Opened to the public in September 1994, this Conservancy project has become a focal point for public access on Lake Tahoe's north shore. Perhaps more importantly, it is now the centerpiece of the culturally diverse community of Kings Beach. The large central plaza serves as a gathering place for special events and community functions. Designed for the Conservancy by Glanville and Associates of San Anselmo, the site incorporates elements of a traditional town square and creates a physical and visual link between the community and its most glorious asset, Lake Tahoe.

Recreational amenities are clustered near the sandy beach, where a lakefront promenade extends through the site westward into the state recreation area. Here, the visitor will find picnic tables, barbecue areas, and benches with unsurpassed lake views. A basketball court at the eastern end of the site lets young people play in a spectacular beachfront setting.

The interior of the site has been devoted to restoration, revegetation, and filtration of runoff to preserve the lake's remarkable clarity. In fact, the project is acclaimed for incorporating highly successful environmental measures within a high-use recreation context.

Project planning commenced in the summer of 1989. The Conservancy recognized the importance of balancing public access goals with needs and priorities of the local community. Through a series of more than 20 community meetings, Conservancy staff and planning consultants drafted a plan that would provide visitor-serving amenities as well as create a parklike "town square" for the residents of Kings Beach.

The project was not easily accomplished. In 1987, North Tahoe Public Utility District agency representatives and community members had requested that the Conservancy consider acquiring a lakefront block in central Kings Beach for public access purposes. The site, adjacent to the largest lakefront recreational and visitor-serving complex on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, would augment and enhance the Kings Beach State Recreation Area. Acquisition would link several public facilities, provide much needed open space, and create panoramic lake vistas from Highway 28.

The site, however, encompassed 16 lots, a hodgepodge of ramshackle buildings, six separate landowners, and a multitude of both residential and commercial tenants.

The Conservancy's total expenditure for the project was approximately $4 million, but its value is many times that to the community and to the lake.

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