Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Lake Tahoe

Before you go

What happens when you get there

California state park beaches

California State Parks requires a lead of six feet or less at all times and doesn't permit dogs on most beaches. At D.L. Bliss and Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point dogs are allowed in developed areas only, meaning campsites, paved roads and paths, fire roads and car parks. Dogs aren't allowed in most areas of Emerald Bay State Park. This covers the state park units on the California side, not every beach on the lake.

Kings Beach

At Kings Beach State Recreation Area dogs are allowed at the Dog Beach at the east end of the park, in the rocky areas. They aren't permitted on the sandy beach.

Sand Harbor

On the Nevada side, pets are only allowed off season, from 15 October to 15 April, on a lead of no more than six feet. There are no dogs at Sand Harbor for the whole summer.

Other beaches

We haven't been able to confirm the dog rules for the lake's other public beaches, including the one across the street from The Landing. Check the managing agency's own page or ask your hotel before you walk down with a towel.

Trails

Dogs are allowed on all sections of the Tahoe Rim Trail. Keep your dog on a lead in high use areas, at trailheads, around other users and on steep or slippery ground, and under voice control elsewhere. Rules vary with the agency managing each stretch, and the lead and permit rules for Desolation Wilderness aren't confirmed, so check before heading in. Near Truckee, Donner Memorial State Park allows dogs on a six-foot lead on the Lakeside Interpretive Trail, the Zig Zag Trail, fire roads and along the shore.

Leaving your dog in the room

Not allowed at Desolation Hotel or Gravity Haus Truckee-Tahoe, and the other hotels don't publish a rule. Black Bear Lodge in South Lake Tahoe, which doesn't take pets, recommends Hair of the Dog Pet Concierge for day care and overnight boarding. Ring them for terms and availability.

Winter roads

Caltrans runs three chain control levels. R-1 requires chains except on passenger cars and light trucks under 6,000 lbs with snow tyres on two drive wheels, which must still carry chains. R-2 requires chains or traction devices on everything except four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicles with snow tyres on all four wheels, which must still carry traction devices. R-3, which is rare, means chains on every vehicle. Check Caltrans QuickMap or ring 800-427-7623 before you leave, and check Nevada's rules separately if you're driving up from Reno.

Bears

This is bear country. Keep food and anything scented out of sight in the car, use the bear lockers, put rubbish in the proper bins, keep your distance and never feed a bear.

Best walks

The Tahoe Rim Trail is the big one, with dogs allowed on every section. At Donner Memorial State Park in Truckee, dogs on a six-foot lead can walk the Lakeside Interpretive Trail, the Zig Zag Trail, the fire roads and the shore. For water, the Dog Beach at the east end of Kings Beach State Recreation Area takes dogs in the rocky areas, and Sand Harbor opens to dogs on a lead from 15 October to 15 April. At D.L. Bliss and Sugar Pine Point you're limited to paved roads and paths, fire roads and the developed areas.

When to go

It depends on what you want from the lake. Sand Harbor only takes dogs from 15 October to 15 April, so autumn and winter are the months for that shoreline, and summer rules it out. Winter also brings chain controls on the California mountain roads, so carry chains and check conditions before you drive. The heated patio at Toulouse, at Station House Inn, is seasonal, so ask whether it's open for your dates if dinner out with your dog is the point of the trip.