Almost 80 inches of snow in December…so far. Almost all Tahoe resorts are open and the skiing is phenomenal. In fact, last Monday (12/7) was one of those rare days when the un-thinkable was sometimes uttered: “is this too deep?!” So Tahoe is doing what Tahoe does best – sucking in big, big storms that roll in and out of this incredibly beautiful lake basin. The last one brought 42” to the top of Squaw in 2.5 days and Granlibakken has one of those picture-perfect white blankets on everything.
Sunny and Snowing...
And that includes the sledding hill which was absolutely ROCKIN’ today! Parents and kids were out in full force to enjoy the best plastic schussing in all of Tahoe. The local Rotary Club and Granlibakken hosted a free sledding BBQ with hot dogs, ice cream, hot cocoa, cookies, hot cider and then we saw the fat man – yes, Santa rode in on a firetruck accompanied by the local high school jazz band. Hundreds of kids and parents gathered at the Ski Hut deck where we had a full concert going while Santa sat on a flatbed and asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas. The whole time there was that ‘Snow-Globe-Snow’ falling from occasionally sunny skies so it was a perfect opener to the season for Tahoe’s coziest resort.
If you want to get in on The Perfection (!), then you should get up here. The midweek ski package is only $109/person for room, awesome breakfast at Granlibakken, and then a full day of skiing at Squaw, Northstar, Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl or Sierra-at-Tahoe. Ski packages are available for most of the season, prices vary during holidays/weekends so please call for more info.
You can also spend the holidays here. Granlibakken has a skiing Torchlight Parade with the second-hardest working man in showbiz – Santa Claus. There’s also a Christmas Buffet dinner on the 25th. If you’re booked for that one then get here for New Year’s with dinner and a party plus champagne and dessert. Put it this way: things are happening up here. You can be as active or stationary as you please – the hot tubs are bubbling and the snow is here. See you soon!
Our fingers are crossed for the El Nino winter we keep hearing about. Check out a trailer for the new Warren Miller film “Dynasty”. The Tahoe segment will surely leave you dreaming of snow.
When I was a schoolkid back in Jersey learning about how the US was settled they told us that the ‘crazies’ went to California. I always thought this was a funny idea and that my teacher must never have ventured beyond the Mississippi to come out with a generalization like that. Well having lived here for almost 15 years I would now guess that the guy may have been born in the state and knew it well…
Yes, that is Tahoe. No there's no boat!
Although other parts of Cali let this weirdness come out in all sorts of ways many are social such as scenes you may see in the cities – Bay to Breakers in SF, and Oakland Raiders game, and just about anything that happens in Venice, LA. Well the ‘crazies’ here in Tahoe don’t get too funky out on the streets or at the high school football games. We get weird in outdoorsy ways. One of the stranger ones around is the crew of mutants who surf Tahoe every chance they get.
Powerful Pacific storms and our location high in the mountains can generate pretty serious winds. They can happen on bright blue days when folks are out on the beaches. All of a sudden there’s a rustle in the trees, a subtle wind line appears a couple miles out on the Lake and next thing you know it’s whitecapping just about everywhere. The prime place for surfing on Tahoe is the North Shore. Most of the winds we get are southerly (because of the way storms spin when they approach) so when you let them run rampant over 20+ miles of light water you get an incredible fetch.
Waves here are sloppy in most places although there are some gem spots where it doesn’t even feel windy nor choppy when conditions are right. Generally, though, it’s like a mini-Ocean Beach (SF) with multiple lines of whitewash to contend with while paddling out. There are so many surreal things about the surfing experience on Tahoe and here are a few:
No sharks!
The water is so incredibly clear and fresh that it’s unlike anywhere you’ve ever surfed. You can mistakenly get some in your mouth and doggedly decide to swallow…because you can and it tastes great!
On the coast when winds pick up, it’s over. Here you keep hoping that the wind sustains all day
Even if you surf back east in the snow, it’s even weirder when you look west and catch glimpses of Squaw as it braces for another pounding today which you know means a good pow day tomorrow
When surfing at Sand Harbor on the East Shore you’re directly under the Bear Claw which rises 3000’ out of the Lake. Some of us ski this backcountry-style in the season and seeing it from the water is quite the unique perspective
One of my favorite things about a good surf day at Tahoe (and we had two of them last week) is also one of the elements of a surf break anywhere in the world: people stopping and looking, taking about the swell and how it is there compared to other nearby spots. Some folks living in Tahoe sacrifice things like quality shopping, culture and diversity to be here. For me, not having these regular surf ‘meetings’ is one of the little ‘misses.’ So even if you’re not into surfing but you’re up here when the wind is whistling feel free to pull up your hoodie and get into the chatting circle because having people from out of town ask about conditions is also a part of the worldwide surf meeting….
