Driving around Lake Tahoe on Tahoe Boulevard is about a 75 mile drive. About half way you will encounter beautiful Emerald Bay. Be sure to stop and hike down to VIkingsholm and paddle out to the island if you have time.
Stop at the vista point just a few miles up from Incline, then continue on to Mt. Rose Meadow (also known as Sheep's Meadow or Tahoe Meadow) where you can find a trailhead for the Tahoe Rim Trail and also a trailhead for a hike to the top of Mt. Rose, the highest local peak at 10,776 feet. Continue on to the cut off to the right for the East Bowl of Mt. Rose Ski Area (actually located on Slide Mountain, not Mt. Rose itself). This little detour will take you to a beautiful vista of Washoe Valley including Washoe Lake, well known for boating and wind surfing. Carson City, the state capital, is just visible past the southern end of the valley.
Once down the hill to Reno, take the Geiger Grade immediately up the facing mountain and visit historic Virginia City. There are the usual assortment of tourist traps but Virginia City as a whole preserves an authentic western feel. Its seclusion and high altitude evoke the locale of Trevanian's novel Incident at Twenty Mile. The mining train is worth the ride and a couple of the mine tours are fun. The five mile Sutro Tunnel was an engineering marvel of the time and drained water from the miles of mines under Virginia City to the valley below, near Dayton.