What’s new at Lake Tahoe for Labor Day Weekend?

Traveling to the same location time and time again doesn’t have to mean the routine gets tired. While you hold onto your favorite traditions, you can also add a new experience or two. For Bay Area travelers who frequent Lake Tahoe, there’s always something novel on the horizon, and the past year has brought to the region plenty of new adventures, including brand takeovers, dining hot spots and excursions you’ve never tried before. If you want to spruce up the itinerary for your next lakeside visit, read on for what’s been added this past year.

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Dining and overnight digs

The main casino stretch in Stateline, Nevada, has undergone many changes this year. Formerly Harveys, Caesars Republic is the new kid in town with a wolf-centric brand identity and a major property refresh. Just a few doors down, the Hard Rock transformed into the Golden Nugget. New branding means more than a facelift; both have renovated rooms and added new bars and restaurants.

The Golden Nugget also introduced a new sports bar called Bill’s Sportsbook, which offers 1,200 square feet of game viewing, 24-7 self-serve kiosks and a bar with built-in slot machines. But there’s more to Bill’s than sports betting; it also offers a full menu featuring comfort-food classics such as boneless wings, pizza and smashburgers.

The former Center Bar is now Rush Lounge, which provides video gaming stations at the bar where bartenders serve handcrafted cocktails. It’s open 8 a.m.-4 a.m. on weekdays and 24-7 on the weekends. Thursday through Saturday evenings, you’ll also find live music here.

In addition to the new spots, the Golden Nugget reopened the Hard Rock casino’s famous Oyster Bar, Lake Tahoe’s first raw seafood bar. Of course, many come for the oysters, but the restaurant is also known for its New Orleans-inspired menu of jambalaya, gumbo and roasts.

The real gem of the takeover, however, has been Mastro’s, a stylish new steakhouse that’s on par with Lake Tahoe’s other big casino restaurants like Friday’s Station and Ciera. The sea-and-land menu is the star of the show, with premium cuts of beef including A5 Japanese wagyu and fresh lobster tails at market price. Every course is served with precision, and the meal is meant to be languid, enjoyed slowly with good company.

Insider tip: We highly recommend starting with a Caesar salad. Even beyond the food, Mastro’s offers the ultimate sophisticated dining ambience with dim lighting, elegant finishes and waiters in waistcoats.

Across the street, Caesars Republic’s renovation has been years — and millions — in the making. While the casino floor and several guest rooms, including those overlooking the outdoor amphitheater, got upgraded, entertainment takes center stage. Specifically, Tessie’s Cocktails & Chords, a high-end music venue serving an impressive menu of signature cocktails that pay homage to Tahoe itself, including a boozy, gin-based green juice made with cucumber and basil named The Green Room and a Bacardi-based island sipper boasting flavors of macadamia nut, lime, pineapple, coconut and citrus dubbed Stateline Sunset.

The music, of course, is the cornerstone of Tessie’s, which hosts party DJs, acoustic artists and live bands performing crowd-pleasing rock, funk and soul classics. There’s even a weekly Thursday night Sailing Club party, headlined by the band Pier Pressure, where you can sip nautical cocktails and groove to ’70s and ’80s yacht rock.

Just over the state border, Margaritaville is still reeling guests in with its island vibes, promising a laidback lake vacation with a Caribbean feel. Inside, the property resembles a cruise ship with everything you need inside its four walls. Its newest offerings are an expanded and renovated outdoor patio with ample seating overlooking Lake Tahoe Boulevard, so you can be in the middle of it all without leaving your hotel. Margaritaville even opened a walk-up window serving Dole Whip ice cream and margaritas (including a Dole Whip margarita) to travelers staying on-site or just visiting to imbibe.

Inside, Margaritaville also reopened its fine-dining restaurant, JWB Prime Steakhouse, following a brief renovation. It got a bit of a facelift to better compete with the casino steakhouses prominent in the area.

Outside of the casinos, Savoie is the hottest reservation in the region. In Tahoe City, about 40 minutes from South Lake Tahoe, the restaurant comes from a husband-and-wife team of chefs from the Bay Area, Mark and Alison Sullivan. It took the culinary couple, along with family member Maureen Sullivan, seven years to renovate the iconic Pfiefer House in Tahoe City, transforming it into a French-meets-Italian alpine dining destination aggressively chasing a Michelin star — with the fare to earn it.

