How to Hike the Incline Flume Trail on Your First Day at Lake Tahoe

You have arrived in Reno and you’re ready to see big beautiful Lake Tahoe and its crystal clear blue water! However, if your trip is anything like ours, it’s raining. 😑 Well, that puts a damper on things. A little rain never hurts anyone right, so put your rain gear on and head into the beautiful mountains.

Make your way to the Incline Flume Trail near Incline Village for a nice hike with views overlooking Lake Tahoe. We spent about 4 days in Lake Tahoe, and you can find the rest of our awesome itinerary right here.

Where to Stay – Lake Tahoe

For a home base, we recommend staying in South Lake Tahoe, CA. This is a perfect spot! Here are some of the top accommodations:

• Marriott Grand Residence Club, Lake Tahoe – 1-3 bedroom options. We stayed here and LOVED it! Right at Heavenly Village with plenty of food and shopping options. Hop on the Heavenly Gondola right onsite.
• Stardust Lodge – prime location right in the heart of the shopping and entertainment district, and free breakfast – you can’t go wrong there.
• Holiday Inn Express South Lake Tahoe By IHG – free hot breakfast bar and just down the street from Heavenly Village.
• Alder Inn – a family-owned and operated, quaint hotel. Contactless check-in featuring a text when your room is ready. Once ready, head there with no reason to wait until “check-in time!”

Before You Venture Out

• The Lake Tahoe area gets an intense amount of snow each year. Depending on when you travel here, the trails listed below may still be snow-covered or impassible.
• Get to all trailheads early to guarantee parking. During the summer months, parking areas can fill up very quickly.

Weather and General Safety

• Weather near Lake Tahoe can vary from day to day. In mid-June, most daytime temps are in the 60s and 70s and that is perfect hiking weather. That being said, Lake Tahoe may still be a bit cold for swimming.
• Carry plenty of snacks and water. It’s recommended to carry at least 1 liter of water for every 5 miles you are hiking. We like to pack PB&J and other snacks to eat around lunchtime on the trails. Get our favorite water bladder right here.
• Always carry a first aid kit.
• Make a plan to tell at least one person where you plan to be on what day in case something happens.
• Reduce your risk by preparing and having the proper gear for all hikes you plan to complete. This means good shoes and proper hiking attire. No flip-flops!

Animal Safety at Lake Tahoe

• The Lake Tahoe area is home to many animals, including black bears, mountain lions, porcupines, marmots, coyotes, foxes, etc.
  • Review the steps to take if you encounter a black bear or mountain lion along the trail.
    • Recommendations could differ from park to park based on local bear behavior – check all signs at the trailhead before you begin your hike.

Incline Flume Trail – moderate – 13 miles, out and back

The Incline Flume Trailhead is located right off Route 431 near Incline Village, NV. Park along the pullout to the road and be very careful as you cross the highway to the trail. This hike starts at around 7,700 feet and should help you acclimate to the higher elevation if you are flat-landers like us.

This trail has scenic views of Lake Tahoe and crosses several streams while traversing through beautiful Jeffrey Pine forests.

The best part about this trail is that it’s mostly flat! The trail is 6.5 miles from point to point or about 13 miles out and back if you hike to the end and then turn around.

When you reach the end of this trail at 6.5 miles there is an option to continue on the Tunnel Creek Trail which will take you 2.5 miles to the Tunnel Creek bike trail and Tunnel Creek Cafe. Just keep in mind you’ll have to hike back if you take this route!

While hiking the Incline Flume Trail in mid-June, we encountered snow on the trail so we did not complete the entire hike. Instead, we turned around and headed south to explore South Lake Tahoe and our accommodations.

As we headed toward South Lake Tahoe, the clouds opened up with torrential rain, lightning, and thunder! It’s a good thing we turned around and got off the trail when we did! It’s never safe to hike around giant pine trees in a lightning storm, huh!

South Lake Tahoe

A great home base for all of your Lake Tahoe explorations is in South Lake Tahoe, California. This area is just across the state line from Nevada and is home to many resorts, casinos, and other attractions.

Staying at the Marriott Grand Residence Club, Lake Tahoe will get you close to many food options as well as the Heavenly Ski Resort and Heavenly Gondola. Unfortunately, the gondola was not running during our trip, so we could not take a scenic ride up the mountain as we had planned. There are many hiking trails and scenic overlooks at the summit. Some of them include:

• Cal Lookout Hiking Trail and Overlook
• East Peak Hiking Trail
• Tamarack Hiking Trail
• Skyline Hiking Trail

Final Thoughts

After a busy day of travel and weather-related mishaps, we settled into our accommodations and headed out for some tasty food at the California Burger Company. We had a nice first day in the Lake Tahoe area, even with rain and cool weather.

We were bummed out that the Heavenly Gondola was not running the entire trip, but with the record snowfall the prior winter, we guessed that the trails served by the gondola were likely too snow-covered to hike anyway. Instead, we had a nice relaxing time in the hot tub at our resort!