Spooner Lake and Backcountry - Lake Tahoe State Park

Okay guys! This little lake is SO beautiful! We spent Memorial Day enjoying some family time and the great outdoors hiking at this lovely little lake. If you're looking for a good, kid-friendly hike this might be just the place for you. 

Spooner Lake is just down the hill from Lake Tahoe, and is actually one of the four areas that make up Lake Tahoe State Park. Despite the proximity to the swarms of people at Tahoe, this little lake was pretty quiet and peaceful, even on a Holiday weekend. I would imagine that on a less-busy day you might not see more than one or two other people there.

 Once you've paid the small fee to get in, you'll find a great picnic area right by the parking lot. There are tables and grills, as well as bathrooms with real flush toilets (not pit toilets). The bathrooms were in pretty good shape, but there was no soap (or any kind of dispenser) so if that's going to bother you then you better bring some. I don't think there was a changing station in there. There is also a working drinking fountain and a water spigot, though if you're hiking you'll want to bring water bottles along.

 There are several hikes you can go on from this park, but we chose the Spooner Lake Loop trail. It is short(ish) and mostly level. Pretty much every website/sign I see gives a different length for this trail, but it is somewhere between 2 and 2.5 miles long. It does make a full circle, so you don't have to plan for a return trip. All the trails are clearly marked along the way, and the Ranger at the gate also had some great maps of all the trails in the area if you are worried about getting lost or just want more info.

 This little lake is absolutely beautiful, but it is a bit lacking in the sandy beaches department. You could totally get in the water here, but you're likely to get muddy. It seemed like the shore had a nice gentle slope to it so you could let kids get wet without having them get in too deep too quickly. We didn't try it, much to the kids' dismay.

 There was one area along the shore where there were several large boulders covered with ancient native american grinding holes. The kids were fascinated when I explained what they were.

 If your kids are into climbing on things, this trail is for them! There were so many large boulders and fallen logs for the kids to scramble over, but that didn't block the path.

Our kids loved observing the nature around us! There were lots of pretty wild flowers to pick...

...and birds to watch. There were ducks and geese on the lake, and even a Bald Eagle circling overhead.

 This trail is mostly bike and stroller friendly, especially if you have a stroller with largish wheels. There are a couple of places where the trail goes over bridges/boardwalks which require a 6-8 inch step up/down. There was also one place where a small tree had fallen across the path but again, it was probably only about 8 inches above the path. It would be easy to lift the stroller or bike over the obstacles. If we come back to do this again we totally plan on bringing the kids' bikes with us. All three of our kids (2,4, & 6 years old) were able to handle this hike. Even the youngest managed to walk about 80% of it. It did take us several hours though because we were moving at her pace, so plan accordingly.

As with all Nevada State Parks, you can get a stamp in your passport here at this park and get one step closer to a free annual pass. If for some reason there is not a park ranger in the entrance booth, there is a DIY stamping station on the outside of the booth.

Essential Details:

Spooner Lake and Backcountry
Located on NV-28, near the junction with US 50.
Website
Day Use/Entrance Fee - $10