Making family memories is what Tahoe Family Adventures is all about.
Jill McKenna-Reilly is so passionate about the importance of family time and so grateful to Lake Tahoe for bringing her family together that she started a recreation business on the North Shore to help other families experience a similar joy.
Her own family’s story is what gives McKenna-Reilly a soft spot for wanting to help other families create memories. Her son, Phinneus McKenna, has survived what doctors 10 years ago called terminal brain cancer. Tahoe became a refuge for his healing, which eventually led the family to relocate here from Southern California and open Tahoe Family Adventures in 2020.
“We are grateful for that diagnosis because it brought our family together,” McKenna-Reilly says. “We learned to vacation; that life is not all about working. It’s about making memories with family. It’s etched in our hearts how important it is.”
Whether families love water, dirt or snow, Tahoe Family Adventures provides endless hours of adventure on personal watercrafts, boats, snowmobiles and side-by-sides (UTVs). This range of offerings makes Tahoe Family Adventures stand out as the only year-round adventure company in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
“The most meaningful part is interacting with customers and learning their stories and sharing our stories,” McKenna-Reilly says. “The human touch part of our com[1]pany is so spectacular. For people to share their stories when they are done with the rental and what it has done for them is literally beyond words.”
For summer fun, Tahoe Family Adventures rents Jet Skis and boats for wakeboarding, wakesurfing and tubing, with or without a captain. For families with children, nothing beats their signature Floating Water Tritoons, with second-story deck seating, a trampoline, a slide, tubes to pull and a full lineup of water toys. McKenna-Reilly, a mom of four, promises the kids will entertain themselves all day long!
If dirt fun is more your style, they offer two-hour tours on four-seater UTVs (side-by-sides), filled with high-speed thrills and stunning mountain views in spring, summer and fall. In winter, tours are offered on snowmobiles. Customized tours are available. Guided trips, all leaving out of Truckee, are private or semi-private, and they take last-minute bookings when possible.
Tahoe Family Adventures is a family-run business. Phinneus cleans the machines, fuels them up and does other work. Son Baird McKenna is the adventure specialist as tour guide and boat captain. Daughters Violet McKenna-Reilly and Scarlet McKenna-Reilly are too young for those responsibilities but are still integral parts of the company. Husband Christopher Reilly is the “silent guy behind me to support my crazy ideas,” McKenna-Reilly says. A handful of non-family members work in various capacities as well.
McKenna-Reilly expects the company to keep growing in offerings to accommodate more family fun.
“I love sharing Tahoe with people,” she says.
(805) 458-7561
8446 Loch Levon Avenue
Kings Beach, CA 96143
About the Author Kathryn Reed
Kathryn Reed is an award-winning journalist who has been visiting or living at Lake Tahoe since she was a child. She loves the outdoors – whether it's hiking, biking, snowshoeing, skiing or playing tennis. She is the author of Sleeping with Strangers: An Airbnb Host's Life in Lake Tahoe and Mexico; The Dirt Around Lake Tahoe: Must-Do Scenic Hikes; Snowshoeing Around Lake Tahoe: Must-Do Scenic Treks; and Lake Tahoe Trails for All Seasons: Must-Do Hiking and Snowshoe Treks.
