Golf in South Lake Tahoe means fairways framed by towering pines, granite peaks, and glimpses of one of the clearest lakes in the country. It’s a different kind of round, one where the scenery competes with the scorecard for your attention.
Book a stay at one of our luxury South Lake Tahoe vacation rentals, and you’re never more than a short drive from a tee time. Many of our homes come with a hot tub and a full kitchen, so a day on the course can end with an easy soak and a home-cooked meal instead of a crowded restaurant wait.
Keep in mind that this is mountain golf. Courses here open once the snow clears in spring and close again once it returns, so timing your trip around the season matters.
With that in mind, here are five public South Lake Tahoe golf courses worth adding to your list of things to do.
1. Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course
Photo Credit: Rob Matey
- Address: 180 Lake Pkwy, Zephyr Cove
- Holes: 18
- Par: 72
Edgewood is the course South Lake Tahoe is most known for, with several holes running directly along the shoreline of Lake Tahoe itself. Four sets of tees stretch the course from a manageable 5,343 yards to a challenging 7,529, so it plays fair for a wide range of handicaps despite its championship pedigree.
As one of the region’s premier courses, Edgewood is typically among the first to open each spring and stays in top condition all season.
It’s also home to the American Century Championship, the celebrity tournament that brings top names in sports and entertainment to Tahoe’s shores each July.
If your trip lines up with tournament week, expect the course to be closed to public play and the whole south shore of Tahoe to be busier than usual. This tournament is one of several annual events in South Lake Tahoe that can shape when to plan your visit.
Given the picturesque setting and the higher price point, this is the golf round to savor and plan for a special day of the trip.
You can even book a stay at one of our stateline properties and ensure you have a short commute to the course.
2. Lake Tahoe Golf Course
Photo Credit: Badger13
- Address: 2500 Emerald Bay Rd, South Lake Tahoe
- Holes: 18
- Par: 71
Lake Tahoe Golf Course sits in a high mountain meadow backed by the iconic Sierra Nevada mountains, with the Truckee River winding through several holes, giving the layout natural hazards and a spectacularly scenic backdrop.
You should note that the course plays firmer and faster in high summer, once the ground has dried out. Early in the season, it can play softer while spring runoff works its way through the meadow.
This is one of the first South Lake Tahoe courses to open each year, typically becoming playable before nearby courses at even higher elevations. May and September tend to be the sweet spot, with the course open and in good shape, but without the busiest and most expensive stretch of summer tee times.
If you stay at one of our vacation homes in South Lake Tahoe, this course is just a short drive away, which means you can start your golf day with a slow coffee on the patio.
3. Bijou Municipal Golf Course
- Address: 3464 Fairway Ave, South Lake Tahoe
- Holes: 9
- Par: 32
Bijou is the city’s own course, built in the 1920s and still one of the more approachable rounds in the area. There are no water hazards to worry about, just a handful of sand bunkers and tree-lined fairways for you to work on your accuracy rather than your raw power.
It’s a good pick if you’re traveling with a mix of skill levels, or if you just want nine relaxed holes before an afternoon on the lake. If you’re interested in adding a round of golf to your already packed itinerary, this is a great choice.
As a municipal course, Bijou typically opens a couple of weeks later than the area’s bigger courses, usually landing around mid-May depending on snowpack. It’s worth calling ahead in early spring, since opening day can shift year to year.
It closes for the winter along with the rest of the basin, and there’s no staff around during the off-season. In the shoulder months, it’s a reliable, inexpensive round, even when pricier courses charge peak rates.
4. Tahoe Paradise Golf Course
Photo Credit: Neil Lockhart
- Address: 3021 US-50, South Lake Tahoe
- Holes: 18
- Par: 66
The short, tight course of Tahoe Paradise is filled with challenges and fairways lined with trees.
Tucked along the Upper Truckee River, Tahoe Paradise is made up mostly of par 3s and short par 4s, so the course moves quickly and doesn’t punish an off day. That makes it especially good for families or newer golfers who want to build confidence without giving up the Sierra scenery that makes Tahoe golf so special.
Its shorter yardage also makes it a comfortable choice for an evening twilight round, when the light on the surrounding pines is at its best.
Because the course runs along the river, the first few weeks of the season can bring soft turf and the occasional wet patch near the water as spring snowmelt drains through the valley. By midsummer it firms up nicely and stays playable into fall as long as the weather holds.
Golf season here tends to be at its best in the heart of South Lake Tahoe’s summer, when fairways are at their greenest. Like most of the basin’s courses, it shuts down once the snow arrives for good, typically sometime in October or November.
5. Genoa Lakes Golf Club
- Location: 1 Genoa Lakes Dr, Genoa
- Holes: 18
- Par: 72
Down in the Carson Valley on the Nevada side, just a 35-min drive from South Lake Tahoe, committed golfers can make the journey to Genoa Lakes. This course is at a noticeably lower elevation than the courses inside the Tahoe basin, which means it’s open for a longer duration of the year.
With less snow accumulation, the course can often open earlier in spring and stay playable later into fall than anything up at the lake level. If you’re planning an off-season visit, it’s worthwhile to contact the club directly to ensure they are open and operational, as they do limit hours when the crowds wane.
The Lakes Course plays to a par 72 across 5057–7359 yards, with the Sierra Nevada as a backdrop rather than the immediate foreground.
It’s a fair test for stronger golfers looking for something with more length than the in-town options. However, with four sets of tees, it’s suitable for a range of skill levels.
Book Your South Lake Tahoe Golf Trip
Whether you’re chasing a championship round at Edgewood or keeping things easy at Bijou, South Lake Tahoe has a public golf course for every kind of traveler. Most of the greens are perfectly playable from late spring through the fall.
Pair your rounds with a stay in one of our luxury vacation rentals, then cap the day with dinner in town and a soak in your own hot tub.
Browse our South Lake Tahoe rentals today to secure your spot and start planning your trip.
