Then and now: Zephyr Cove Resort dates to 1860s
Zephyr Cove Resort in the 1930s. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society
Today’s Zephyr Cove Resort has roots dating back 150 years to the 1860s.
E.B. Scott described the first building (in his book “The Saga of Lake Tahoe”) as “…an ostentatious T-shaped hotel.” It became popular with travelers heading to Virginia City.
Zephyr Cove Resort in 2013. Photo/Bill Kingman
The early 1930s photo shows the later Zephyr Cove Store and gas pump. That store building has been enlarged and today includes a restaurant at its north end.
Millionaire George Whittell, who owned most of the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, added Zephyr Cove to his land holdings in 1938. As I recall, Tahoe Harrah’s briefly had a part in the resort’s operation in the mid-1960s.
Zephyr Cove Resort now is managed by Aramark Parks and Destinations by special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service.
— Bill Kingman
just love these then and now articles!!! thanks Bill… keep ’em coming!!!!!
I was a little girl in the late 1930’s when our family went there to enjoy the beach and “boo boo” water. It was one of our favouite beaches, and we didn’t have to pay a dime to go there. Back then a dime was harder to come by, and the sand and water were pristine.
Harrah’s Tahoe did in fact run Zephyr Cove, but I think for no longer than a year or so – several of us who were at Harrahs’ had a ‘wild hair’ and transferred out there for a summer, so I don’t know how long before or after that he ran it. . . but I do remember working on the “traffic flow & parking” issues there, as Harrah had the big hydroplane races there one summer – not only did those hydroplanes not run very well at ‘altitude’, but there was a tragic accident where one of them disintegrated at speed, and the ‘pilot’ was encased in his seat at the bottom of the lake there until retrieved. . .
The races were then not run there again. . .
With respect to Mr. Bowen’s comment, Harrah’s operated Zephyr Cove throughout the mid to late sixties until about 1971 or so. They operated the entire area, including the lodge, restaurant, beach, campground, etc. Mr. Harrah had plans drawn-up for a monorail from Harrah’s at Stateline to Zephyr Cove, where he was thinking about a “family fun” area, plus putting a sizeable number of his classic car collection on rotating display. The lodge also had multiple slot machines (the old Pace machines), but no table games. He gave up on those ideas when a 1 mile from Stateline “red line” was put in place for casino gambling (except for slots), which (of course) excluded Zephyr Cove.
Also, the international hydroplane races were in the early Sixties and had nothing to do with the accident that happened in the late Seventies or early Eighties (I can’t recall the exact year). That was a guy who was trying to set a water speed record in an experimental jet boat starting from off of Glenbrook Bay to a point near Stateline. His craft nosed in and shot down to the bottom where he drowned. I was waiting at a timing buoy anchored at Zephyr Point, but he never made it. The hydroplane races didn’t last due to the altitude (as Mr. Bowen points out) and the fickle Tahoe wind conditions. That is all…..
Hi, Im looking for a man from 1962 who managed “The Shoals” restaurant in zephyr cove. Does anyone recall this restaurant?
The shoals restaurant was at Logan Shoals by Glenbrook, wasn’t it?
Morgan Foster and Biggerpicture,
The Shoals were about a mile south of Glenbrook. Our family ate there in the early 60’s several times. Sorry, don’t remember the manager as I was 8 or 9 at the time. It’s a private residence now.
The Hydroplane races were a blast!!! They were eventually moved closer to stateline, racing off of Edgewood. They only raced here a few years in the 60’s. Tahoes unpredictable wind made it dangerous and the thin air really put a strain on those 12 cylinder Allison or Rolls Royce aircraft engines. During practice in mid week they were so loud you could hear them at Bijou Elementary during recess. Miss Harrahs, Miss Bardahl, Miss Budweiser and so many others. I sure wish they would bring those back!
Take Care, Old Long Skiis