Journeys›Photograph

Fourth of July Weekend on Lake Tahoe

·California, United States·#california#summer#boating#lake tahoe#fourth of july
A red-roofed building in the foreground with tall pine trees, a large lake, and a blue sky with clouds.

Fourth of July weekend, which around Tahoe means the busiest few days of the year — Tahoe City stretches its celebration from the 3rd through the 5th, and it feels like every boat on the register is out for it. The weekend started slower than that: tri-tip off the grill onto paper plates at a picnic table, and an evening walk down to the beach, where a small sailboat sat pulled up on the sand and the moored boats bobbed out past the pier.

The Fourth itself was the boat. Ran the tube off the stern through the middle of the day, wake fanning out in a white V behind us, rider bouncing along at the end of the orange line. At anchor afterward the traffic kept building — a parasail with a red-white-and-blue canopy hanging over the far shore, a big cigarette boat swinging on the buoy next to us, ski boats crossing in every direction.

Back near the beach the shallows were solid kayaks, paddleboards, and swimmers all the way down to the point. Fireworks come later off the South Shore, launched from barges, if you can find a place to see them from.

A beach at dusk with a lake, mountains, docks, and boats, framed by dark foreground bushes.Two seasoned cuts of cooked meat sit on a striped paper plate on a wooden surface, with a person's foot visible.The helm of a boat with a steering wheel, dashboard gauges, a stereo, and a smartphone in a cupholder.A person tubes behind a boat on a large blue lake, with green mountains and a cloudy sky in the distance.A parasailer with a red, white, and blue parachute flies under a cloudy sky above a large lake with distant treed mountains.A white speed boat with colorful graphics floats on blue water in front of forested mountains under a cloudy sky.Blue lake with many boats, forested mountains, and a clear blue sky with white clouds.A lake scene with multiple boats, kayaks, and people swimming, backed by tree-covered mountains under a blue, cloudy sky.

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