For most of the last eight years, El Dorado Beach has been a layer of sand over a row of plastic bags.
The City of South Lake Tahoe says so in its own project description. Severe erosion in 2018, caused by high winds and high lake levels, left a large part of the shoreline unsafe. As an emergency repair, the city installed plastic super sacks filled with sand to act as a revetment, which is a barrier that holds the shoreline in place, and then replenished the public beach in front of them. Since then, the sand people spread towels on at Lakeview Commons has mostly been sand the city put there and keeps putting back.
In September the city started work to take the bags out. The project replacing them shows how much upkeep the beach closest to Al Tahoe has needed all along, and how much it will still need.
An emergency fix that stayed for eight years
The super sacks were meant as a stopgap. They ended up as the shoreline's main structure for most of a decade, and the timeline shows how slowly a temporary fix becomes a permanent one:
- 2018. High winds and lake levels erode the beach badly enough to make much of the shoreline unsafe. The city puts in plastic super sacks filled with sand.
- Winter and spring 2025. City assessments find the protective sacks have become exposed.
- June 21, 2025. A major storm makes the erosion worse and leaves the super sacks completely exposed. The city closes the beach, seating area and boat ramp on July 2 and 3 to bury the sacks again and bring in new sand before the Fourth of July crowds. The Lakeview Commons park area stays open.
- May 22 and June 23, 2026. Phase 1 of a permanent project starts with beach replenishments meant to slow the sacks' deterioration and keep the beach usable until the next phase.
- September 8, 2026. Phase 2 construction begins.
When the city announced the 2025 emergency repair, it said a permanent solution would come "in a future year." Phase 2 is that year.
What the rock replaces, and what it doesn't
Phase 2 takes out the plastic sandbags and installs a rock revetment, a permanent shoreline stabilization system made of boulders, cobble and sand. As described in the Tahoe Daily Tribune's report on the start of construction, the work also includes backfilling with sand so a beach remains, trimming exposed geotextile fabric, and repairing the older boulder revetment on the east side of the beach.
City staff gave the Council a more exact location in June. The rock goes in below the bottom step of Lakeview Commons, and that area is then backfilled with sand. The familiar stepped seating that runs down toward the water is the edge being protected. The city's stated goals are to stabilize the shoreline, protect the existing Lakeview Commons infrastructure, and keep the beach open to the public.
The rock is the permanent part. The sand on top of it still has to be maintained. The city's plan says Phase 2 backfills "to maintain a beach," and it saves the goal of keeping a beach without further sand replenishment for Phase 3. So once the sacks are gone, the shoreline is anchored, but the beach itself is still something the city tops up.
The site has another problem that Phase 2 is only partly addressing. When staff briefed the Council in June, they said the first 2026 sand replenishment had largely worked despite the high lake level, but that erosion was heavier on the east side of the beach. The east side boulder revetment is the one Phase 2 repairs.
What the work costs, and what is still unpaid
The money explains why this has happened in phases. In June, staff proposed splitting Phase 2 into two bids, one for the area where the sacks sit and one for the riprap and boulder revetment east of the stairs.
| Item | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Base bid estimate, sandbag area | $600,000 to $800,000 | Staff estimate, June 2026 Council update |
| Bid estimate, riprap and boulder revetment east of the stairs | $800,000 to $1.1 million | Staff estimate, June 2026 Council update |
| El Dorado Beach Revetment line in the parks capital plan | $500,000 | Five-year capital improvement plan, FY 2026-27 recommendations |
| Phase 2 construction award, recommended to Globe Engineering Development as low bidder | $697,600 | August 25, 2026 Council agenda |
| Construction contingency, recommended | Up to $115,000 | August 25, 2026 Council agenda |
| Stantec design contract amendment, recommended | $23,119 | August 25, 2026 Council agenda |
The recommended low bid of $697,600 falls inside staff's $600,000 to $800,000 estimate for the sandbag area. The August 25 Council agenda also lists the contingency and the Stantec amendment.
Phase 3 is where the cost is still unknown. The city describes it as "potential additional improvements" that would let a beach last without more replenishment. Its details depend on studies still underway and on further talks with regulators, and the city's July release lists it as unfunded. Those studies include soil analysis and wind-wave modeling at the site, done to design long-term protection for the beach. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board are consulted on every phase, and the city expects the Phase 2 work to be folded into the eventual Phase 3 design.
Public comment at the June meeting mostly supported the project. According to the Tahoe Daily Tribune's account of the meeting, some speakers said that protecting the lake might eventually mean giving up the beach entirely. Councilmember Horgan agreed the project was urgent and said the plastic needed to come out of the lake.
Access this month
When Phase 2 started, the city closed El Dorado Beach, Lakeview Commons, the El Dorado beach boat ramp, and the shared Lakeview Commons and boat ramp parking lot. The contractor fenced off the upper part of Lakeview Commons and the parking lot so there would be room for staging, equipment and a secure work zone, even though most of the work was on the beach itself.
The city's target for finishing was October 15, 2026. It said from the start that the schedule could run past that date depending on construction progress, weather and approvals from permitting agencies. For current access to the beach, the Commons, the ramp or the lot, check the City of South Lake Tahoe news page before heading down.
The rest of the 2026 work around Al Tahoe has a fixed scope
The shoreline is the only part of this year's construction near Al Tahoe with an open-ended final phase. The city's other 2026 projects in the area each have a defined scope and schedule, and one is already complete.
- Bijou Park Connector. A new Class 1 bike path through Bijou Park links the Dennis Machida Memorial Greenway to the existing Class 1 path at the Al Tahoe Boulevard and Johnson Boulevard intersection. It was finished in June 2026.
- Al Tahoe streets. The 2026 Road Rehabilitation program, funded at $3.6 million, scheduled full roadway replacement on several Al Tahoe neighborhood streets from late June through August, along with a new overlay on Johnson Boulevard.
- Al Tahoe Boulevard sealing. The 2026 Sealing Project, an approximately $700,000 contract funded by Measure S, covers Al Tahoe Boulevard, Eloise Avenue, and Pioneer Trail between US 50 and Larch Avenue. The treatment is meant to keep water out of mid-condition roads and limit freeze-thaw damage. The city reported the work underway in July.
The Council is also looking further ahead at this part of the lakefront. During the same June capital plan discussion, it asked staff to add items on rerouting Lakeview Avenue around Harrison Avenue to create a pedestrian zone, and on permanent public restrooms at beaches around the city. Those were requests to staff, not approved projects.
On a closer timeline, South Lake Tahoe Restaurant Week runs November 6 through 15, 2026, starting tomorrow. More than 30 restaurants, cafés, wine bars and breweries are offering discounted prices, prix fixe menus and other specials, and the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority has an interactive map of participants at cityofslt.gov/RestaurantWeek, as South Tahoe Now reported.
If you own near El Dorado Beach and want to know how the shoreline project could affect your street, your view, or how a buyer sees your home, Live Tahoe Real Estate follows this work closely. Contact Chris and Brooke.
