Zephyr Cove trashing continues in Lake Tahoe, with hope on the horizon
Lake Tahoe made international news earlier this summer — but not for a positive reason. On July 4, the Zephyr Cove and Zephyr Shoals area were inundated with 6,279 pounds of trash and debris left over from celebrations, the worst in the history of beach cleanups.
Each year, July 5 beach cleanups take place throughout the area thanks to the League to Save Lake Tahoe and dedicated volunteers with Clean up the Lake and other organizations, who worked diligently to remove trash and debris from both the beaches and the water.
However, the trashing did not end there. Citizens have reported that beach goers have continued to leave trash behind — even on rock formations and private beaches nearby.
One individual reported kayakers from the Zephyr Cove area left behind food trash and human feces on a rock island frequented by children before returning to Zephyr.
According to Chris Joseph from the League to Save Lake Tahoe, Zephyr Cove is managed by Aramark, the public concessionaire who operates the site under a special use permit with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).
However, Zephyr Shoals, the area north of the paved parking lot at the cove, is not actively managed at all. The shoals are a USFS site, which is unstaffed and does not have built facilities or infrastructure.
That doesn’t mean cleanups don’t happen — a volunteer program called Tahoe Blue Crews organized through the League equips and trains volunteers to conduct cleanups at adopted sites around the basin, similar to adopt-a-highway, according to Joseph.
“They’re a very active and dedicated group,” Joseph said.
Hope is on the horizon, however, because beginning Nov. 1 of this year, the area will begin to be actively managed.
The Shoals will become part of the Zephyr Cove special permit beginning November and will be managed, cleaned and staffed by the concessionaire alongside the Zephyr Cove Resort.
“In addition, the League is working with the US Forest Service to raise the bar for beach management under a new program called Tahoe Blue Beaches,” Joseph said. “The effort will include proactive visitor education, new or improved infrastructure and staffing, coordination with public concessionaires, and enforcement to protect beaches from misuse and abuse.”
The program specifics are still being developed, and you can read more about the program here.
When asked what it is about the Zephyr beach that makes it such a problem area, Jospeh said it’s a combination of factors.
“The beach is easy to access through a short, flat walk; there’s lots of free (but dangerous) parking along US 50; and as more beaches are actively managed – through paid parking and enforcement of alcohol prohibitions – partygoers are squeezed into smaller, less intensively managed sites, concentrating the impacts there,” Joseph said.
Some community members have asked for the beach to simply be shut down for the remainder of the season since users cannot respect the area, but Joseph said this is unlikely.
“Denying public access runs counter to the Forest Service’s mission, so a blanket closure is unlikely,” Joseph said. “However, through the League’s work at events like our July 5th cleanup and the public attention they draw, there may be high-traffic dates – like July 4th – where increased regulations and enforcement are possible.”
For instances of discovering trash, debris and other leavings, the Citizen Tahoe App was developed so citizens and visitors alike can report areas to have a clean up.
“Together with UC Davis TERC, the League developed the app which is free to use and gives any Tahoe recreator the opportunity to report environmental issues they come across,” Jospeh said.
Litter can be reported through the “That’s not natural survey.” Learn more about and get the app here.