72 Miles
72 Miles follows the nonprofit Clean Up the Lake, a Sierra Nevada based dive team, on their mission to protect our freshwater lakes. Filmed in 2022, the documentary captures the original 72 mile cleanup of Lake Tahoe’s entire shoreline, a first of its kind effort to remove submerged litter from one of the world’s most iconic alpine lakes.
What began as an ambitious idea quickly became a test of endurance, resilience, and scale. Moving mile by mile along the lake’s edge, the team faced frozen shorelines, record breaking snowfall, and wildfire evacuations, all while conducting physically demanding underwater cleanups in cold, high elevation conditions. Over the course of the project, the team completed 72 miles of shoreline cleanup, removing more than 25,000 pounds of submerged litter and debris from the lakebed. What they found beneath the surface revealed a different side of Lake Tahoe, one where pollution accumulates quietly out of sight.
Through it all, the film captures not just the magnitude of the work, but the persistence required to see it through. It is a story about pushing limits, protecting what cannot speak for itself, and proving that a small, committed team can make a measurable difference.
1 hr 6