For more casual meals, you have several options. The region’s first food hall, Cascade Kitchens made a splash when it opened in South Lake Tahoe last summer, and this summer, The Slice Shack and Frankie’s Tahoe joined the food-business incubator. Also in South Lake, Gather Botanical Café opened in May, doing double duty as a wellness space and coffee shop. In March, Tahoe Press + Pour started concocting cold-pressed juices, smoothies and grab-and-go items at its Tahoe City location. Last fall, a duo of businesses opened under the same ownership at the Ski Run Marina in South Lake Tahoe: Bearry Sweet sells crepes and other breakfast treats while the Early 90’s Coffee Shop hocks coffee and tea with a distinct retro feel.

Expansions and new attractions

The South Lake Tahoe Recreation & Aquatics Center had its big unveiling in April after a $83 million investment. It’s somewhat of a locals’ gem, located next to the community library and on the same road as the nearby ice rink. The 64,000-square-foot building houses a full gym with locker rooms. Visitors may be most excited about the expansive indoor swimming area, which includes a Tahoe-themed splash pad (complete with a brown bear reaching for honey pots that wobble and tip as they fill with water), a lazy river and a lap pool with a diving board and rock climbing wall. Outside of the swim area, which stays warm year-round, there are rock climbing walls, basketball courts and more, all available for day use at a low fee.

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Edgewood Tahoe Resort has a reputation for offering some of the region’s more glamorous accommodations, and the resort is regularly expanding with new restaurants and experiences. New this summer, Tea With an Edge is a modern take on a traditional high tea offered at The Edge Restaurant & Lounge on weekends only. For $95 per ticket, guests can enjoy tea and small bites while listening to a live harpist.

Clearly Lake Tahoe has been serving visitors and locals for a decade after opening in June 2016, but they haven’t let the kayak tours get stagnant. This summer, Clearly unleashed new adventures with 1.5-hour and 2.5-hour kayak rides that depart from Camp Richardson. The 1.5-hour tour, offered daily, uses clear kayaks that let riders see what’s going on below their vessels. The 2.5-hour excursion uses Hobie kayaks and runs on select days each week. In the fall, both of these journeys will provide looks at fresh foliage as well as salmon runs in the Taylor Creek area.

If you’re looking for another way to work up a sweat in while visiting the lake, consider stopping by chic, monochromatic Lagree fitness studio, which opened in February and focuses specifically a low-impact, high-intensity workout using its Lagree Mini Pro machine.

At Zephyr Cove, another popular lake beach destination, you’ll find Stinger’s Golf Lounge, which opened last fall. Part bar, part restaurant, part golf simulator, it offers a stellar combination of play and dining with an elevated menu of poke bowls, chevre goat cheese-stuffed ravioli and huli-huli chicken.

Labor Day proves to be a busy time at the lake, with many scrambling to enjoy the last bits of summer fun before cooler weather sets in, but with a little pre-planning, you can still enjoy what’s new without a wait. We always suggest booking early for holiday weekends so rooms and reservations don’t fill up. Some of these more coveted new attractions will undoubtedly be at the top of everyone’s “must” list this summer.

If You Go

The Golden Nugget Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino: 50 Highway 50, Stateline, Nevada, (844) 588-7625; goldennugget.com/lake-tahoe

Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe: 18 Highway 50, Stateline, Nevada, (775) 588-6611; caesars.com/caesars-republic-lake-tahoe

Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe: 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, (530) 544-5400; margaritavilleresorts.com/margaritaville-resort-lake-tahoe

Savoie: Open 5-11 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 760 W. River Road, Tahoe City, (530) 358-2075; savoietahoe.com

South Lake Tahoe Recreation & Aquatics Center: Open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays, and 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 1100 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, (530) 542-6056, cityofslt.gov

Edgewood Tahoe Resort: 180 Lake Parkway, Stateline, (888) 881-8659; edgewoodtahoe.com

Clearly Lake Tahoe: (530) 554-4664; clearlytahoe.com

Lagree South Lake: Open 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 8-11:30 a.m. Saturdays-Sundays, 2520 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, (530) 781-9111; lagreesouthlake.com

Stinger’s Golf Lounge: Open 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and 11:30 a.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays, 178 Highway 50, Suite A, Zephyr Cove. (775) 580-6007; stingersgolflounge.com

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