REVIEW: Clear Kayak Tour to Bonsai Rock with “Clearly Tahoe”
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In recent years, my wife and I have been into giving experiences to our family and friends as gifts versus physical items. For Father’s Day last year, I took my Dad to a Billy Joel concert in Las Vegas. This year, I decided to book us a kayak tour, as we’ve always talked about doing that.
After conducting my research, I settled on booking with the ‘Clearly Tahoe’ outfit, specifically their clear kayak tour to Bonsai Rock. They’ve been in business since 2016, have an impeccable safety record and are the originators of the “clear kayak” concept.
In short, the tour was amazing! In this review, I’ll cover information such as the price, where you leave from, what to expect, and other pertinent information like who’s the tour for, requirements, etc. Let’s get into it!
Tour Information
As stated above, I booked their Bonsai Rock clear kayak tour. My Dad and I, combined, exceeded their weight requirement for the double kayak so I booked us two singles at a cost of $134 each (you can view current pricing here).
This tour is suitable for total beginners, which is good because my Dad had no kayaking experience prior to this and the only experience I had was when I kayaked to Fannette Island in Emerald Bay, also in Lake Tahoe.
This is a guided tour conducted at what I felt was a reasonable pace and is around 2.5 total hours, with about 1.5 hours of that being spent in the kayak. It is NOT pet friendly (though they do offer a pooch-friendly version), the minimum age is six, and the weight limit is 375 pounds per kayak.
Items to Consider Bringing
Clearly Tahoe Meet-Up Location & Parking
Regardless of which tour you book, you’ll meet up with the group at one of Clearly Tahoe’s offices. For the Bonsai Rock tour, you’ll meet at their Incline Village location (pictured above) at the following address:
893 Tahoe Blvd. Suite 800 (across from Starbucks)
Group members must meet at the office thirty minutes prior to the start of the tour. Tours leave promptly and will not wait, so make sure you’re on time. Also be sure to fill out the waivers online when they’re emailed to you, as this helps to expedite the check-in process.
There’s a parking garage behind the building they encourage you to park in, but I was also told it wasn’t a problem to park in the lot out front. Just know it gets hectic here in the summer so if your tour is for later in the day, just park in the garage to save yourself a battle.
The Clearly Tahoe office is located just across from Starbucks and is in the same building as the Sage Leaf Cafe restaurant. When you arrive, you’ll fill out your waiver (if you haven’t already), be given a goodie bag, a dry bag, and be fitted for a life vest.
In the goodie sack you’re given you’ll find two boxes of water, a couple Nature Valley granola bars, and a towel to use to wipe the sand out of your clear kayak. Not sure if these are the exact items given every time, but that’s what was given to my Dad and me.
Speaking of water, make sure you’re hydrated going into the tour and stay hydrated throughout it. You’re in a higher elevation in Tahoe and thus, more susceptible to dehydration, sunburn, etc. I found out the hard way when my calf cramped up badly while getting out of the kayak. It’s no joke.
Once everybody has checked in, your driver (ours was Dave) will escort the group to the Clearly Tahoe shuttle van to take you to Sand Harbor Beach State Park - where your tour officially begins. There was 8 in our group and there was just enough room in the shuttle for us.
Our driver, Dave, got us there safely and without incident. The whole trip took about ten minutes. On the way, he showed us properties owned by big names such as Steve Wynn and Larry Ellison.
Sand Harbor - Where Your Tour Begins
The clear kayak tour to Bonsai Rock begins at the main beach at Sand Harbor State Park. You will NOT need to make reservations to access Sand Harbor, as Clearly Tahoe takes care of this for you as part of your tour.
You’ll be dropped off in the parking area, near the beach access. This is also where your tour guide(s) will meet you. Ours was Julia and while we didn’t find out until after the tour, we were her very first tour group ever.
After the initial introduction, you’ll be given a final opportunity at using a restroom and be shown where to meet afterwards. There’s a rug-type-thing leading to the water’s edge. The end of which is where you’ll meet.
