OTHER NEARBY BEACHES
Bonnie’s Cove: The east shore of Lake Tahoe south of Incline Village has many little coves/beaches you can hike down to – for a real treat, drive down the east shore, park the car, and explore some of the many footpaths that head down to the lake! We took the picture on this web site’s home page at Bonnie’s Cove – it’s a small beach that’s pretty empty during the week. It’s a great place to enjoy the lake up close. It’s also a nice place to swim as the water is shallow and warm; you can swim out to the rocks at the end of the cove and just hang out. DIRECTIONS: turn right on Highway 28 and follow the east shore of the lake – go past the “Scenic Overlook” sign/parking area and look for the next small parking area off the road on the right side (it’s 1.4 miles south of the intersection of Lakeshore Blvd. and Highway 28, or 2.5 miles south of Country Club Drive). Note: if you get to Sand Harbor state park, you’ve gone too far – the parking area for Bonnie’s Cove is 0.4 miles north of the Sand Harbor boat ramp. From the parking area, walk south along the highway until you find a hill on your right. Bonnie’s Cove is located just past the hill (turn right on the footpath). There is also a trail that winds its way up the hill with a great overlook above Bonnie’s Cove (there’s even a bench out on this point for relaxing). The steps leading down to Bonnie’s Cove are a bit uneven, but pretty manageable. The trail above the cove is pretty easy hiking -- it’s only a 5 minute walk to the overlook.
Sand Harbor: Sand Harbor state park is located about 3 miles south of Incline Village – note there is a fee to enter/park at Sand Harbor, and it’s very popular on the weekends with is protected sandy beaches – this is a great place to bring the young kids as Sand Harbor has some nice shallow areas for wading or swimming. Sand Harbor offers extensive picnicking areas for families and larger groups as well. This is also the site for the summer Shakespeare festival, which is highly recommended (professional productions in a stunning setting . . . the soaring cliffs of the rugged east shore are a dramatic backdrop to the stage). For more info about Sand Harbor park, see http://parks.nv.gov/lt.htm. For information about the Shakespeare Festival, see https://www.laketahoeshakespeare.com/
Kings Beach: Kings Beach just over the border in California offers a nice stretch of public beach where you can rent kayaks as well as jet skis. Park anywhere in the Kings Beach area and walk towards the water.
Tahoe Vista Recreation Area: about a mile past Highway 267/Kings Beach, you’ll find a small public beach with a boat ramp that also offers kayak rentals. The parking lot for this beach is pretty small, but there’s parking along Highway 28.
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