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Carnelian Bay California Map

Explore Carnelian Bay, California, with this interactive street and satellite map.

This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the official USGS topographic sheets — plus USGS aerial imagery, a labelled USNG grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below.

Interactive Map of Carnelian Bay, California

How to Use This Carnelian Bay, California Map

This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Carnelian Bay, California. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture. Drag the map to pan to any area of California or beyond.

Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).

TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the official USGS topographic maps from The National Map — contours, hydrography, land cover and shaded relief, the same mapping used for hiking, hunting and back-country navigation in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. Imagery shows USGS aerial photography, mostly 1-metre NAIP. The search box finds any US town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Carnelian Bay.

Reading the map like a paper quad. Click Grid to overlay the U.S. National Grid (USNG), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.

Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a USNG grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — USNG being the format FEMA and US search and rescue teams work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.

City	Carnelian Bay
State	California (CA)
County	Placer County
Country	United States of America
Timezone	Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles)

Latitude	39.226851
Longitude	-120.081859
Population	518
Density	154.0 /km²
Incorporated	N/A
ZIP Codes	96140, 95604
Area Code	530
County Seat	Auburn
School District	Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District

🌦 Goto Carnelian Bay Weather Page: Carnelian Bay, California — Weather Warnings, Forecast, Radar, Satellite & Current Conditions

About Carnelian Bay, California

Carnelian Bay is a locality in Placer County, California, United States. It is a small community with a population of 518. The population density is 154.0 people per km². Carnelian Bay is located at 39.2269°N, 120.0819°W. It observes the Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles) timezone. ZIP codes: 96140, 95604.

Carnelian Bay occupies a rugged expanse where the high-altitude air bites with a crisp, pine-scented clarity. It lies 8.8 miles southeast of Truckee, CA (from Truckee, CA: bearing 142°T), and is situated 6.1 miles west-southwest of Incline Village. The landscape is defined by the deep, crystalline waters of Lake Tahoe, which anchor the basin of Carnelian Canyon in a profound, sapphire stillness. Surrounding this basin, the terrain rises into steep, timbered slopes that belong to the vast expanse of the Tahoe National Forest, a wilderness that stretches far beyond the immediate horizon. Nearby, the passage of Watson Creek trickles through the understory, its flow dictated by the seasonal thaw of the distant Sierra Nevada, which looms as a jagged, snow-dusted silhouette against the sky. The light here at dusk possesses a singular, thin quality, casting long shadows that sharpen the edges of the granite boulders strewn across the forest floor.

Carnelian Bay serves as a quiet witness to the enduring rhythms of the interior highlands, having evolved from early timber-harvesting roots into a destination defined by its stewardship of the land. The local economy persists through a deliberate balance of seasonal recreation and small-scale enterprise, favoring those who seek the solitude of the deep woods over the clamor of denser settlements. Visitors often traverse the Granite Chief Trail, finding their way through the high-country terrain that reveals the sheer scale of the wilderness. Further removed, the Onion Creek Experimental Forest stands as a quiet laboratory for those studying the resilience of these high-altitude ecosystems. Life in Carnelian Bay moves with the deliberate pace of the seasons, where the primary concerns remain the health of the watershed and the preservation of the quiet, mountainous character that defines the region.

Nearby Outdoor Places

Tahoe National Forest (National Forest) — 0.1 mi, 360° N · 895k acres
North Tahoe Regional Park (Local Park) — 1.9 mi, 045° NE
Benny Heineike's Rock (Monument) — 2.9 mi, 075° E
Burton Creek State Park (State Park) — 3.0 mi, 229° SW
Kings Beach State Recreation Area (State Recreation Area) — 3.0 mi, 078° E
Hammock by the lake (Viewpoint) — 3.2 mi, 081° E
The Village Cinemas (Cinema) — 4.0 mi, 328° NW
Toiyabe National Forest (National Forest) — 4.1 mi, 087° E · 3.9M acres
Open Space (State Recreation Area) — 4.1 mi, 084° E
Snow Sports Museum (Museum) — 4.8 mi, 218° SW
Penny Bear (Public Artwork) — 4.9 mi, 219° SW
Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema (Cinema) — 5.1 mi, 220° SW
Martis Creek Lake (Recreation Area) — 5.1 mi, 340° N
Mt. Rose Wilderness (Wilderness Area) — 5.1 mi, 059° NE · 31k acres
Gatekeeper's Museum (Museum) — 5.3 mi, 218° SW
Ralph R. Steele Memorial (Monument) — 5.5 mi, 219° SW
Olympic Flame (Monument) — 6.5 mi, 257° W
Truckee River Wildlife Area (State Conservation Area) — 7.2 mi, 031° NE
Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park (State Park) — 7.9 mi, 090° E
Rodeo Grounds (Attraction) — 8.4 mi, 326° NW
Five Lakes Trailhead (Attraction) — 8.6 mi, 248° W
Museum of Truckee History (Museum) — 8.9 mi, 322° NW
Granite Chief Wilderness (Wilderness Area) — 9.3 mi, 249° W · 28k acres
Pacific Crest Trail National Scenic Trail (National Trail) — 9.9 mi, 247° SW · 1,886 acres
Donner Memorial State Park Museum (Museum) — 10.5 mi, 310° NW
Petroglyphs (Historic Ruins) — 14.2 mi, 296° NW
Rubicon Point Light (Attraction) — 16.0 mi, 183° S
Balancing Rock (Attraction) — 16.4 mi, 185° S
Donner Summit Historical Society (Museum) — 17.3 mi, 293° NW
Van Gogh & Vino (Arts Centre) — 17.6 mi, 106° E

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