21 Free Swimming Holes near Carson City, NV
first prev 1 2 next lastShowing Swimming Holes within 50 miles Distance miles of Carson City, NV, USA City, Zip, or Address
Sand Harbor State Park
Incline Village
9.0 miles WA Nevada State Parks day-use beach on Lake Tahoe's northeast shore near Incline Village, with a 2,500-foot sandy swim beach, very clear cold water and a $10 entry fee ($15 for non-Nevada vehicles).
Hike, Kayak, Swim
Zephyr Cove Park
Glenbrook, Nevada
14.2 miles SWSix tennis courts, disc golf, a sledding hill, a beach, and a fishing pond all at one free park make Zephyr Cove one of Lake Tahoe's most versatile family hangouts.
Camp, Canoe, Disc Golf, Hike, Horseback, Kayak, Swim
Kings Beach State Recreation Area
Kings Beach
14.7 miles WA wide sand beach with a shallow, gently sloping entry on Lake Tahoe's north shore, run by California State Parks in downtown Kings Beach. Parking costs $3 an hour or $10 a day, charged year round.
Kayak, Swim
Nevada Beach Campground
Zephyr Cove
16.2 miles SWA mile of wide, coarse granite sand on the Nevada shore of Lake Tahoe, with a long shallow shelf that makes it one of the easiest big beaches on the lake to swim from. The Forest Service concessionaire charges a per vehicle day use fee at the Elks Point R
Camp, Hike, Kayak, Swim
Lake Forest Beach
Tahoe City
18.7 miles WA free public beach at the end of Bristlecone Street, owned by Placer County and run by the Tahoe City Public Utility District. Sandy, pine shaded and genuinely quiet, with the one real constraint being how few cars fit at the end of the road.
Camp, Canoe, Kayak, Swim
El Dorado Beach
South Lake Tahoe
18.8 miles SWFree city beach at Lakeview Commons on Lake Tahoe's south shore in South Lake Tahoe, with a roped swim area, free parking, kayak rentals and a boat ramp. Shoreline construction can close it, so check before you go.
Canoe, Kayak, Swim
Commons Beach
Tahoe City
20.0 miles WFree public beach and lakefront park in downtown Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe, run by the Tahoe City PUD, with cold clear water, a sand and cobble shore, kayak rentals and free summer concerts.
Kayak, Swim
Sugar Pine Point Beach
Tahoma
20.0 miles WA quarter-mile walk from the parking lot puts you on a sand beach at the foot of Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park, where General Creek meets Lake Tahoe and the water runs clear enough to read the bottom. It is also genuinely cold, even in August.
Camp, Hike, Kayak, Swim
William Kent Beach
Tahoe City
20.7 miles WA free Forest Service swim beach on Lake Tahoe's West Shore, two miles south of Tahoe City on Highway 89, with a pebbly shore, cold clear water and picnic tables across from William Kent Campground.
Kayak, Swim
Pope Beach
South Lake Tahoe
21.1 miles SWA long sandy Forest Service beach on Lake Tahoe's south shore, three miles northwest of South Lake Tahoe, with clear, cold water and a $10 per vehicle day-use fee.
Kayak, Swim
Lester Beach
South Lake Tahoe
21.2 miles SWLester Beach is the sandy main swim beach at D. L. Bliss State Park on Lake Tahoe's west shore, with clear, cold, shallow water and a $10 per vehicle day-use fee in season.
Camp, Canoe, Hike, Kayak, Swim
Vikingsholm Beach
South Lake Tahoe
23.3 miles SWSandy beach at the head of Emerald Bay in Emerald Bay State Park, below the 1929 Vikingsholm mansion, reached by a steep one-mile trail. Free to walk in; parking is $10 a day.
Hike, Kayak, Swim
Boca Reservoir Hidden Beach
Truckee, California
24.6 miles NWSandy informal beaches on the northeast shore of Boca Reservoir above Truckee, free to use, windy in the afternoons, and drawn down hard by the end of summer.
Camp, Canoe, Kayak, Kiteboard, Swim
Reno Area
McGill, Nevada
25.0 miles NSwim near McGill, Nevada
Swim
Wingfield Park
Reno, Nevada
25.0 miles NAn oasis in downtown Reno where manmade dams and natural rock formations turn the Truckee River into a playground for swimming, kayaking, tubing, and rafting.
Kayak, Swim 4.1 mi
Shirley Lake Canyon Trail
Olympic Valley, California
25.5 miles WA 2.5-mile hike from Squaw Valley Village past streams and waterfalls to a pure Sierra lake — rocky near the top, with a free gondola ride back down from High Camp as a reward.
Hike, Swim
China Cove Beach
Truckee
28.1 miles NWChina Cove Beach is the sandy, shallow corner at the west end of Donner Memorial State Park, on the south shore of Donner Lake outside Truckee. California State Parks runs it, access is open to anyone paying the 10 dollar day use parking fee, and there is
Camp, Canoe, Hike, Kayak, Swim
Hell Hole Reservoir
Georgetown
35.4 miles WA 4,630 foot Rubicon River reservoir in the Eldorado National Forest, 51 miles and two hours east of Georgetown, where the boat ramp cove is the only drivable shoreline and the lake drops over 100 feet by September.
Camp, Canoe, Hike, Kayak, Swim
Palisades Creek Trail
Truckee, California
37.0 miles WA difficult Sierra Nevada trail past Palisade Falls — one of the tallest on the American River — with views of Devils Peak, alpine lakes, and 2,000 feet of elevation gain.
Hike, Swim
Heath Falls Overlook Trail
Truckee, California
37.0 miles WHike and Swim near Truckee, California
Hike, Swim
