Activities

Sight Seeing:  Lake Tahoe and Virginia City are not to be missed.   Spend the day in Virginia City where they still have wooden plank sidewalks or take a paddle boat cruise on the lake.

Parks:  The Dangberg Home Ranch Tour in Gardnerville is quite interesting.  The original buildings and furnishings from 1857 through the next century are available for viewing.   Tours are offered by reservation only ($3.00) Wednesday through Sunday (775) 783-9417.   Grover Hot Springs State Park in Markleeville offers reasonably priced,  well maintained pools.  Although the pools are spartan and surrounded by high fences, the drive there and the surrounding area is beautiful (530) 694-2248.  

Hot Air Ballooning:  Year round, the balloons take off just a few minutes away.   You often see them flying overhead in the morning.  They do their best not to come too close so as not to spook the horses.  www.balloonnevada.com

Picnicking:  There are numerous parks in Minden and Gardnerville, including the rebuilt fort in Genoa, which provide picnicking spots.  And of course, the mountains provide numerous spots where you can pull off the road walk a little way and toss down your picnic blanket.  Our own birch and aspen forest provides a quite charming location with swings, tables and chairs located in various nooks and crannies.

Wine Tasting:  We have a wine tasting room open in nearby Genoa (moving soon to Gardnerville) on weekends (Friday thru Sunday) and extended weekends (Thursday thru Monday) as well during the summer.  www.tahoeridge.com

Carriage and Sleigh Rides:  Available according to the season in South Tahoe just  30 minutes away.   www.sleighride.com

Casinos:  We have two casinos in Minden/Gardnerville and are just 30 minutes from the big hotel casinos in South Lake Tahoe. 

Basque Restaurants:  There are three authentic Basque restaurants in town.

Fine Dining:  We have five excellent restaurants.

Very Good Dining:  We have many Chinese, Italian, Thai, Japanese, Mexican and American restaurants to please every taste and budget.

Gambling:  You can even play the slot machines in the grocery stores.

Paddlewheel Cruises:  These take off from nearby Zephyr Cove and range from just sight seeing to breakfast buffets and dinner cruises.

Shakespeare Festival:  This is held on the shore at Lake Tahoe in a natural amphitheater overlooking the lake during most of the summer months.

Concerts in the Park, Street Fairs, Chili Cook-offs, Craft Fairs, Tasting Events, Home Tours, Rummage Sales, Charity Dinners or Show and Shines can be found  almost continuously during the summer months.

Farms and Ranches: Many farms and ranches give tours to visitors.  It's always fun to see the babies.  A nearby alpaca farm is always happy to give tours..  www.tahoebreezealpacas.com

Museums:  The Nevada State Museum is located nearby in Carson City with a life-size replica of a working mine among other things.  There is also an excellent art museum in Reno.