15 Free Swimming Holes near Tahoe City, CA
first prev 1 next lastShowing Swimming Holes within 50 miles Distance miles of Tahoe City, CA, USA City, Zip, or Address
Lake Forest Beach
Tahoe City
1.8 miles NEA 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 4.1 mi
Shirley Lake Canyon Trail
Olympic Valley, California
5.6 miles NWA 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
Kings Beach State Recreation Area
Kings Beach
8.0 miles NEA 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
Sugar Pine Point Beach
Tahoma
8.0 miles SA 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
China Cove Beach
Truckee
12.0 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
Zephyr Cove Park
Glenbrook, Nevada
15.3 miles SESix 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
Hell Hole Reservoir
Georgetown
16.2 miles SWA 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
Nevada Beach Campground
Zephyr Cove
16.6 miles SEA 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
Boca Reservoir Hidden Beach
Truckee, California
17.7 miles NSandy 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
Heath Falls Overlook Trail
Truckee, California
18.1 miles NWHike and Swim near Truckee, California
Hike, Swim
Palisades Creek Trail
Truckee, California
18.1 miles NWA 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
North Fork Falls
Colfax, California
29.4 miles WClear water, cliff-jumping pools, and waterfalls at Sierra Nevada's North Fork Falls — a summer hike to two deep pools with 10-to-25-foot cliffs ready for leaping.
Camp, Hike, Swim
Reno Area
McGill, Nevada
30.2 miles NESwim near McGill, Nevada
Swim
Wingfield Park
Reno, Nevada
30.2 miles NEAn 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 0.1 mi
Edwards Crossing
Nevada City, California
46.2 miles WDeep blue water, rock cliffs, and a sandy beach on the Yuba River — with a half-mile walk from the parking lot and cliff jumping spots up to 20 feet deep.
Hike, Swim
