Our family recently went to Lake Tahoe for a fun family weekend and of course we had a blast! Mike and I had been there for overnight stays before, and we’d taken the kids for day trips, but this was their first time staying in Tahoe. With only 48 hours in Tahoe we wanted to make the most of them! Keep reading for my suggestions for how to spend 48 hours in Tahoe before the snow hits the ground! This post is in collaboration with Olympic Village Inn. They were kind enough to host our family for our stay! All opinions are my own.

48 hours in tahoe

Olympic Village Inn

When you’re planning a short weekend trip you definitely want a hotel that’s right in the middle of everything. Whether it’s Summer or Winter location is everything and Olympic Village Inn has a great location. Ideally situated and absolutely gorgeous, Olympic Village Inn is a little piece of history. (This was the original site of the athlete’s dorms for the 1960 Winter Olympics!)

The way that the rooms at Olympic Village Inn are set up is really perfect for our family. On the second and third floors you walk into the bedrooms first. Then you pass through the bathroom to get to the kitchenette and living area. There was a huge pullout sofa here that my kids were able to sleep on. There’s also a private balcony in each room. Note that on the first floor the layout is reversed so that you walk into the living room first so if you have little ones you might want to request a second or third floor room.

The amenities at Olympic Village Inn are great also. Not only do you have access to a kitchenette in your room, but there’s also a public clubhouse with a full kitchen if you need a little more space. There’s also lots of grills near the pool area and we often smelled something delicious wafting through the air when we were down there. Above the clubhouse there’s also a small fitness facility and a game room that I wish we’d had more time in!

day one

Since check in at your hotel isn’t until the afternoon spend your morning at Kings Beach State Recreation Area in North Lake Tahoe. Our family loves this beach because there’s lots of sandy beach area, great public restrooms with changing space, a foot wash station, a playground and picnic tables, and water sport rentals. Basically, it’s the ideal location to take your little ones!

After a few hours enjoying the sun and playing in the waves you can make the short 30 minute drive to Olympic Village Inn in Squaw Valley. After checking in take some time to enjoy the beautiful grounds of the Inn. There’s lots of shaded lawn to run around on and plenty of seating scattered about. My kids were in heaven with the hammocks and the stream running through the property.

If you don’t want to have dinner in your room then you can walk right over to Squaw Village and enjoy one of the delicious dining choices there. We went over there a few times and it was a fun place to walk around and people watch. This is also where the Squaw Valley Aerial tram is if you want to check that out (Bonus–you can see it in action from Olympic Village Inn!)

Only have 24 hours in Yosemite? Check out our tips here!

day two

Day two gives you a great chance to explore Squaw Valley a little bit! Luckily, Olympic Village Inn has the perfect way to do that with their complimentary bike rentals! They offer adult bikes, kids bikes, balance bikes, and bike trailers making it possible for your whole family to enjoy a nice ride! They do have bike helmets, but if you have a lot of little ones I suggest bringing theirs from home as the selection of baby helmets was small… no pun intended.

Check out our review of Epic Discovery at Heavenly Mountain in South Lake Tahoe here!

There are miles of bike trails to explore in the Tahoe region and Squaw Valley has some of the most beautiful ones–in my opinion. You can ride as much or little as you want, just keep in mind that as you’re leaving Squaw Valley it’s mostly downhill so coming back it will be mostly uphill. Take your time though and even your little ones will do just fine. Borrowing bikes from Olympic Village Inn was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

You can also read about our family adventures in 48 hours in Carlsbad and Reno.

Don’t forget to unwind after your bike ride in the pool or one of five hot tubs on site! It’s definitely the perfect way to end the day, especially with the gorgeous mountains as a backdrop!

Have you ever been to Lake Tahoe? What was your favorite thing?