Sand Harbor is one of the most popular beaches in all of Lake Tahoe. Its remote location, miles away from the casinos on a winding two-lane road, does nothing to stop people from flocking here on warm summer days and filling up the beach. Every fall this is also the home to a Shakespeare festival, with a permanent stage built just a few dozen yards from the water’s edge.

We went to the beach on a chilly day in April, and had the place to ourselves. It was too cold to go in the water (even on the hottest summer day Lake Tahoe never gets very warm), but there was plenty of fun to be had scrambling over the rocks.