One of our favorite places to kayak to and take a picnic along is the Tallac Historic Site located at Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe, CA. There are trees right on the beach to provide shade, and a small walking trail that takes you to historic buildings. The Tallac Historic Site also offers a nice swimming area right from the beach.
Here is the location of Tallac Historic Site:
In the late afternoon, the three of us set off from the Tahoe Keys neighborhood to Tallac Historic Site. It took us about 30 minutes to paddle over. We pulled our kayak right up onto the beach and set up a picnic site.
Our daughter fell asleep on the way there, and continued her nap on the beach.
Right behind us were views of the historic buildings from previous estates on the Tallac Historic Site, available to tour during the summer months.
ABOUT THE GEAR
For our Tallac Historic Site kayaking adventure, we used the following gear.
Kayak
We have a red Necky Manitou II, and love it. One reason we decided to go with this kayak is the extra middle seat for a child. Our 2-year old loves to come on the kayak with us! It has a hatch for storing beach toys, towels, etc. in the back. The seats adjust very easily, and you can put a rudder system on for super easy steering.
Paddles
We use Aquabound Sting Ray paddles. They are very light since they are made with carbon.
Life Jackets
Our brand of choice for life jackets is Kokatat, because they are PVC-free. We love the pockets in the front for chapstick, sunglasses, cell phone, a whistle, and snacks. The womens’ is the Kokatat MsFit and the mens’ is the Kokatat Outfit. We bought our life jackets in red to match our kayak!
For our daughter, we use the Stohlquist Nemo. It is very comfortable on her and she likes to wear it.
Dry Bag
Sometimes the hatch is not big enough, for example, if you are going on a long day or overnight trip. For trips like these, we use Adventure Lyon dry bags. You can bungee them on top in the front or back, or let them tail behind in the water. Your stuff with stay completely dry during the trip on the water. We put dry clothes, towels, electronics, etc. in these bags.
