Meeks Bay, California

39°02′04″N 120°07′27″W

Meeks Bay
Unincorporated community
Meeks Bay Location in California Show map of California Meeks Bay Meeks Bay (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°02′04″N 120°07′27″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	El Dorado County
Elevation [1]	6,240 ft (1,902 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	985

Meeks Bay (formerly, Meigs Bay, Micks Bay, and Murphys) is an unincorporated community in El Dorado County, California.[1] It lies on Lake Tahoe at the mouth of Meeks Creek, at an elevation of 6240 feet (1902 m).[1] The place is named for John Meeks, who owned the land.[1] The Meeks brothers baled 25 tons of wild hay in the meadows at the mouth of Meeks Creek in 1862.[2]

Meeks Bay was once the site of a popular summer resort with a 400-seat theater, several restaurants, beauty shops, and horse stables. The resort closed in the 1970s and a US Forest Service campground was built on the site.[3] The Washoe tribe later acquired meadow land along Lake Tahoe and gained the right to operate a newer resort complex at Meek's Bay, re-establishing some of the tribe's original presence along the shores of Lake Tahoe.[4]

A post office operated at Meeks Bay from 1929 to 1972.[2]

Ecology

A beaver dam on Meeks Creek, Lake Tahoe August, 2010

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Meeks Bay, California
2. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Quill Driver Books. p. 522. ISBN 9781884995149. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
3. Radtke, Kathie (May 18, 1975). "A Tahoe tradition is tumbling down". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, CA. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
4. Fortier, Claire (April 29, 1998). "Washoe tribe to run Tahoe resort". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, CA. Retrieved December 27, 2023.