Lake Tahoe at Incline Village (Nevada Side)
Everyone has heard of Lake Tahoe, but everyone thinks of Tahoe City, CA when you talk about Lake Tahoe. When I talk about Lake Tahoe, I’m talking about Sand Harbor outside of Incline Village, NV. Now since I haven’t been to Tahoe City I can’t quite compare, but Sand Harbor is probably one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. It’s a long strip of soft sand where sensitive feet like mine don’t need water shoes, and the clearest water you have ever seen. Granted the whole lake is clear so you’ll get the clear water no matter what side of the lake you’re on, but I don’t think you can do any better than Sand Harbor.
One of the best parts of traveling to Incline Village is the breathtaking view (picture above) as you crest over the mountain and the whole village and lake is wide open beneath you. You can see the beautiful landscape for miles and I could spend hours just taking in the view, if the call of the beach wasn’t a siren’s song to me.
I stumbled upon Incline Village by pure chance. I was in Reno, finally tying the knot with my husband after ten years and for a part of our honeymoon he surprised me with Shakespeare on the beach at the ‘Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival’ at Sand Harbor. As a fan of plays, sand, and water, I was immediately smitten. They had good food, delicious drinks, cute memorabilia, and comfy lawn chairs in rows and rows in the sandy amphitheater. We watched Much Ado About Nothing and having my bare feet buried in the sand made it that much better. If you are a fan of plays then I would highly recommend going to the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in the summer.
Sand Harbor
Now after visiting Sand Harbor at night when I couldn’t swim wasn’t good enough for me. After walking on the wonderfully soft sand with the surprisingly warm water lapping at my ankles, I knew I had to come back the next day to test the waters, so to speak. And so we did.
While there, we learned they offered see-through kayaks and clear paddle boards! You get to be on the water and have a window to the wonderful lake life beneath you! You get to rent the equipment for a couple hours and explore as much as you can along the rocky coast, seeing clear to the bottom no matter how far out you make it! (That may be an exaggeration but I could still see the bottom for how far I made it)
It was truly an amazing experience, one I have gone back again for. We got there super early one morning to secure a good spot on the beach and it was freezing along the beach. The sun was taking its time rising above the mountain behind us and the sand was so cold without the sun to warm it! We were shocked to see people walking through the water so I decided to dip my toe in, and the water was warmer than the beach! We warmed our feet in the water until the sun finally showed itself and we were able to fully enjoy swimming in this beautiful lake.
Swimming for all to enjoy
One of my favorite parts of this beach is that you can walk so far away from the beach and still touch the bottom!
You can see so many fish!
I can’t express how clear the water is. I’m probably laying it on too thick, but it was the clearest water I have ever swam. Watching my kids chase after fish was so much fun. (I couldn’t capture any fish but here’s a picture from the kayak to show how clear it is. I can’t tell you how far I am above the bottom in this pic but I was not close)
I didn’t capture any fish, but I did get some geese!
I seriously can’t talk enough about this wonderful little beach. It is one of my favorite places I have ever been and if I lived closer I would go as often as I could. To make it even more appealing, they do have a Visitor Center for you if you miss any of your beach essentials with a Bar and Grill connected to it as well. It is a wonderful place to just spend the entire day at and let time and the world slowly pass by as you soak in the rays. (But make sure you apply sunscreen first!)
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