Exploring Lake Tahoe by SUP – John Gabriel

Two weeks ago, John Gabriel was paddle boarding on Lake Tahoe with his friend Brian Kelly. Today on TotalSUP, he tells us the story of this fantastic journey.

For this 4th of July five day trip, my good friend Brian Kelly and I were using two boards from local Southern California SUP and Surfboard company BruSurf. The boards were Perfect for touring the lake and the specs of our boards were as follows: BruSurf Sierra Carbon 12×6”x29” and BruSurf BruFISH Model 12×6”x33”

Day 1 –  6/30/2016

Since our AirBnB cabin for the week was located 2 blocks away from Kings Beach in North Lake Tahoe, we decided to head out from Kings Beach, past Speedboat Beach and over into Crystal Bay. The views were epic, with crystal clear blue waters and snow capped mountains surrounding the lake. The entire paddle was 4.2 miles round’ trip and was a great ‘get our feet wet paddle’.

(heading south, out of Crystal Bay back towards Kings Beach)

Day 2 – 7/1/2016

Day two we decided to open it up a bit. We launched from Kings Beach/Tahoe Vista, and paddled straight out into Carnelian Bay. Once we hit a little over 3 miles out, we took a short hydration and GoPro break and turned around to paddle the 3 miles back in.  It was crazy to see the ocean like conditions Lake Tahoe has to offer!

After our paddle, we were chatting with Michael and Marcus of Adrift Tahoe, and they were telling us about the epic bumps and even surf to be had regularly on the lake.  They said Tahoe can have upwards of 30-40 surf-able days a year! Awesome.

Day 3 – 7/2/2016

Expedition Day.  This day was the big party day for the group I was with, so we had to plan our paddle accordingly.  After short deliberation, we decided to paddle from King’s Beach, over to the famous Thunderbird Lodge, and then land at our final destination at Sand Harbor State Park/Beach.

The total paddle was roughly 11 miles with some important beach cargo on-board. It was a blast!

Day 4 – 7/3/2016

On day 4, we were feeling the effects of the previous day’s glory, so we decided to keep it short and do a 3 mile round’ trip to Speedboat Beach, where the group was lounging for a few hours.

(You can see umbrella’s at Speedboat Beach in the background)

Day 5 – 7/3/2016

River Rafting the Truckee.

Since this past winter left us with a solid snow melt, the Truckee River has been prime for rafting down. There are a few spots where rapids can get fun, but nothing more than a cheap raft can’t handle.  From dropping in, to ending at the River Ranch Lodge for happy hour and drinks, the total float takes around 3-4 hours (depending on how many times you stop to party with some of the other groups.)

****Always make sure to carry in and carry out trash!****

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