We went up the mountain to Tahoe a few times in the late Spring/early Summer right after we moved here, but we've been avoiding it all summer. Why? Because we just don't do crowds. I don't want to fight for a parking spot, then fight for a spot on the beach, and have to spend my whole day trying to keep track of my kids among tons of people. Recently though we learned the trick to enjoying Tahoe, even during the busy summer months. I'm sad we didn't learn this sooner, but at least we'll know for next year!
We discovered that if you go up to the lake in the evenings you nearly have the place to yourself! We packed a picnic dinner and headed up the mountain about the same time that everyone who'd been on the beach all day was heading home. It was perfect! All the fun of a beach picnic without the crowds, the heat, or even having to worry about wearing sunscreen. AND we got to see an incredible sunset over the lake, so what could have been better?
We chose to visit Sand Harbor beach on this visit, and we really loved it! The slope of the beach is fairly gentle so the kids can't get in too deep too quickly. There is a small fee ($10) to get into the park. There was a lot of parking space, though the parking lot was still mostly full when we got there about 6pm. I'm not sure where all the people were though because there was definitely not a crowd by the water.
There are "family" bathrooms by the parking lot that are large and handicap accessible. By the time of day we got there, there was a pretty good layer of sand tracked in onto the floors and some were out of toilet paper, but the weren't gross. Up by the Visitor Center/Shakespeare Festival area there were some more typical bathrooms with stalls, also still fairly clean after a busy day. I don't remember seeing any changing tables anywhere though.
One consideration to bear in mind is that there were no life-guards on duty by this time of evening. Be careful and aware of your surroundings.
Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe State Park
2005 NV-28, Incline Village, NV 89452
Website
No comments
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.