Most of us live a few hours drive from beautiful, blue Lake Tahoe. I have always thought of the Lake and the Tahoe region as either a winter or summer playground. Winter has the best snow in the Sierras for skiing, snowmobiling, and playing in the snow. Summers are best for dipping into one the coldest lakes I have ever touched, for boating, water sports, and jet skiing.
But if you stop and think for a moment, Tahoe is a year around destination. Spring offers more skiing, and the start of fishing and hunting season. And the Fall colors brings the best time for golf, biking, and hiking. Best time for golf, meaning lower green fees with the approaching cold season.
Of course, the casino action is in play all year long, regardless of the outside weather and temperature. There was a time when the showroom casinos hosted some top of the line entertainment. These days it is mostly country music, or a few outdoor concerts with a headliner or two. I have seen some greats here, like Elvis, Sinatra, and Wayne Newton.
But the sky seems a deeper and clearer shade of blue up here. And the largest North American alpine lake is still crystal clear, despite the cries of environmentalists. Waking up to the scent of fresh pine trees never gets tiresome. And you never know what kind of critters will greet you when you dump the morning trash, or amble out to your car to pick up some breakfast pastries down the road.
Lake Tahoe: Year Around Playground
For a time back in the Seventies, my brother lived and worked in the South Lake Tahoe area. He rented a big house with three other casino friends, two of whom were lovely lasses from Arkansas. It provided a great place to stay for weekend ski trips, and allowed us to cook most of our meals there. I must have skied thirty days that winter!
Later, in the Eighties, we rented summer homes in mostly the Northstar area on the north shore of Tahoe. The beauty of staying in a planned resort were many: golf, tennis, pool, clubhouse, restaurants, village, mountain biking, and lots of brown bears!!! The free shuttle took the kids down to the clubhouse for daily activities, whether swimming, tennis lessons, or the rec center.
I liked Tahoe primarily because my golf ball went so much further in the high altitude. At sea level, my seven iron was going a comfortable 150 yards. In Tahoe, the 150 yard shot would be accomplished with only a nine iron!!!! However, I will never admit that the altitude helped my putting!
In our youth, we always towed a ski boat up to the Lake. And we would water ski without a wet suit! Why? Because we did not own any! This provided plenty of incentive to stay above the water. The few times we tried fishing up here were met with terrible mosquito bites and lots of wasted bait, mostly salmon eggs or little balls of stale bread.
The question always arises, “do you prefer the mountains or the beach?” After more than six decades of trying both, I am still decidedly undecided. Both have their virtues and their drawbacks. There are no sharks in the mountains, just as there are no bears at the beach. And I hate the mosquitoes up in the mountains almost as much as the sand fleas at the beach.
I can get to a nice beach in less than two hours. Tahoe takes about three or more. The road to Tahoe is a beautiful drive. And most of it is at least four lanes, at speeds of 70 mph. The drive to the beach is a royal pain in the ass, meandering through the hills, after dealing with Silicon Valley traffic as well. I remain undecided.
But I plan to take golf clubs, a mountain bike, hiking boots, and bear spray. I also plan to stop at Ikeda’s Fruit Stand in Auburn on the way up. I also plan to drive toward Boomtown and a visit to the huge Cabela’s Outdoorsman Store, the Disneyland for hunters, fisherman, hikers, boaters, and people like me.
