A collection of travel and adventure stories

Lake Tahoe-Sand Harbor Kayaking

Description and Directions >>

Description:
Sand Harbor is located on the Nevada side of beautiful Lake Tahoe. Sand Harbor offers sandy beaches, boat launch, and picnic facilities. Lake Tahoe is considered the "gem" of the Sierras, with fantastic glaciated granite, mountain and sparkling blue lake water views. Total paddle length varies, but our southern route was approximately 9 miles roundtrip.

Activities:
kayaking, boating, fishing, hiking, camping, picnicking, swimming, sightseeing

Directions:
Sand Harbor is located a couple miles south of Incline Village along Highway 28 near the northeast corner of the lake. From the north shore, take Highway 28 through Incline Village and look for the entrance sign for Sand Harbor. From the South Shore, take Highway 50 to Spooner Summit, turning left onto Highway 28. Follow this for approximately 10 miles and look for the entrance to Sand Harbor. The put-in is at the boat ramp.

Story Date 3/20/2004
Publish Date 4/6/2004

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: This was our first kayak trip to Lake Tahoe and is one of my favorites. We decided to try kayaking earlier in the year, so that we could see the surrounding snow capped mountains. We suited up in our wetsuits and fleece and headed out to the south of the boat ramp.

The weather ended up being just fantastic - sunny skies with temperatures in the 60's. The water on the lake was like glass. I had never seen the lake like this before. I was amazed at how crystal clear the water was. In some places, the water was a bright turquoise, almost tropical looking.

We had fun kayaking around the many rounded rock formations near the shore. We landed on a white sand beach in a small cove to take pictures. We continued on, enjoying a relaxing kayak near the shoreline and passing through Secret Harbor and Skunk Harbor. We didn't see many people, boats or even houses along the shore. It was wonderful.

We landed back at the boat ramp near sunset and stayed to enjoy the view. The sunset was very beautiful and colorful. Lake Tahoe produces some of the best sunsets I have ever seen.

We stayed overnight in Tahoe and decided to kayak the opposite direction from Sand Harbor the next day (north). The wind had picked up just a little, but the day was still gorgeous. We kayaked through the various inlets and stopped to take more pictures. As you go further along this side, the area gets busier with more people and houses.

We had probably kayaked in over 40 different places by this time, and Sand Harbor is at the top of my list as the most beautiful place to paddle.