Tahoe's top attraction is chaotic. Officials hope they've found a fix

One of the most visited and gridlocked attractions on Lake Tahoe is about to get a summertime shuttle service that locals hope will clear out road congestion and set an example for better travel in a region desperate for transit solutions.

Starting mid-June and running through Labor Day, travelers to scenic Emerald Bay will be encouraged to hop on shuttle vans rather than drive. The daily service picks up every 20 minutes or so at two points north and south of the bay and costs $10 roundtrip. One route will depart from South Lake Tahoe; the other will carry people down from Tahoma.

Clogged traffic and illegal parking at Emerald Bay are rampant during peak summer days, and officials say ironing out those issues is essential to spare one of Tahoe's premier sites from the environmental degradation that comes with overuse - but it's also about public safety.

"Our biggest nemesis in South Lake is Emerald Bay," said Ruth Loehr, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol's South Lake Tahoe area office. "The parking issues there are extreme, especially in summer."

The immensely popular stopover in the southwest corner of the lake receives an estimated 1.5 million visits each year and is accessible only by Highway 89. Parking is extremely limited and, as traffic backs up, it's common for drivers to leave their cars along the highway shoulders and for tourists to walk long distances on the roadway to Emerald Bay's lookout - a dangerous practice officials are trying to discourage.

It becomes so chaotic that many Tahoe locals avoid the place on weekends, and it's a headache for authorities.

A nascent shuttle program was first deployed last year but the vans only ran between July 15 and Sept. 28 - about half of summer. In terms of getting cars off the road and improving safety, the results were mixed.

Last year's shuttle buses provided 4,972 rides, serving about 85 people per day. But they were capable of carrying about 20,000 people, so there's work to be done to raise awareness and put more butts on shuttles.

"It was a huge success - though not as successful as we could have been," said El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine, a champion of the shuttle program. "We were sending shuttles that were half full or sometimes even empty."

Laine attributes the sluggish ridership to the program having been in its first year and being quickly cobbled together. Still, it was effective enough to garner $1.1 million of state and federal grant funding, which will keep shuttles running this summer and next.

Safety at Emerald Bay has become a major concern of officials.

Between 2015 and 2024, Caltrans observed 128 vehicle collisions on the highway through Emerald Bay, according to an agency draft report issued last fall. Most occurred during peak summer months attributed to speeding, improper turning and alcohol consumption. The solutions the agency suggests to better manage Emerald Bay focus almost entirely on parking improvements - including removing opportunities for people to illegally park along the highway shoulder.

Last year, officials installed cement barricades, bollards and no-parking signs, ultimately removing 50 unsafe parking spaces in the area. According to a technical evaluation of the 2025 shuttle program commissioned by El Dorado County, the program spared the area from 867 illegally parked cars between July and September.

But those measures didn't eliminate the problems.

In fact, more illegally parked cars were counted along the highway shoulder near Emerald Bay on an August Saturday in 2025 (1,178 cars) compared to a similar count in 2017 (1,053). Ironically, it seems the no-parking zones pushed visitors to park further down the highway and walk along the road.

During last year's shuttle season, the California Highway Patrol wrote 248 citations, issued 13 moving violations and had 10 vehicles towed for illegal parking, according to the Tahoe Transportation District.

Locals surveyed during last year's pilot program said they want it to go further: "There was support for stronger parking enforcement in Emerald Bay, including higher fines, towing, fewer warnings, and eliminating roadside parking to drive shuttle usage," according to the evaluation.

Officials intend to do just that. CHP will be "strictly enforcing parking restrictions throughout the Emerald Bay corridor," according to the transportation district. Also, more temporary parking barriers and no parking signs will be installed.

Laine stressed that tightening restrictions at Emerald Bay is intended to lead to a more enjoyable experience for those who follow the rules.

"There are those of us who feel there shouldn't even be parking in Emerald Bay," Laine said. "But for right now, we're still working together to see how it can work."

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