Campers and day use visitors enjoy swimming or scuba diving in the crystal clear water of Lake Tahoe, picnicking, relaxing on the warm sand of Lester Beach or Calawee Cove, and hiking the Rubicon Trail, Lighthouse Trail, and Balancing Rock Trail. Lester Beach is a popular location to launch your kayak, paddleboard, or canoe, but keep in mind that trailers are not allowed in the day use parking lots.
The grandeur of the parks and their setting is a product of successive upheavals of the mountain-building processes that raised the Sierra Nevada. From promontories such as Rubicon Point in D.L. Bliss State Park you can see over one hundred feet into the depths of Lake Tahoe.
The park is named for a pioneering lumberman, railroad owner, and banker of the region. The D.L. Bliss family donated 744 acres to the State Park system in 1929.
RECREATION
Camping, Water Sports, Hiking The parks have more than 250 family campsites, each with a table, food locker, and stove, plus nearby restrooms and hot showers. Although there are no hookups, some sites at D.L. Bliss will accommodate trailers up to 15 feet or motor homes up to 18 feet. Emerald Bay can accommodate trailers up to 18 feet or motor homes up to 21 feet. The D.L. Bliss group campground will accommodate up to 50 people, with a limit of 10 cars.
Twenty primitive campsites are reachable by boat. While the parks themselves have no launching facilities, boats can be launched from private facilities about six miles to the north or south. Scuba diving is allowed in the underwater preserve.
Visitors can swim at D.L. Bliss State Park’s Lester and Calawee Cove beaches, at Emerald Bay’s boat camp, and at Vikingsholm. Fish for rainbow, brown, and Mackinaw trout or Kokanee salmon (a landlocked form of the Pacific sockeye)— all successfully introduced into the lake. All anglers aged 16 and over must carry a valid California fishing license.
OVERNIGHT FACILITIES
Family Campsites
Group Campsites
Hike or Bike Campsites
RV Dump Station
RV Access
TRAIL USE
Hiking Trails
DAY-USE ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES
Picnic Areas
Env. Learning/Visitor Center
Exhibits and Programs
Fishing
Interpretive Exhibits
Scuba Diving/Snorkeling
Beach Area
Swimming
Nature & Wildlife Viewing
Museums
Geocaching
D.L. Bliss State Park to Remain Closed through Summer 2024 for Waterline Replacement Project (ca.gov)
