According to the California Tahoe Conservancy, only 47% of Lake Tahoe's shoreline is currently accessible to the public. The other 53% is privately owned by incredibly rich individuals and corporations.
We want to change that. This lake is a national treasure, and no one should be able to hoard access to its beautiful shores, no matter their wealth or status.
Let's free the shores of Lake Tahoe and give them back to the people.
This project is just an idea at the moment. We've seen the success of the good work the folks at Keep Tahoe Blue have done in spreading awareness and support for ustainability at the lake with its iconic blue stickers, and we thought a good place to start is by spreading awareness and support for the idea of free access to the lake's shores.
Actually freeing 100% of the lake's shores will be an enormous undertaking, and if possible would likely take years, if not decades to complete—but you've gotta start somewhere.
It will require an incredible amount of cooperation between local governments, organizations, businesses, and individuals in California and Nevada to make it happen. We'll need all the support from the community we can get, and ideally collaboration with some of the private property owners to make real progress.
If you'd like some stickers to help spread the idea, send us an email at freetahoesshores@gmail.com and we'll get you some.
Contact your local government officials and representatives and let them know you are tired of seeing the lake's shores locked away from the public. Do you know any private shoreline property owners, or wealthy or influential folks who own property in the basin (we're looking at you, Tom Steyer)? Get them on board! We'll probalby need their help too.
Do you have any ideas for how we can make this happen, or know any individuals or organizations we should be talking to? Let us know!
There are also, of course, already many local organizations who have been working hard for decades to increase public access to the lake's shores, and we encourage you to support their efforts in any way you can:
If you know of more organizations or projects helping conserve Tahoe's shores, please let us know.
Here are some additional resources to help you enjoy and protect the lake's shores: