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Quality of Recreation Experience & Access to Recreational Opportunities

The recreation element of the Regional Plan provides for the development, utilization, and management of the recreational resources of the Region. The recreation element contains goals and policies that are intended “to achieve the intent of the thresholds over the life of the Plan by ensuring that recreational opportunities keep pace with public demand, that recreational facilities remain high on the development priority list, and that the quality of the outdoor recreational experience will be maintained.” Human and environmental drivers of the quality of recreation experiences include the variety of recreational activities available, the condition of the natural environment and developed recreation facilities, the density of visitors using recreation sites, and the ease of accessing recreation sites. The Environmental Improvement Program includes an action priority to improve public recreation facilities by replacing and updating outdated recreation infrastructure and developing new facilities or day-use opportunities.

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Status

The average percent of recreation users that rated how enjoyable their time outdoors at Lake Tahoe was. Note that these surveys were last completed in 2018 and 2019 and were used in the 2019 evaluation as well. There were 327 respondents to the 2018 survey and 505 respondents in 2019.

Sustainable Recreation Working Group Surveys 2018 and 2019.

Evaluation Map

Recreation facilities and trails around Lake Tahoe.

2023 Evaluation

Status
Implemented
View Evaluation

Applicable Standard

R1: It shall be the policy of the TRPA Governing Body in development of the Regional Plan to preserve and enhance the high quality recreational experience including preservation of high-quality undeveloped shorezone and other natural areas. In developing the Regional Plan, the staff and Governing Body shall consider provisions for additional access, where lawful and feasible, to the shorezone and high quality undeveloped areas for low density recreational uses.

Key Points

  • Over 92 percent of responses to Sustainable Recreation Working Group surveys indicated that experiences spent outdoors at Lake Tahoe were rated "extremely enjoyable" or "very enjoyable."
  • Public agency land acquisition programs and the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) have contributed to improved access and visitor and resident satisfaction with the quality and spectrum of recreation opportunities.
  • The percentage of the total land area held in public ownership and managed for public access has continued to increase in the Region, and currently, approximately 90 percent of the Region is public land. The amount of public land available for low-density recreational use, and the number of amenities that provide access to that land, have also increased.
  • Tahoe's beaches are regularly monitored throughout the summer for bacteria that are harmful to human health. No exceedancess of state water quality standards occured in 2023. 
  • The Destination Stewardship Plan, developed by seventeen partner organizations, creates a shared vision where people, communities, and nature benefit from a thriving tourism and outdoor recreation economy. In 2023, these organizations signed an agreement to form the Destination Stewardship Council to set the plan into action. 

About the Threshold

The recreation element of the Regional Plan provides for the development, utilization, and management of the recreational resources of the Region. The recreation element contains goals and policies that are intended “to achieve the intent of the thresholds over the life of the Plan by ensuring that recreational opportunities keep pace with public demand, that recreational facilities remain high on the development priority list, and that the quality of the outdoor recreational experience will be maintained.” (TRPA 2012e)
Human and environmental drivers of the quality of recreation experiences include the variety of recreational activities available, the condition of the natural environment and developed recreation facilities, the density of visitors using recreation sites, and the ease of accessing recreation sites. In 2023, TRPA and partners engaged the Tahoe Science Advisory Council to review best practices in monitoring outdoor recreational access and quality. Access to better assess the state, quality, and trends in recreation in Tahoe. The Council Report and recommendations are currently being evaluated by partners and are included in the references section below. The total number of rooms nights rented in the Tahoe Region remains below pre-COVID levels. The 2023 Lodging Trend report (below) found that the regional occupancy rate in 2018-2019 was 42 percent, relative to 37 percent in 2021-2022. Occupancy in 2023 was down -3.6 percent from 2022. While occupancy is down, the average daily rate in the Region continues to increase and is nearly twice as high as pre-COVID. The 2023 Congestion Report analyzed seven years of congestion data and found no overall trends in regional travel times, but identified no clear trends emerged from analysis of the seven years of travel time data, but identified inter-annual differences arising from construction, winter storms, and the 2021 Caldor Fire as key factors that complicate the identification of clear trends.

Delivering and Measuring Success

EIP Action Priorities

  • Improve Public Access

    The focus of this action priority is to improve access land acquisitions that increase available access points to public land both in the backcountry and Lake Tahoe’s shoreline.

  • Improve Public Recreation Facilities

    Replacing and updating outdated recreation infrastructure, adding directional signage and developing new facilities for day use opportunities.

EIP Indicators

Example EIP Projects

Local and Regional Plans

Monitoring Programs

Rationale Details

Implemented. The threshold standard has been implemented. A review of the TRPA Regional Plan and programs found that they support implementation of the policy statement. TRPA and its partners continue to work to enhance the quality of the recreation experience in Tahoe.

Additional Figures and Resources

No photos available.

Monitoring Outdoor Recreational Quality and Public Access
Uploaded On
8/15/2024
File Type
PDF
Description
Tahoe Science Advisory Council report providing guidelines for the development of a monitoring system of outdoor recreational activities at the Lake Tahoe Basin. Research was conducted on the state of the science of measuring outdoor recreational activities, frameworks for linking measurement to management, and current best practices
Recommendations on Monitoring Outdoor Recreational Quality and Public Access
Uploaded On
8/15/2024
File Type
PDF
Description
Part two of the Sustainable Recreation Monitoring and Evaluation Plan project. It outlines a framework and recommendations to address three emerging management challenges in the Lake Tahoe Basin: 1) a lack of outdoor recreational activity data to meet current management needs, 2) new types of data to account for changing visitation pressure, and 3) a need for long-term monitoring to track future conditions and measure the impact of management changes.
2023 Lake Tahoe/Truckee Regional Lodging Trend Report
Uploaded On
8/17/2024
File Type
PDF
Description
SMG consulting 2023 Lake Tahoe/Truckee Regional Lodging Trend Report.
2023 Tahoe Congestion Report
Uploaded On
8/17/2024
File Type
PDF
Description
Detailed analysis of congestion trends in the Tahoe region between 2015-2022.
2018 Tahoe Recreation Survey Results
Uploaded On
9/13/2024
File Type
PDF
Description
2019 Tahoe Recreation Survey Results
Uploaded On
9/13/2024
File Type
PDF
Description