Day Trippin' › Northern California › From South Lake Tahoe
From South Lake Tahoe, Emerald Bay, Vikingsholm and Eagle Falls are about 15 minutes away, Hope Valley's meadows under half an hour, Tahoe City and Grover Hot Springs under 45 minutes, and Coloma's Gold Rush park and Old Sacramento are in reach for the day. The best day trips from South Lake Tahoe, by drive time.
42 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
State park · 27 min northwest
An old-growth pine forest on the west shore with the Ehrman Mansion, a lakefront pier and beach, and groomed ski trails in winter.
Town · 42 min northwest
A lakeside village where the Truckee River leaves the lake at Fanny Bridge, with the Gatekeeper's Museum and a paved lakeshore bike path.
Hot spring · 45 min southeast
A mountain meadow park near Markleeville with a hot-spring-fed soaking pool and short trails through the pines.
Ski area · 51 min northwest
A large cable car climbs 2,000 feet to High Camp at 8,200 feet, with big Sierra and lake views and a free Olympic museum.
Historic site · 1 hr 17 min west
The place in Coloma where the 1848 gold find set off the Gold Rush, with a replica sawmill, a museum and gold panning on the American River.
Historic site · 1 hr 49 min west
A riverfront district of Gold Rush and railroad-era buildings with wooden sidewalks, under Tower Bridge.
State park · 1 hr 52 min south
Giant sequoias in the North Grove on an easy, mostly flat loop, where the big trees first became famous in the 1850s.
Historic site · 1 hr 57 min west
One of California's richest hard-rock gold mines, with a stone owner's cottage, formal gardens and the old mine yard.
State park · 1 hr 3 min northwest
A museum on the Donner Party and the building of the transcontinental railroad, beside the Pioneer Monument and the shore of Donner Lake.
Town · 1 hr 3 min north
An old railroad and logging town whose Commercial Row is lined with Old West buildings, under Donner Summit.
Viewpoint · 1 hr 9 min northwest
The 1926 Rainbow Bridge on old Highway 40 looks down on Donner Lake, with old railroad snow sheds and climbing walls nearby.
Wildlife · 1 hr 58 min west
Seasonal wetlands between Sacramento and Davis with a gravel auto tour loop, and summer dusk bat flights under the causeway.
Historic site · 2 hr 20 min south
A whole Gold Rush town kept as it was, with stagecoach rides, gold panning, old saloons and costumed shopkeepers.
Town · 2 hr 2 min southwest
A Gold Rush Main Street lined with tasting rooms and old stone buildings, a short drive from the caves and Big Trees.
River · 2 hr 11 min west
The longest single-span covered bridge in the West, at Bridgeport, among clear green river pools and gold-panning bars.
Wildlife · 2 hr 53 min west
A Butte County wetland where the Sutter Buttes rise behind winter waterfowl, with a 3-mile auto loop and a raised viewing platform.
Cave · 2 hr 10 min southwest
California's biggest public cave chamber, reached by a spiral staircase that drops 16 stories.
State park · 2 hr 14 min northwest
Hydraulic miners washed away a mountainside here, leaving eroded cliffs of red and white beside the North Bloomfield ghost town.
Town · 2 hr 5 min northwest
A tiny Gold Rush town where two rivers meet, with old brick buildings and summer swimming holes.
Train · 2 hr 30 min south
A working steam railroad roundhouse in Jamestown that has appeared in many Western films, with seasonal steam excursions.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 96150 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.