Meeks Bay Resort & Marina
MEEKS BAY, Calif. – It’s a storybook place: a stunning alpine lake surrounded by a national forest full of ponderosa pines, rimmed by the towering Sierra Nevada. Locals and tourists laze on beige-sand beaches under sunny blue skies, while a summer breeze brings a mingling of pine, sagebrush and clear water – all to a soothing soundtrack of mountain jays, boaters and swimmers having fun and waves steadfastly lapping Lake Tahoe’s shore.
This is the legendary Meeks Bay Resort & Marina, tucked between hairpin-turn mountain roads, waterfalls and hiking trails along Tahoe’s southwest side, on the California side of the famous lake that straddles two states. With plenty of waterfront access on 65 acres, Meeks Bay is a three-day weekend waiting to happen.
”Meeks Bay is a diamond on its own,” said Alan Johnson, resort manager for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California. ”People come for the natural beauty of the resort. Many of our customers have been coming to Meeks Bay for 40 to 50 years. It’s like a pilgrimage, and they’re just recognizing a love and respect for the property.”
While the land historically belongs to the Washoe people, Johnson said that this spectacular destination resort is actually federal land.
”The land is still in trust with the United States Forest Service,” he said. ”It’s not tribal property. We operate Meeks Bay Resort through the Forest Service. It was a lengthy process. The Washoe Tribe had to be very competitive to be awarded a special use permit. There’s a much greater respect and appreciation for Meeks Bay because it is ancestral Washoe land. I think also it’s important to the tribe because it’s central to all the different communities – Shingle Springs, Carson City, Woodfords, etc.”
Tribal members and entities from around America can take advantage of reduced rates – some as low as $60 per night – good for the months of May or October, though actually securing a reservation during that time is a crapshoot akin to the gaming in casino properties just across the Nevada state line.
”I’m already sold out for that time period,” Johnson said.
From the 12-person, seven-bedroom, three-bath Kehlet Mansion, to the one- and two-bedroom cabins with kitchenettes, a private bath, and a queen bed [$120/night, Low Season; $200/night, High Season, July-August], picnic tables, barbecue grills and fire pits in all but two of the resort’s 21 log cabins are inclusive. Use the resort’s boat ramp and spend the weekend water skiing, or rent a wakeboard, paddleboard, canoe or kayak and explore Tahoe’s turquoise waters.
Since 1997, the Washoe Tribe has been running the Meeks Bay Resort & Marina, which operates from mid-May through mid-October. This year, guests can enjoy upgrades to ”every aspect of the resort,” including the marina, campgrounds, cabins, the tribe’s general store and snack bar, with a menu that goes beyond the standard hamburgers-and-hot-dogs fare. There’s a new reservation system, newly developed campground and new carpet and flooring in nearly every unit.
After a long day in the sun and water, enjoy the healing power of botanicals from Oklahoma’s Native Naturals; then doze peacefully in new bedding, with the windows open, lulled to sleep by the sound of the wind and water.
”Meeks Bay is a spiritual place, as much as it’s a physically beautiful place,” Johnson said. ”It was chosen by the Washoe to be a summer home site, for obvious reasons. There’s still a lot of archaeological sites. We have grinding stones, fire rings. I find obsidian there every time I go for a walk. We found a musket ball in a tree we dropped the other day.”
However, Johnson naturally cautions visitors who are eager to take something authentically Washoe back home with them.
”Just leave it,” he said. ”Enjoy it, look at it, throw it back. They’re not going to find a great spearhead or beadwork or anything, unless they’re out there digging a big hole they shouldn’t be digging. I had a guy that found a really beautiful arrowhead on the beach, back in the ’60s, when his family was camping there. He was going to move to Idaho and he didn’t want that arrowhead to leave Lake Tahoe. He wanted to move without any consequences.”
Honoring the beauty and sanctity of this amazing, ancient place is both what the Washoe Tribe expects and offers, Johnson said.
”Meeks Bay is a safe family retreat. I get a lot of kids on the beach during the day, for day use. Overnight, it’s a quiet, family crowd. I want to make it a better experience for [guests] the next 40, 50 years. Something’s been working right.”
For more information: www.washoetribe.us/meeksbay resort/index.asp.