INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The Lake Tahoe Basin is unique in the sense it is a world-renowned ski destination that also features a vigorous summer tourist season. Summer's pronounced delay in arriving at this year had some local business owners fretting over the likelihood of a much-needed revenue infusion.

However, clear skies, warm temperatures and an abnormally high lake level — which is ideal for boating — drew many visitors to the region over the Fourth of July weekend, local business owners and officials said this week.

“(The holiday weekend) went really well,” said John Brimm, owner of Austin's Restaurant. “We have four solid days of business and the numbers are up a little bit from last year.”

Brimm said he is keeping his fingers crossed regarding the rest of summer, but believes the strong turnout over the weekend bodes well.

“It seems like there is a positive vibe out there about Tahoe,” he said.

Bill Wood, general manager of the Crystal Bay Club, said the pace of business improved slightly from last year.

“The hotel was sold out over the weekend, and the casino was packed, especially Saturday night,” Wood said.

Wood said a wealth of music events including free concerts help keep the casino vibrant throughout the holiday weekend.

“We're cautiously optimistic (steady business will continue),” he said. “There are a lot of good signs that point to this being a good summer for the casino.”

Bill Horn, general manger of the Incline Village General Improvement District, said the Championship and Mountain golf courses both enjoyed an influx of players over the weekend.

“Golf was outstanding,” Horn said. “We had more than 200 players every day and more than 130 at the Mountain Course.”

Horn said attendance at the beach on Fourth of July was down approximately 7 percent from last year, most likely due to the holiday falling on a weekday as opposed to a Sunday in 2010.

Nevertheless, the beaches were quite busy throughout the weekend, he said.

Public safety

Rob Stepien of the Nevada Highway Patrol reported six DUI arrests (five alcohol-related and one drug-related) were made at the Monday, July 4 DUI checkpoint on Highway 28 near the Ponderosa Ranch, with another DUI arrest made by patrollers over the weekend.

Additionally, 12 accidents occurred over the holiday weekend.

“It was nothing serious, just a few fender benders,” Stepien said.

Armando Avina, spokesman for the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, said the agency participated in five other DUI arrests during the weekend.

“One is too many,” he said. “A lot of calls that we responded to, alcohol was involved. We want people to have a good time, but you need to be responsible when drinking.”

Both Stepien and Avina lamented parking issues that emerged during the holiday weekend, especially along the East Shore.

Stepien recounted how the line for cars to enter Sand Harbor State Park grew to a length of about a quarter mile on Sunday morning, holding up southbound traffic on Highway 28 for prolonged periods.

Stepien said NHP will work closely with Nevada Department of Transportation and Nevada State Parks to install signs that inform visitors about proper parking protocol on the East Shore, but acknowledged more manpower will be needed for the enforcement side.

“One solution is to open the park earlier to alleviate the early morning build-up,” Stepien said, adding that people began arriving at the entrance at 6 a.m. despite the gate not opening until 8 a.m.

Avina said many people parked illegally throughout Incline Village and violated other various traffic laws.

“I talked to a lot of people that were enjoying our area,” he said. “But a lot of people just aren't familiar with our traffic regulations so they were passing on the right, for instance, which was dangerous considering the high number of pedestrians. We just have to explain why it's dangerous.”

Both agencies described a reduction in serious crimes from last year. No physical altercations were reported on the night of the Fourth, Avina said.

Elsewhere, in Truckee and on the California side of Lake Tahoe, no major incidents were reported over the weekend.

Big crowds in Kings Beach Unlike Incline, Truckee, Tahoe City and the South Shore, Kings Beach held its annual fireworks display on Sunday. The event brought droves of visitors and residents to the downtown beach area, so much so that Ruth Frantz, boat launch inspector for North Tahoe Public Utility District, said it was as busy at the beach as she's ever seen. However, she did offer a caveat. “It's hard to gauge how busy the beach is because we are missing about 100 feet of sand due to high water levels,” she said. David Polivy, owner of Tahoe Mountain Sports — an outdoor outfitting operation based in Kings Beach — said Sunday was the busiest he has ever seen. “We sold out of beach umbrellas at 1 p.m.,” he said. “It was insane.” Monte Webb, owner of Jason's Beachside Grille, said the typical lull following the Fourth of July weekend may not come this year. “I've talked to friends in the vacation rental business and they're booked through the week,” he said. Webb and other business owners expect robust sales throughout the summer, although it is dependent, as always, on a cooperative Mother Nature.

Fire incidents

Mike Brown, chief of the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, confirmed there were no reported illegal fireworks incidents over the weekend.

“People got the word,” he said.

Nevertheless, the district was busy responding to numerous calls for car accidents and medical emergencies over the weekend, Brown said.

“It was typically busy for this time of year with all the tourists in town on top of the normal calls for our residents,” he said. “But we handled everything well and never ran out of equipment or man power. I want to thank the community for celebrating safely.”