Kayaking Silver Lake

This lake is extra-special to me, because it was the first I paddled in my own kayak. I was living on the north shore of Lake Tahoe at the time, and my boyfriend and I had been waiting for our inflatables to arrive in the mail. It felt like the whole world was running out of boats. (And mountain bikes. And puppies.) Through an afternoon of internet research and phone calls, we had snagged the last two. We waited a few days past the anticipated delivery time, couldn’t figure out why our tracking app kept noting “will be delivered today,” literally chased down the UPS truck to troubleshoot, and eventually found ourselves at the South Lake Tahoe sorting center. They were understaffed but incredibly helpful in digging through dusty warehouse corners to find our missing prize.

“It’s been happening a lot lately,” they warned.

Finally, we had what we needed. We set off on our way.

We drove a little ways south towards Kirkwood and found a dispersed campsite off Blue Lakes Road. We had intended to find an established campground, but all were still closed. We enjoyed our evening together along a small, private stream. And in the morning, we were off to test our new kayaks.

We arrived at Silver Lake around 11am. The parking areas were overflowing. Should we have been surprised? Probably not. Driving 45 minutes south from South Lake Tahoe, we felt like we were entering a more remote area. But, we realized, we were still just under two hours from Sacramento, an easy day trip. To an outdoor area. In June of 2020.

We got it. We were there too, and we didn’t mind the company.

It’s a short walk from the parking lot to the put-in, but nothing unmanageable. When you reach the shore, it’s unlikely you’ll experience our 2020-level crowds – but you won’t be alone. Don’t worry about it. Most families visit Silver Lake to swim and fish and rarely venture far from the parking lot.