The 5 Best Boating Locations Around Reno

Boating is all about contrasts. Smashing through waves at high speed and then drifting across glass, warming up in the sun followed by a dip into the cool water, grilling with a portable barbeque and washing it down with cold beer. The landscape (or waterscape) is equally as important: An epic backdrop of mountains and forests makes the day, and no trip is complete without idyllic coves to rest in after dashing across the lake.

Photo: The views around Lake Davis

Reno, with its desert climate, might seem like an unlikely candidate for boating, but there are at least five excellent boating locations less than 90 minutes from downtown.

5. Frenchman and Lake Davis Reservoirs

Northeast of Reno, Frenchman and Lake Davis are two large reservoirs far from the busyness of Tahoe, ideal for those who hate traffic and long lines to get in and out of the water. Typically calm and quiet, these tree-lined lakes are perfect when you want to get in a quick day of boating without much hassle.

At both lakes there are a plethora of finger-like coves to explore, but Lake Davis is the larger and more extensive of the two. Both also have small islands and dams, and an abundance of campgrounds with good availability even during peak season.

Photo: Boating on Stampede Reservoir

4. Boca and Stampede Reservoirs

Closer to Reno, west of town in the mountains outside Truckee, are the popular Boca and Stampede reservoirs.

Boca is the smaller of the two, so it’s favored by small boats and manual watercraft such as kayaks and canoes. The larger Stampede reservoir, on the other hand, is great for those who want to get in a full day of speed-boating.

These reservoirs benefit from the cooler air of the High Sierras, making them easy getaways when Reno is undergoing a heatwave.

Photo: A beach accessible by boat on Lake Tahoe

3. Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe attracts millions of visitors a year from all over the world — and for good reason. It is a spectacular lake at the border of California and Nevada, with amazingly clear water and views of the surrounding mountain ranges.

The water is brisk and pristine, and residents want to keep it that way, so there are a lot of rules and regulations when it comes to boating in Tahoe, as well as higher fees, longer wait times, boat police and so on — which are things you have to consider and prepare for if you plan on boating on Tahoe.

But, once you learn the tricks of boating here, it is worth it. Tahoe is enormous and crystalline, and traveling by boat, you can explore endless docking points with hidden beaches that would be nearly impossible to visit by car or on foot.

2. Fallen Leaf Lake

A smaller lake just south of Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf Lake deserves its own mention simply because of how picturesque it is. If you really want to feel like you are in an alpine environment, this is the place to come to. Sitting above Tahoe, the lake’s surrounding crags are covered in snow almost year-round. The beaches here are rough and rocky, and isolated thunder storms often hit the lake even in the middle of summer.

Most memorable at Fallen Leaf is the clarity of the lake water, even clearer than Tahoe if you can believe that, and the temperature is even closer to snow melt. The lake is also a bit quieter and less trafficked than Tahoe, so the morning water is as glassy as it gets.

Photo: The giant pyramid at Pyramid Lake

1. Pyramid Lake

No mention of boating in Reno would be complete without Pyramid Lake. Roughly the size of Lake Tahoe, this desert lake gets a lot less press than the former. This is understandable — most people prefer forests to deserts and fresh water to salt water. Still, it’s easy to get tired of the same old alpine scenery and wish for something a little different.

And Pyramid Lake is definitely different. As the terminus of the Truckee Meadows water system, all water that flows down the mountains into Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River and countless other streams and waterways, eventually makes its way to Pyramid Lake. Because Pyramid lacks an outlet and has high evaporation rates under the desert sun, this has resulted in a saline lake much like the Great Salt Lake, though it’s smaller.

With its desert landscape, Pyramid feels otherworldly. Being such an enormous lake, you can spend all day boating around, though having some kind of sunshade on your boat makes the experience more enjoyable.

Every first-timer on the lake has to boat across to see the rocky pyramid that is the lake’s namesake. In the vicinity are equally strange moonlike rocks, including several that look like human heads.

Swimming in the lake is a blast — it tends to be warmer than the High Sierra lakes, and the water has a bright sapphire-like glow to it. There is also a lack of algae or aquatic plants that are present in coves at most lakes and make the water murky and unpleasant to swim in.

And unlike Tahoe, Pyramid does not have many restrictions, making it quick and easy to get in and out of, even if it is a bit of a drive from Reno.

Photo: A head-like rock formation near the pyramid at Pyramid Lake

All photos by Dan Bablinskas