Cave Rock State Park

Description and History: Cave Rock is part of the Lake Tahoe – Nevada State Park, a state park of Nevada on the northeast shores of Lake Tahoe that also includes Sand Harbor, Spooner Lake, and the Marlette/Hobart Backcountry area. This small day-use area is tucked beneath the rugged volcanic face of Cave Rock along U.S. 50. The entrance is three miles south of Glenbrook, just south of the Cave Rock road tunnels. The Cave Rock Tunnel is a dual bore highway tunnel that is a National Scenic Byway, part of the Lake Tahoe East Shore Drive. The first bore was constructed in 1931 and the second in 1957. The westbound bore is 153 feet long and features exposed rock; the eastbound bore features a concrete liner and is 410 feet long. The tunnels are an elevation of at approximately 6,360 feet, about 80 feet above the level of the lake. The Cave Rock area is considered sacred by the Washoe Indian tribe. The Washoe tribal leaders were not consulted about the construction of either bore, and were upset about the perceived desecration of their tribal lands. As time has progressed, the Washoe Indians have been allowed a larger role in the governance of the area and in recent years the tribe has restricted rock climbing around the tunnel. Before the tunnels, this was part of the Lincoln Highway, a single lane road with a hanging bridge and rock wall that was routed along the outside edge of the outcrop that was built built in 1863. Info and picture from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

08/06/2012 Trip Notes: I made a stop here with my sister Bonnie and her husband Paul on a daytrip we took along the east side of the lake that ended with a very late lunch at Kings Beach. Even though there is a small beach and picnic area here, this is mostly a boat launch area, we stopped just to take in the view. Looking south, (Fig. 01) below shows Paul in the middle of the picture taking pictures of the lake. The view of Cave Rock in (Fig. 02) is facing north.

Fig. 01

Fig. 02

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(Figs. 03 and 04) above are of some lizards that were basking in the sun on the rocks. The snow capped mountains in the final picture (Fig. 05) below, was an early spring view that I captured on a previous trip.

Fig. 05