The MS Dixie has several cruises available. The MS Dixie is a sternwheeler and has a huge red wheel at its stern. Very picturesque!
This particular cruise was the breakfast cruise to Glenbrook on the eastern side of the lake, leaving from Zephyr Cove. We actually booked this cruise online from the Lake Tahoe website. The booking company was Viator. For two, the cruise was $56 and included breakfast. If you drive there, you also have to pay $8 to park at Zephyr Cove Beach (but you can stay at the beach for the rest of the day if you so choose!). They also have shuttles available, but I’m just not sure where they shuttle from
Everyone is asked to arrive at 8:30am for the breakfast buffet. There were about 40 people on our cruise, but it looked as though about 200 people could be accommodated. The buffet had eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, pastries, cereal, coffee, juice, and milk. It was very good, and the wait staff was very friendly.
During breakfast, we set sail at 9am and journeyed along the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe. They also showed a video of all the hidden treasures found beneath the surface of Lake Tahoe. This video was fascinating. The trip to Glenbrook took about 45 minutes.
Glenbrook is an old logging town. During the Silver Rush at Virginia City, they actually stripped the Lake Tahoe area of most of its trees for use at Virginia City and Glenbrook was the site of all of the activity. Glenbrook is now an exclusive community on the lake.
The views are spectacular on this cruise. The lake is so blue and even in summer the mountains had some snow on their peaks! A landmark on the lake is Cave Rock. It is a HUGE rock, through which they have carved the road. On the return trip at the bottom of Cave Rock, you can see a profile of a woman that they call Lady of the Lake. It is actually a natural rock formation, but it really does look like a woman.
The boat has three levels, so we chose to go to the third level for the ride back. We arrived back at Zephyr Cove after a nice, relaxing drive sitting in the sun and working on our tans. A slight spray came off of the stern wheel as we sat back and enjoyed the day! We pulled into the dock at 10:30.