Tahoe Blue Beach Program

Raising the bar for beach management

About
StoryMaps
Members & Participants
Progress
In the News
contact

About

About
StoryMaps
Members & Participants
Progress
In the News
contact

There is no better place than Lake Tahoe during summer. Clear skies, warm sand, and clean, blue water greet hundreds of thousands of fun-seekers. But Tahoe’s beaches don’t stay that way by themselves. Large crowds can leave an impact. That’s where the Tahoe Blue Beach program comes in. Making the right choice — enjoying the beach responsibly — is the easy choice.

This first-of-its-kind beach management initiative brings together land managers, concessionaires, businesses, nonprofits, and cutting-edge technology to make responsible, Lake-friendly recreation the easy and obvious choice. And it’s working, based on our data collected at the July 5th “Keep Tahoe Red, White and Blue” cleanup event.

Explore the Tahoe Blue Beach and BEBOT StoryMaps

Dive into two interactive StoryMaps that show what it takes to raise the bar for beach management at Lake Tahoe. See how the Tahoe Blue Beach program is helping improve beach stewardship, and how BEBOT, Tahoe’s beach-cleaning robot, targets microplastics and hidden litter in the sand before pollution reaches the Lake.

CLICK TO VIEW THE STORYMAP

CLICK TO VIEW THE STORYMAP

The Tahoe Blue Beach program is a collaborative program between the Keep Tahoe Blue, land managers — including the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (USFS) and California State Parks — as well as beach concessionaires and businesses to “raise the bar for beach management in Tahoe” to ensure Lake Tahoe is protected from the impacts of recreation. The three essential concepts for success are education, engineering, and enforcement. This includes improvements to facilities, staffing, signage, and enforcement at beaches around the Lake.

The goal is to ensure Lake Tahoe is protected from the impacts of recreation. The three essential concepts for success are education, engineering, and enforcement. This includes improvements to facilities, staffing, signage, and enforcement at beaches around the Lake.

What Makes a Beach “Blue”?

The Tahoe Blue Beach program offers a bold, science-driven blueprint for better beach management through the Three E’s framework:

Education

Proactive outreach prior to and during high-use times, combined with physical signage that gets people’s attention and clearly communicates the “Tahoe way” to help beachgoers understand how to recreate responsibly before stepping on the sand.
Engineering

Adding trash cans, dumpsters, restrooms, cigarette or dog waste receptacles, water refill stations, bike racks, and the staffing required for upkeep. Designing natural access points and utilizing wayfinding signage helps guide people to the nearest amenities, preventing erosion.
Enforcement

Enforcing rules and regulations to ensure public lands aren’t misused or abused, following education and engineering.
And More

Microtransit shuttles and bike rentals enable visitors to keep their cars parked, helping to prevent emissions and erosion that harm the Lake. Tahoe Blue Beach members won’t offer single-use plastics, such as cups or utensils, which are among the most common types of litter in the Basin. Beach-cleaning robots remove tiny trash hidden beneath the sand. Learn more about the “BEBOT” in this StoryMap.

Members and Participants

We are proud to collaborate with our Tahoe Blue Beach Members and Participants to create a more sustainable Tahoe.

Members

Members of the program meet all the Engineering, Education, and Enforcement requirements and are also striving to do more.

Zephyr Cove Resort and Shoals

Zephyr Cove Resort and Shoals is managed by Aramark under special use permit from the United State Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (USFS).

Photo credit: Tahoe Beach Club

Tahoe Beach Club

Tahoe Beach Club is privately owned and managed by Tahoe Beach Club.

Participants

Participants of the program are piloting a select combination of Engineering, Education and Enforcement that is a starting point best suited for the site. Progressive efforts over time will push participants into membership.

Kings Beach

Kings Beach is managed by California State Parks, and the pilot was made possible through a TOT-TBID Dollars at Work grant through the North Tahoe Community Alliance (NTCA) in 2025. The first pilot year at this location was successful due to collaboration with the North Tahoe Public Utility District and the surrounding business community.

Camp Richardson Resort, Tahoe Blue Beach Program participant.

Camp Richardson Resort

Camp Richardson Resort is managed by ExplorUS under special use permit from the USFS.

The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California operates the Meeks Bay Resort

Meeks Bay Resort

Meeks Bay Resort is managed by the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California under special use permit from the USFS.

Signs and maps help beachgoers recreate responsibly at Tahoe Blue Beaches.

Why Tahoe Blue Beaches Exists

Since 2014, Keep Tahoe Blue has organized more than 2,000 litter cleanups and tracked what volunteers found at each site. That data made one thing clear: Tahoe’s busiest beaches do not all face the same challenges, so they do not all need the same solution.

In 2024, Keep Tahoe Blue and the U.S. Forest Service launched the Tahoe Blue Beach program to improve beach management with site-specific solutions tailored to each location. The first pilot began at Zephyr Cove and Shoals in partnership with concessionaire Aramark Destinations after several years of planning.

Explore the data

“With millions of visitors per year, it’s increasingly important that people do their part in practicing sustainable recreation while enjoying their public lands. The Tahoe Blue Beach program will help people do just that.

This goal is one of the core pillars of the Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan, and one way we’ll reach our shared vision for Tahoe as a healthy, thriving, and welcoming place.”

– USFS Forest Supervisor Erick Walker

Early Results and Expansion

Keep Tahoe Red, White & Blue storymap thumbnail cover

CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW STORYMAP

The early results were clear. After the Tahoe Blue Beach pilot launched at Zephyr Cove and Shoals during the 2024 July 4 holiday, volunteers collected 97% less litter at Keep Tahoe Blue’s July 5 cleanup than the year before.

That success helped expand the program in 2025 to Kings Beach on the North Shore through support from the NTCA and partnership with California State Parks. Camp Richardson, Tahoe Beach Club, and Meeks Bay Resort are also participating in different ways, building momentum for broader adoption around the Basin.

Tahoe Blue Beaches works because it combines practical management changes with strong partnerships. At Zephyr Cove and Shoals, those changes included managed parking, temporary fencing, added staffing, informational signs, more trash receptacles, portable restrooms, and restrictions on outside alcohol. Together, those improvements helped create a cleaner, safer, and more manageable beach experience.

“Our guests last summer enjoyed a clean, pristine beach, and they did their part to keep it that way. Our staff worked with Keep Tahoe Blue and the Forest Service to create an experience where taking care of the beach, while you enjoy it, just feels natural.”

— Aramark Destinations Tahoe District Manager, Kevin Schiesz

A robot plucks litter from below the sand at a Tahoe Blue Beach.
Katy Jo Caringer, ECO-CLEAN Solutions

The USFS and Keep Tahoe Blue deliver a beach stewardship PSA to Tahoe-lovers.
June 2024

A Cleaner Lake Starts at the Shoreline

The Tahoe Blue Beach program is more than a cleanup initiative. It’s a model of what’s possible: a cleaner and more welcoming experience for residents and visitors alike. The Keep Tahoe Blue, its partners, and the public each have a role in creating a better Tahoe.

If you are a land manager or concessionaire and would like to join the Tahoe Blue Beach Program, please contact us at:

Bluebeach@keeptahoeblue.org
(530) 541 – 5388 x 200

Here’s how you can individually make a difference:

Donate to support the Tahoe Blue Beach program
Support participating beaches
Leave the beach better than you found it.
Encourage your favorite beach to join the program.
Explore the program data and impact.

Your pristine Tahoe beach awaits… it’s up to you to Keep Tahoe Blue

Tahoe Blue Beach logo

Become a Tahoe Blue Beach

Reach out to learn how the beach you manage can join the program.