Visitors do not generally expect to encounter a dramatic, south-sea-island-like beach at 6,200 feet in elevation, but Lake Tahoe has one.

Sand Harbor is three miles south of Incline Village just off of Highway 28 in the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park. There are long, sandy beaches, rocky coves, and panoramic lake views along with pristine water that encourages swimming and scuba diving. There is also a Sand Point Nature Trail with interpretive signs. The trail is handicap accessible.

Sand Harbor has an interesting history. High on the mountain above the harbor is Marlette Lake (7,823’), which played a big role in the 1870's logging of the Lake Tahoe (6,200’) basin to provide timbers for the silver mines of Nevada.

From Lake Tahoe itself and the West and North Shores in California, it is possible to see three long vertical stripes on the mountainside above Sand Harbor. One of the Lost Legends of Tahoe is that the stripes are bear slides (click on Tahoe Tales for the story). Other people believe the stripes represents chutes where giant, new-fallen trees were slid down into the lake on their way to log mills nearby.



Sand Harbor appears in many calendar and promotional photos of Lake Tahoe, the “Lake of the Sky.”