Where the West Shore Trail Ends Now, and the Route Being Studied to Carry It Past Meeks Bay

The Dianne Feinstein West Shore Tahoe Trail still ends at Meeks Bay, about 12 miles south of Tahoe City. On October 20, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and El Dorado County started the formal environmental study of the next 6.5 miles, which would run from Meeks Bay to D.L. Bliss State Park. The Sierra Sun reported that the agencies see it as a step toward a continuous path around the lake.

The ground south of Meeks Bay is steep. According to the agencies' own notice, the path there would need switchbacks, retaining walls up to 15 feet high, two crossings of Highway 89 and bridges over creeks. The trail section through Meeks Bay itself, where the extension would meet the existing trail, belongs to a separate restoration project that isn't scheduled to start construction until 2027. This fall's comment period is about the shape of a route that's still years away. Written comments are due by 5 p.m. on November 20.

The trail people ride today was rebuilt in the past two years

Most of the trail between Tahoe City and Homewood is newer pavement than it looks. The Tahoe City Public Utility District says the West Shore Trail was first built in the 1970s and needed a full rebuild after almost 50 years. In 2025 TCPUD spent $4.8 million rebuilding 2.4 miles from Sunnyside to Blackwood Creek and finished on October 13, 2025. This year's work, described in TCPUD's April 2026 construction update, covered 1.4 miles between Tahoe City and Sunnyside from April through October. The district's September 14 update said crews were in the season's final stretch, working from the Highway 89 crossing south to Sequoia Avenue. TCPUD's trail status page now says all trails are open.

The trail also has a new name. On August 7, 2025, TCPUD named it the Dianne Feinstein West Shore Tahoe Trail after the late senator, who owned a home on the West Shore for many years, and put up a commemorative sign at the 64 Acres trailhead.

The rebuild widens the trail to nine feet where the ground allows. The extension uses that as a starting point and then has to deal with terrain the northern trail mostly avoids.

What 6.5 miles south of Meeks Bay would involve

The Notice of Preparation describes a paved path set apart from the highway, generally 10 feet wide with 2-foot shoulders, and designed for a maximum grade of 8 percent. The notice says "design exceptions may be necessary in some locations because of the steep slopes and challenging terrain within the project corridor."

Where a retaining wall stands more than 30 inches tall on the downhill side, the plans call for safety railings along the edge. The trail would also connect to transit. The southern end would be on Lester Beach Road, at a stop near the Highway 89 entrance to D.L. Bliss or farther in by the campground entrance kiosk.

The proposed route, from north to south

The agencies are studying two alignments. The notice says both are entirely on public land and neither would require private property. Here is the proposed alignment, starting at Meeks Bay:

1. It leaves Meeks Bay Resort and passes under Highway 89 through an undercrossing.
2. It runs through the neighborhood south of Meeks Bay on public land north of and parallel to Bayview Drive.
3. For about 0.3 miles it uses Bayview Drive and Lakeview Drive themselves, where the work would mostly be striping and signs.
4. It crosses Saturn Drive and enters National Forest System lands.
5. It climbs the steep slope on switchbacks, then near Sierra Drive moves into Caltrans right-of-way on the mountain side of the highway.
6. North of 2 Ring Road it crosses Highway 89 at grade to the lake side.
7. It crosses the restricted section of Lester Beach Road and goes through D.L. Bliss State Park, staying at least 200 feet from individual campsites, to end near the park entrance.

Alternative 1 differs at both ends. At Meeks Bay it would cross Highway 89 at grade, not through the undercrossing. From there it would run about 0.3 miles on the mountain side of the highway and then follow existing dirt roads across public parcels, Saturn Drive and Silvertip Court before joining the proposed route. In the middle section the two alignments are the same. Near D.L. Bliss, Alternative 1 stays on the mountain side longer and crosses the highway closer to the park. Inside the park it runs north of Balancing Rock, closer to the highway than the proposed route does.

The study will also look at a required "no project" alternative. TRPA and the county haven't decided whether to add other alternatives and are asking for suggestions during scoping.

The Meeks Bay connection has its own timeline

The extension starts inside Meeks Bay Resort, and that section of trail isn't part of this study. The notice says the trail through Meeks Bay "was evaluated separately as part of the Meeks Bay Restoration Project environmental review." That restoration includes a pedestrian and bike path with a bridge linking the recreation areas on both sides of the lagoon.

The Lake Tahoe Info project tracker for the Meeks Bay Ecosystem Restoration, last updated in February 2026, lists the project as in planning and design. It shows implementation starting in 2027 and finishing in 2030, with marina and lagoon restoration and upgrades to recreation facilities. This is a separate effort from the Washoe-led Máyala Wáťa meadow work nearby. Sierra Nevada Ally reported in September that the meadow project had recently finished its initial tree removal across about 280 acres.

The two pieces of trail at Meeks Bay are on separate schedules. The extension is just entering scoping, and the lagoon path and bridge belong to a restoration listed to begin in 2027. In the meantime, the resort and campgrounds at Meeks Bay closed for the winter on October 11.

Who has a say, and what the study will cover

TRPA and El Dorado County are the lead agencies, and they are writing one joint document. It will be either an Environmental Assessment or an EIS, depending on the level of review, and it will also serve as an EIR under California's environmental law. The route crosses land managed by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, so the Forest Service will prepare its own federal review alongside it. Caltrans, the California Tahoe Conservancy and California State Parks are responsible agencies. The idea itself goes back to the SR 89 Recreation Corridor Management Plan and the Cascade to Meeks Trail Feasibility Study.

The study's scope covers scenic resources, biological resources, hydrology and water quality, noise, recreation, transportation, tribal cultural resources and wildfire, among other topics. Scoping is the stage where the public helps decide which questions the study needs to answer. The design itself is still open.

Ways to take part before the window closes:

• Open house: TRPA and the county scheduled an in-person open house for November 2, 5:30 to 7 p.m., at TCPUD, 221 Fairway Drive in Tahoe City. The project notice sets out the same route details in writing.
• November 12: The project goes before TRPA's Advisory Planning Commission at a meeting that starts at 9:30 a.m. at 128 Market Street in Stateline, with a virtual option. The presentation doesn't have a set time. TRPA says it will post the agenda and virtual details at trpa.gov/meeting-materials a week ahead, and there is public comment at the start and end of the meeting.
• Written comments by 5 p.m. November 20: Use the online comment form, email Senior Planner Rebecca Cremeen at [email protected], or mail TRPA at P.O. Box 5310, Stateline, NV 89449. TRPA asks that the subject line read "West Shore Trail – Meeks Bay to D.L. Bliss State Park EIS/EIR."

Riding the existing trail this winter

While the extension is under study, the existing trail goes into its winter routine. TCPUD clears snow on 16 of the 23 miles in its trail network. Clearing usually starts once about three inches have fallen and follows a priority order, depending on how many staff are available and what conditions allow. The rebuilt sections from Tahoe City to Blackwood Creek are part of that network.

Becky Arnold has spent her life on the West Shore and follows changes like this one, from the Sunnyside rebuild to the route being drawn past Meeks Bay. If you'd like to talk through what a West Shore address near the trail looks like day to day, Becky Arnold Real Estate is happy to walk you through it. Start your Tahoe search: call Becky for west-shore expertise.