This Beach Destination In Nevada Is A Budget Alternative That Feels Like A Caribbean Island

Zephyr Cove is one of those summertime destinations that can give you deja vu all over again. Does it remind you of your honeymoon in St. Barts? Or that girls' trip to stunning Trinidad and Tobago? Why does a beach on a high alpine lake remind you so much of the tropics? The answer to these questions is because Zephyr Cove's sandy bottom reflects the light in just such a way as to give the shallow, placid waters that signature turquoise Caribbean glow.

So don't be surprised if, once you settle into your Caribbean-style rented beach chair under an umbrella and dig your toes into the golden sand, you're tempted to order a tropical cocktail. Only when you look up from that raging game of beach volleyball you've been watching to get an eyeful of the magnificent snow-capped peaks towering above the pine forests in the distance will you realize you're not on an expensive trip to Antigua or Barbuda at all. It's just a good old-fashioned budget vacation on the shores of rustic Lake Tahoe in Nevada.

What can you do in Zephyr Cove that you can't do on a Caribbean vacation? Camp in a cool Airstream trailer at the Zephyr Cove RV Park & Campground, for starters. Full-hookup RV sites and tent camping are also popular options. Next door, the historic, log cabin-style Zephyr Cove Resort, founded as a lakeside inn in 1862, gives you a taste of old Tahoe, with rustic cabins awash in knotty pine decorations, some of which overlook the lake.

This is the kind of resort where many families return year after year to make generational memories. The resort's restaurant, the Sunset Bar & Grille, is also a trip down memory lane, where the sure bets on the menu run toward old-timey classics like blueberry pancakes for breakfast and tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. Your grandparents might have stayed in the same room and eaten the same meal, and you'll probably enjoy it every bit as much as they did.

For a beach day, Zephyr Cove may be a less-crowded alternative to stunning Sand Harbor State Park to the north. Big, smooth boulders warmed by the sun make great dive platforms into the lake's cool, clear blue water. If sunning the day away is too relaxing for your tastes, Zephyr Cove also boasts a full complement of resort-style beach amenities comparable to those you'd find in the Caribbean, from jet ski rentals and parasailing to paddle boards for gliding among the smooth boulders that line the shore, where you'll find inlets and lagoons galore to explore.

Fancy a cruise without the expense and risks of navigating Caribbean cruise ports? Zephyr Cove is a favorite jumping-off point for day tours that let you take in Lake Tahoe's scenic beauty and historic points of interest in both Nevada and California.

Arriving via a classic wooden runabout (pictured), you can take a tour of magical Thunderbird Lodge, a storybook-style stone mansion that's a window into Tahoe's flamboyant history. Built in 1939 by the heir to a Gold Rush fortune, it contains secret passages, an opium den, a dungeon, and a private zoo designed for the original owner's pet elephant named Mingo. Vikingsholm Castle, which was built in 1929, designed to resemble a Scandinavian fortress, and is now part of the California State Parks system, is another popular boat tour destination that demonstrates the Golden State's flair for the eccentric.

For scenic splendor, you can end the day with a sunset dinner cruise aboard a replica paddle wheeler, the 500-passenger M.S. Dixie II, which Nevada Magazine named Best Cruise in Nevada. You'll loop through stunning Emerald Bay while digging into salmon steaks or juicy ribeyes to the accompaniment of a live band. If you'd rather take your tour in a human-powered vessel, Clearly Tahoe's transparent kayak tour will take you to shallow, secret coves glittering with pyrite, aka "fool's gold," and to scout rock formations alongside dramatic cliffs where you can see just how deep the lake's famously clear waters really are.