge lines of the mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe.