A Full Map of Where to Stop, Camp, and Resupply Around Lake Tahoe by SUP
Planning a full circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe by paddleboard means mapping out where you'll actually stop along the way, not just the total distance you need to cover. My best friend Michael Whalen and I built our own route around specific stopping, camping, and resupply points across five days, and here's the full picture of where those points actually were.
Launch Point: Ski Run Marina
We started and finished at the public beach near Ski Run Marina in South Lake Tahoe, a straightforward, accessible launch point with parking and easy water access that made both departure and the final return simple to coordinate.
Day One Camp: Fannette Island
Twelve miles in, we camped at the stone tea house atop Fannette Island in Emerald Bay, the only island anywhere in Lake Tahoe. This stop requires paddling in from the mouth of the bay and a short climb up to the structure itself, offering no facilities but an unforgettable overnight experience.
Day Two Camp: Near Eagle Rock
After passing through Rubicon Beach, Meeks Bay, and Tahoma, we resupplied at West Shore Market in Homewood before continuing two more miles to a river access spot near Eagle Rock, which turned out to be private property where the owners graciously allowed us to camp for the night.
Day Three Resupply and Camp: West Shore Market to Banzai Rock
Day three started with breakfast burritos from West Shore Market, continued past Dollar Point, and eventually reached Tahoma Market for dinner supplies before our biggest push of the trip to Banzai Rock on the Nevada shore, seventeen miles for the day.
Day Four Resupply and Camp: Zephyr Cove
After a wind delay at Cave Rock Marina, we reached Zephyr Cove around seven thirty in the evening, meeting my partner Kristin for a resupply that included food, water, and the simple comfort of company partway through a demanding trip.
Day Five: The Return to Ski Run Marina
Our final day retraced the route south past the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament and back to the beach where we'd launched five days earlier, closing the full seventy-two-mile loop.
What This Map Actually Represents
Every stop on this route reflects decisions shaped by wind, mileage, and unexpected circumstances as much as by advance planning. If you're using this as a reference for your own trip, treat these as a proven starting point rather than a fixed template, since your own conditions, schedule, and pace will likely produce a somewhat different set of stops even along the same general route.
What I'd Recommend Confirming Before Relying on This Map
Resupply points like West Shore Market and Tahoma Market are small operations that may have different hours or availability depending on when you're paddling, so confirm current details before building your own trip entirely around them. Camping spots like the one near Eagle Rock involved private property with no guaranteed access, and paddlers should have backup options identified rather than assuming the same arrangement would be available on a different attempt.
How This Map Might Change for a Solo Paddler
Everything on this map reflects a two-person trip with specific logistics built around coordinating with a partner at home for resupply. A solo paddler attempting this same route might make different choices, relying more heavily on carried supplies rather than planned resupply meetups, or adjusting camp locations based on different comfort levels with fully remote, self-sufficient stops.
What I'd Add to This Map for Future Reference
Looking back, I'd add more detail about backup camping options at each major stop, since our own experience with the Eagle Rock private property situation showed how quickly a planned stop can require an unplanned pivot. A more complete map for future paddlers would include not just the primary stops we actually used, but realistic alternatives in case any single stop turns out to be unavailable.
What I'd Tell Someone Building Their First Route
Start with a map like this one as your baseline, then research current details for each specific stop before committing to it as part of your own plan. The route itself is proven, but conditions, availability, and access can change, and treating this map as a living reference rather than a fixed guarantee will serve you better once you're actually out on the water facing whatever has changed since we paddled it.
The Bottom Line on Route Planning
Use this map as a proven starting point, confirm resupply availability before relying on it, and identify backup camping options in case any single planned stop turns out to be unavailable the way ours nearly was.
What Made This Route Work Despite the Unplanned Changes
Looking back at the full sequence of stops, what strikes me most is how much the route succeeded despite deviating from any original plan at multiple points. That resilience came less from perfect planning and more from a willingness to adapt each stop based on real conditions as they arrived, a flexibility worth building into your own approach to this same map.
How This Map Continues to Evolve
Since completing this trip, I've continued to learn more about alternative stops and resupply options along this same general route from other paddlers who've reached out after reading about our attempt. If you're planning your own version of this circumnavigation, treat this map as a living document rather than a final, complete answer, and expect your own research and route choices to add options we never discovered ourselves across our own five days on the water, since no single trip can claim to have found every worthwhile stop along seventy-two miles of shoreline.
What I'd Say to Someone Planning to Deviate From This Exact Route
If your own trip takes a different sequence of stops than ours, that's not a problem, it's an opportunity to discover your own version of this circumnavigation rather than simply replicating ours. The core route around the lake stays consistent, but the specific stops that make your trip memorable will likely differ based on your own timing, pace, and what happens to catch your attention along the way.
The Bottom Line on This Route
Use this sequence as a starting point, verify current details before you go, and stay open to your own version of the journey diverging from ours along the way.
Before You Close This Tab
What are the best stopping points, all the way around Lake Tahoe, for your own multi-day paddleboard trip based on this real route?
Which of these resupply points would you want to confirm in more detail before relying on them for your own trip?
How would you adjust this route if your own daily mileage capacity looked different from ours?
What backup camping options would you research in case a planned stop, like ours near Eagle Rock, turned out to be inaccessible?
Dalton Johnson is a photographer, filmmaker, and brand storyteller based in South Lake Tahoe, California. Over the past decade he has worked with brands including Patagonia, GoPro, Arc'teryx, Four Seasons, Nike, Rivian, and Ford Bronco across all seven continents. He is the creator of the Follow The Journey distribution framework, which has produced over one million organic views per 30-day cycle without paid media. His work includes two published books, an award-winning documentary that aired on PBS, and more than fifty commercial spots directed. He runs Stories by Dalton on Substack, read by more than 34,000 subscribers.