Kiva Beach is one of the harder to find beaches,
just because of the lack of signs. It's located just north of Camp Richardson.
Turn right at the Forest Service Visitor Center turnoff and follow the road
past the Visitor's Center (this is also the parking for the stream profile
chamber) to the beach parking lot. There is a short walk to the beach, but the
parking is free. You can also park at the Visitor's Center and enjoy a longer
walk (not quite a hike) along the meadow to Kiva Beach (no dogs on this trail
though). The beach itself is a huge flat sandy plain that lies at the mouth of
Taylor Creek. The water, however, is a bit rocky until you get a little ways
out. You can go out a long way, though. There are fantastic views of the surrounding
mountains, especially Mount Tallac. Mid summer, like in other parts of South Lake Tahoe, you will find large
blooms of Blue Pod Lupine among other wildflowers.
Round Hill Pines Beach
On the southern end of Marla Bay on the flanks of
Round Mound is a half mile of sandy beach known as Round Hill Pines. There is
plenty to do here since it is also the home of the Tahoe Bleu Wave, H20
Watersports, and the Lakeside Bar & Grill. If that's not enough you can try
your luck with tennis or take a dip in the heated pool. A limited number of
picnic tables are available and tend to get dragged around wherever needed. The
pier would be an ideal place for jumping into the lake if it weren't so
strictly forbidden. This is also a great place to watch the sunsets. Some summer
evenings there is even live music during the sunset.
Pope Beach
As you leave South
Lake Tahoe heading up the west shore on Hwy 89 you'll come to a series of
beaches that all seem very similar in nature. The first of these is Pope Beach,
which is basically a one mile long 300 foot wide strip of sand separating the
Truckee Marsh from Lake Tahoe. Pope beach is operated by the USDA forest
service, which means there will be a parking fee. This is an excellent beach
for families, with lots of sand, room, clear shallow water, and relative
shelter from the winds. The parking lot runs the entire length of the beach so
there are no long walks. There are plenty of picnic tables and grills as well.
Currently, the Forest Service is not always allowing the use of the grills.
Don't be surprised to arrive and find them gone. There are also restrooms
scattered along the length of the beach.
Baldwin Beach
The third and last (as you head North) of the
series of southwest shore sandy beaches is Baldwin. The turnoff for Baldwin
Beach is clearly marked on Highway 89. There is a five dollar parking fee. Once
in you have the choice of the south or north beach. Both are very similar,
except that Tallac Creek meets Lake Tahoe at the north beach, which is
interesting for the kids. Beware! There are fence posts in the creek that for
some reason still have barbed wire attached. On the north side of the creek you
will almost always notice a lot of boats parked/moored/anchored. This is
commonly referred to as Ski Beach (not to be confused with Ski Beach in Incline
Village since everyone's welcome here). Unlike Kiva Beach in South Lake Tahoe,
there are very few, if any, rocks in the water at Baldwin Beach. Additionally,
unlike Pope Beach, there is no shade here. Dogs are not allowed. They are
strict about this but you typically can take them on a leash to to ski beach,
where they are ok.
Zephyr Cove Beach
Zephyr Cove has just about everything you could
want in a beach in South Lake Tahoe.
Over a mile of sand, although it is coarse to walk on, the region's best
volleyball, a 500+ passenger vessel, a 36 passenger catamaran, a huge grassy
group event area, every kind of water sport rental you could imagine, and the
Sunset Bar overlooking it all with cocktail servers roaming the beach. The beach
does have a certain party atmosphere that some families may find offensive. The
further you are from the bar, the less of a problem it is. This can usually be
avoided just by staying a distance from the bar area. With a mile of beach
there is plenty of room. There is a $8 (at press time) parking fee but even so,
it often becomes unavailable. When this happens they will park you at the high
school across Hwy 50 and shuttle you to the beach.
Regan Beach
Regan Beach has a very park like setting and is
right in the heart of South Lake Tahoe. It also happens to be just two
short miles from our Ormsby vacation
rental. Being so close to so
many great places to see will make your next trip to South Lake Tahoe a truly
memorable one.
South Lake Tahoe Vacation Homes
