USFS · California, Nevada

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is a United States National Forest that manages and protects public land surrounding Lake Tahoe and the Lake Tahoe Basin. Straddling the state borders of California and Nevada in the Sierra Nevada, the LTBMU encompasses 154,851 acres (626 km2) of National Forest system lands, ranging in altitude above sea level from 6,225 feet (1,897 m) at lake level to 10,881 feet (3,317 m) at Freel Peak. The U.S. Forest Service established the LTBMU in 1973. The name of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit reflects a unique sort of National Forest.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest331,807 acresUSFSCANV47 campgrounds within 10 mi57 Forest Service sites118 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
1 fire
active
Fy27 Hemlock Rx (prescribed burn) · 45 mi from the center
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StatesCalifornia, Nevada
Size331,807 acres
Forest Service code0519, region 05
Center point39.04° N, 120.03° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 6)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 6.37 inches of precipitationFebruary: 6.90 inches of precipitationMarch: 5.52 inches of precipitationApril: 2.78 inches of precipitationMay: 2.02 inches of precipitationJune: 0.84 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.49 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.35 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.60 inches of precipitationOctober: 1.99 inches of precipitationNovember: 3.40 inches of precipitationDecember: 6.47 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 29.7°F averageFebruary: 29.8°F averageMarch: 33.8°F averageApril: 38.0°F averageMay: 45.7°F averageJune: 54.5°F averageJuly: 61.5°F averageAugust: 61.0°F averageSeptember: 55.4°F averageOctober: 45.7°F averageNovember: 35.8°F averageDecember: 29.4°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Tahoma, 5 miles from the center point at 6,315 feet, station USC00048760 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 38 inches a year.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

11 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 36 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Badgers Den At Camp Richardson Resort
Reservable84 sites
FS · Inside
Eagles Nest At Camp Richardson Resort
Reservable31 sites
FS · Inside
Fallen Leaf Campground
Reservable208 sites
FS · Inside
Hope Valley
Reservable21 sites
FS · Inside
Kaspian Campground
Reservable9 sites
FS · Inside
Meeks Bay Resort
Reservable99 sites
FS · Inside
Nevada Beach Campground
Reservable54 sites
FS · Inside
RV Village Campground At Camp Richardson Resort
Reservable98 sites
Show 4 more

35 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 57

The Forest Service lists 57 recreation sites in this forest, among them 9 OHV trails, 9 backpackings, 8 trailheads, 7 campgrounds. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 57

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 118 named trails in this forest, 356 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Tahoe Rim Trail ↗115.4
Pacific Crest Trail ↗54.8
Tahoe Yosemite Trail ↗9.3
Hartoonian Trails ↗6.9
Floating Island Trail ↗6.2
General Creek Trail ↗6.1
Cold Creek Trail ↗5.5
Saxon Trail ↗5.2
Kingsbury Stinger Trail ↗5.1
Tahoe Mt. Loop Trail ↗5

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 118 trails in Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Fy27 Hemlock Rx

    45 mi from the center point

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 106 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for California

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Walkabout Northern California
    Tom Courtney, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Backpacking California
    Wilderness Press, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Coastal trails of Southern California
    Linda B. Mullally, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking northern California
    Bubba Suess, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California
    Shawnte Salabert, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit?

331,807 acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit in?

The boundary crosses California and Nevada.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit?

A point inside the boundary is at 39.042° N, 120.032° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Fy27 Hemlock Rx at 45 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit?

The National Register has 106 listings within 15 miles, including McKeen Motor Car #70 and Fourth Ward School.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.