Incline Village and King's Beach on North Lake Tahoe | Off the Strip for free thinkers and adventurers

Incline Village and King’s Beach on North Lake Tahoe

Travel | Sandra | August 21, 2009 at 15:18

Two villages lie almost side by side on the shores of North Lake Tahoe, King’s Beach on the California side of the border and Incline Village a couple of miles into Nevada. Although not as seismically disorientating as crossing the Rio Grande, the difference between the two communities is quite marked.

Both are surrounded with the best that nature has to offer in the way of clean air, perfect summer climate and breathtaking vistas of craggy mountains, deep green forest and dazzling blue water. But it’s the money that makes the difference – in architecture, in services and, especially in demographics.

King’s Beach could be on Maui or along any of the thousands of miles of Oregon and California coast, with it’s tiny cabins, cheap(er) hotels, unpretentious eateries and kayak rentals. Instead of surfers, you have jet skiers, but the look and age-group is the same.

King’s Beach is home to the younger tourist set and to the worker bees that service the visitor industry in summer and winter.

Incline Village on the Nevada Side is the epitome of wealth and exclusive lifestyle that comes with having lived your life with a lot of smarts and luck. The reward of years of intelligent investing or picking the right parents pays off with a seasonal retreat home and cocktails at the Lone Eagle at the Hyatt on the Lake.

The dock at the Hyatt serves up drinks to landlubbers and boaters alike, with private yachts and chartered sport fishing boats mooring in the late afternoon for a daily celebration of the good life.

Otherwise it’s drinks and goodies on the patio with a splendid view over the fabled sapphire waters of Lake Tahoe.

The smoked salmon pizza at Lone Eagle is an epicurean delight and worth the visit alone. Half price wine is served from 4:30-7:00, Mon-Thurs, but otherwise no deals here. This is not a place for the budget-minded, although it is definitely worth a visit once just to see the Tahoe Riviera and take in the magnificent boats and confident resort fashions.

If you want a good deal on an ok hotel, try Tahoe Inn which is right across the road from CalNeva, the casino that literally straddles the California-Nevada line.