There, you’ll be given a quick rundown on how to operate your kayak. If you’re a total beginner, you won’t have much of an issue. My Dad didn’t have any experience at all and picked up on it quickly. It’s simple - paddle left to go right, and paddle right to go left. Alternate left and right to go straight and paddle in reverse to go backwards.
Getting into and out of the kayaks was probably the trickiest part of the whole experience, but even that wasn’t bad. The guides will assist you to a point, but you’ll need to be able to lower and raise yourself.
Within a few minutes, everyone in our group had the basics down. Seasoned pros we were not, but everyone was able to keep a steady pace and not lag behind too much. Julia set the pace in front on her peddle-kayak while another guide remained in the back of the group for support.
The kayaks were closer to a canoe than a traditional kayak and were touted by the guides as “extremely difficult” to tip over. I lightly tested this claim by moving around somewhat aggressively and while the kayak did rock a bit, it remained mostly steady.
I booked the first tour of the day (8am) so there wasn’t much boat traffic on the lake. Which was nice, as it kept the waves to a minimum and enabled us to fully appreciate that glass-like clarity Lake Tahoe is known for. If it’s your first time kayaking, I recommend doing the same.
On this tour, you’ll be kayaking along Tahoe’s infamously serene east shore. For now, the water perspective is the only way to fully view this specific section of the east shore. The Tahoe East Shore Trail currently ends at Sand Harbor, but will eventually run through the entire stretch.
About 10-15 minutes into your tour is when the underwater granite boulders will start coming into view through your clear kayak. Some are dozens of feet beneath you while others appear to be right underneath the surface.
As you approach Bonsai Rock, you’ll come to a cluster of huge granite boulders you’ll need to negotiate. Here, your tour guide will take “action photos” of you as you pass through the boulder field.
Getting through the boulder field is easy, though you will likely scrap the bottom of your kayak on one. Don’t sweat it if you do, as it’s nearly impossible to crack or puncture them (according to our tour guide, anyway).
When you get through the small boulder field, Bonsai Rock will come into view on your left. You’ll immediately notice it, as it’s distinguished by several trees growing out of various cracks at and near the top.
You’ve likely seen Bonsai Rock on Tiktok and Instagram as it’s currently the second most photographed spot in all of Lake Tahoe (in case you were interested, Emerald Bay is the most photographed spot on the lake).
The group lingered around Bonsai Rock for several minutes, allowing time for light exploring and photo taking. Julia, our guide, climbed on top of the rock and took “from above” photos of each person in the tour group.
Once everyone had gotten their photo taken, the tour continued slightly past Bonsai Rock to a beautiful unnamed cove. It was here that I wish we had time to swim around because that cove looked so peaceful.
After a few more minutes of exploring, we were guided back to the beach at Sand Harbor. From the beach to Bonsai Rock was about one hour of kayak time. This included time for pictures and exploring the area around Bonsai Rock and that cove.
From that cove back to the beach, it took me just shy of thirty minutes of kayaking at an even pace, with a couple of stops here and there for water. As a beginner, I didn’t feel like this tour was too much. In fact, it was about the right amount of time to get my technique and pace down without overdoing it.
When we got back to the beach, Julia air-dropped the photos she took from her phone to ours. This was included in the tour price, by the way. Most places charge you extra for photos/video. It was nice to not get nickel-and-dimed by an outfit.
Final Thoughts…
I never got the sense that I was being rushed through the tour, but I do wish we had more free time to explore around Bonsai Rock (this is literally the only negative I can think of). I did hang back for a few minutes on my own and no one said anything, though.
For a beginner, I believe there is no better kayak tour to sign up for. The tour guides did a fantastic job helping everyone nail down the basics and help them keep pace. If Julia ever did get annoyed with those who were slagging behind, she never showed it.
The price is steep, sure, but the value is there. You’re led by experienced and patient guides, get to experience Lake Tahoe’s clarity up-close-and-personal, and you’ll get unmatched views of Tahoe’s gorgeous east shore and Bonsai Rock.
If you’re considering doing a clear kayak tour in Lake Tahoe, I highly recommend Clearly Tahoe. Be sure to tell them I said hello when you do!
If you’re looking for more to do after your kayak tour, consider the nearby hike to Monkey Rock or take a beach day at Round Hill Pines!
