El Dorado Beach is the public beach at Lakeview Commons, a lakefront park on the south shore of Lake Tahoe in the middle of South Lake Tahoe, California. The land belongs to El Dorado County, and the City of South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Department runs the park and beach under a lease with the county. The current terraced plaza, restroom building and beach access were built with California Tahoe Conservancy funding and dedicated in June 2012. Locals called the whole shoreline here El Dorado Beach long before the Lakeview Commons name arrived, and the city still uses both names.

The park sits on the lake side of U.S. Highway 50 at Lakeview Avenue, with a street address of 1004 Lakeview Avenue. Turn toward the lake at Lakeview Avenue into the Lakeview Commons lot, which the city lists as free parking. The separate boat ramp lot holds 38 spaces reserved for vehicles with boat trailers, so don't park a car there. Overnight parking is not allowed. A bike and walking path also passes through the park.

The swim area is the sandy beach just east of the boat ramp, in front of the stepped stone terraces that lead down from the plaza. The city ropes and buoys a swim zone off the sand, which keeps boats coming off the ramp away from swimmers. The bottom is sand and the entry is gradual. Lake Tahoe sits at about 6,225 feet, and even in August the surface water rarely gets much past the mid 60s Fahrenheit, with colder water just below it. The city's amenity list does not include lifeguards, so expect to swim without one. Afternoon wind can raise a real chop here and push paddlers out from shore.

There is no charge to use the beach, and the Lakeview Commons parking lot is free. The only fee on site is for launching a boat: $17 per day or $138 for a season pass, card only. The beach itself is open year round, but the restrooms and the food and kayak concessions close for winter, and the busy season runs roughly May through October.

Check current conditions before you go. Storm waves and high water have cut away much of the sand here more than once and exposed the plastic sandbags that held the shoreline. The city's El Dorado Beach Revetment and Improvement Project is replacing those sandbags with a rock revetment and new sand in phases, and while construction runs the beach, the Lakeview Commons park, the boat ramp and the parking lot are closed and fenced. More sand replenishment is planned in later phases. Call South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation at 530-542-6056 to confirm the beach is open.

Above the sand, the park has a large lawn, picnic tables and barbecue grills, restrooms, a food concession and a rental stand for kayaks, paddleboards and pedal boats in summer. It is an access point on the Lake Tahoe Water Trail, and the free Live at Lakeview concert series has filled the plaza on summer Thursday evenings since the park opened in 2012. All boats and paddle craft must be clean, drained and dry before launching to keep invasive species out of the lake.