Tahoe’s DL Bliss State Park finally reopens after $5M project

D.L. Bliss State Park, one of Lake Tahoe’s most popular destinations, reopened last week after a three-year closure for a $5 million major infrastructure project. 

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The infrastructure project was originally slated to take one year, but the state park ran into problems with the original contractor, which delayed the project’s completion and stretched the work into a third year.

All is well now. The lakefront state park opened on May 21, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. While most of the improvements are below ground, visitors might notice some shiny red fire hydrants and new road improvements, as well as a renovated visitor center. 

“We are excited to welcome the public back to this beloved state park,” said Kaytlen Jackson, a spokesperson for the Sierra District of California State Parks, in an email to SFGATE.

Every day throughout the summer season, from sunrise to sunset, day visitors can once again access Lester Beach and the Rubicon Trail from the state park’s main entrance on Highway 89. 

“We recommend arriving early in the day to secure parking at Lester Beach or the Rubicon trailhead as our parking lots often fill up quickly, especially on weekends,” Jackson said.

D.L. Bliss State Park’s 165 campsites are some of the most coveted and sought after in the Tahoe region, and camping reservations are already almost solidly booked through the summer. A weekend camping reservation, especially at one of the beachfront spots, is a prized score. Midweek reservations are slightly easier to come by.

The infrastructure project replaced the park’s 8-inch water main along 2.9 miles of the park’s roadways and installed 22 new fire hydrants. 

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“This project will benefit park visitors for generations to come by way of increased fire protection and potable water capacity,” Jackson said.

The state park also renovated its visitor center, which is open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Before this project, the waterlines at Bliss were almost a century old and had issues with leaking water, Rob Griffith, a former superintendent, told SFGATE in 2024. The park’s infrastructure was built in the 1930s and early 1940s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The waterline replacement project began in the summer of 2023, but it almost immediately ran into problems. The original contractor botched the job when it dug a 6-foot-deep trench across the park, according to Griffith. That left park officials scrambling to clean up the botched job before winter and needing to start over. 

A new contractor picked up the job the following summer, but underground conditions slowed down the pace again. Griffith said crews had to bore a tunnel underneath Highway 89 to install the new water lines, going through granite bedrock. 

“Thank you to the public for your patience during this temporary closure as we completed critical infrastructure upgrades,” said Rich Adams, the acting Sierra District superintendent, in a news release last November.

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