**2010 Season Cabins Available**
We are fully booked through the end of this season, exclusive of a few 1 or 2 night stays. If interested in a short stay, call 530-862-1196 for further information.

See our 2010 Menu by clicking on the Advertising Catalog on the left and opening .pdf at bottom of dining room views.

Sardine Lake Resort is a small, family-run business started in 1941. We are located on Lower Sardine Lake, at the base of the Sierra Buttes in the Lakes Basin area of the Tahoe National Forest. Our cabins generally rent by the week, Saturday to Saturday. Our dinner dining room serves mainly by reservation; featuring filet Mignon, rack of lamb, seafood, chicken and 1 or 2 nightly specials. Boat rentals are 12'aluminum rowboats are available by the day, 1/2 day or hourly, with or without electric trolling motors. The lake is stocked with Eastern Brooke - but you may catch a rainbow or two. Swimming is not allowed in Lower Sardine Lake as it is designated a premium fishing lake by the County of Sierra. There is a 5MPH speed limit on the lake. Sand Pond is a famous swimming lake next door, beloved for generations.

In the late 1800's, a miner's mule named Sardine tumbled into what was then called "Emerald Lake". This prompted the miners to rename the lake to "Sardine Lake".

"Every year, since coming to the Lake as a child in 1953, I would walk immediately to the dock, the very same dock that my mother, father, brother, grandfather, old boyfriends, husband and our own children, now well into adulthood have stood Looking up at one of the most majestic mountains in California, usually glaciered through most of summer, I take a deep breath of lake and forest and am grateful to know this place forever will be unchanged. The Browning and Hunt families have sacrificed all, working hard to steward and sustain this beautiful place for my father so many years ago and for those great-grandchildren of his yet to step on the dock and into the adventure."

You are invited to join the many families who have become our cabin guests year after year as their children grow into our next generation of guests, sharing all the delights of a summer vacation at "the lake". Avoid the crowds and traffic of Tahoe and enjoy the peaceful rhythm of morning fishing in the mist, afternoon naps on your cabin porch, cocktails on the lake gazebo and finally settling into an extraordinary dining experience and exceptional wine offerings.

The original lodge, built in the 1940's by Audrey and George Browning and later expanded adding an additional dining room in the original chinked log construction is complete with family heirloom furnishing, period lighting and memorabilia of the lodge's fishing and local history.
The Browning's daughter Dorothy and her husband Chandler Hunt operated the lodge well into the 90's with their children, Janis and Tom continuing the family ownership today with the help of their fine chef Doug Walters and a very capable staff.

The resort includes nine, full-housekeeping log cabins ranging from one-room to our larger two-bedroom cabins. The decor is warm with comfortably updated furnishings and porch seating. Even though our typical reservations are by the week, shorter stays are likely to be available in May and October. We welcome inquiries regarding future lodging availability and frequently avail our waiting list to welcome new guests. Please call 530-862-1196 for further information.


The Lodge is open daily for boat rentals, tackle & bait, coffee, off-sale beer and cold drinks until the dinner hour. The lake gazebo opens full bar service at 5pm with dinner seatings at 6pm and 8pm by reservation (dining room is closed on Monday and Tuesday nights).

Our experienced staff can help you with suggestions for fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. Additionally, we have a full selection of maps, guidebooks and postcards of local photography.

Open daily from Mid-May through Mid-October: 8am to 10pm except Monday open until 4pm & Tuesday until 1pm

Dinners are served Wednesday through Sunday at 6pm and 8pm. Advance reservations are suggested. Cocktails at 5pm.