For many native Californians this may seem a little inappropriate. Heck, even for some Tahoe locals this may be pushing it. I am here to tell you that now is a great time to go boating on the Lake.
Follow That Bow...
True: it’s not even 70 degrees out. True: there’s snow on the high peaks. True: most people have stopped swimming in the Lake. But also true: just about everything goes better with beer…
Well if these things make you absolutely not want to get on a floating craft and make your way across Tahoe, well just give this a read and think of next summer. For the rest of you who are hardy enough, consider hooking yourself up with a day on this incredible, and boat-traffic-free, body of October water.
One of the best things you can do on a boat here at Tahoe is simply cruise around and check out this amazing place. You can mix in other activities like eating and cocktailing at joints where you pull up to their pier. Or you can do boat sports and the like but I enjoy a simple ride to the less-traveled spots. From Tahoe City (near Granlibakken) the most obvious thing to do is head down to Emerald Bay. Although that’s gorgeous let’s save it for next summer…and go where the sun and water are warmer: Tahoe’s East Shore.
The Bear Claw
Point the bow just north of what we call the Bear Claw (long vertical scratches in a huge mountain) and you’ll find yourself at the historic landmark Thunderbird Lodge. This place is a whole essay in and of itself – and actually you’re probably better off ‘touristing’ the place on land. That’s when you get to walk through the tunnels, see the ladder in the pool from a man who had his last fall there, check out the cages for the former owner’s lion and elephant, his waterfalls for unclothed beauty’s, etc. From the water you can marvel at the ‘garage’ which houses the infamous SS Thunderbird.
From the Thunderbird you can putt-putt south along the coastline where the mountains come steeply down into the Lake. The boulders that have bounced down these cliffs rest now in the bottom of the bluest water we have. Snorkeling and swimming around these behemoths makes you feel as though you’re floating among dinosaurs. It’s very cool – and you can get the sensation by swimming for even a minute above them (ie. if it’s too cool to dive in and around). My father-in-law was curious how deep we were at one point. When I told him 25 – 30 feet, he almost laughed at me because it looks like 10. He believed after watching me take a huge breath and dive down, down, down before pushing to come up holding a rock from the bottom and gasping as I broke the surface (and my eardrums).
just another East Shore point
We continued the stroll south and then simply picked a miniature cove and threw out the anchor. We stayed there for over an hour watching osprey fly high overhead and listening to squirrels and small birds rustling in the brush. A simple picnic lunch always tastes best on the water so we feasted on whatever was thrown in the cooler. Oh, and we saw a friend cruising by in his boat so we bummed a couple beers…
Loud motors, shining chrome, tattoos, leather and hair flying in the breeze: sound like a nice way to spend some time in the woods? Heck yeah, it does!
Which is prettier, the Lake or the Harley?
Street Vibrations in Reno has had Tahoe a-hum this week. The bars have been a little rowdier, the roads a little busier, and the poker tables a little richer. This is one of the great things about Tahoe – all kinds of folks can find what makes them happy up here. And for those of us who live at 6200’ it brings diversity the likes of which we haven’t seen since…three weeks ago when we had our regular invasion of Burning Man freaks!
Yes, this is a great time to be on vacation in Tahoe. The sun’s out, the crowds are gone and we have sports back on the boobtube. Also, there are some great acts hitting the bars and especially the Crystal Bay Club. And for you motorcycle-folk, this is prime time because the roads are dry and even though it’s warm, you won’t cook in those leathers.
A father/daughter dance...
The run around Tahoe is 72-miles and although you could buzz the Lake in about 2.5 hours most people make a half-day of it, that is unless they make the mistake of venturing into a casino along the way. Starting in Tahoe City most folks ride until they hit the East Shore where there are some nice pullouts. Along this windy road that traces the shore of a great NV State Park the views are awesome and unlike some other stretches, they aren’t blocked by overbuilt lakefront palaces. A nice stop is Sand Harbor where you can put those toes deep into Tahoe’s unique and fine granitic sand. Continue cruising south and you’ll do the only tunnel on the ride before passing the famous Edgewood Golf Club home of the NBC Celebrity golf tournament. Next you’ll be under the biggest casinos at Tahoe. I recommend stopping at Womack’s BBQ just after you cross the stateline back into California (closed on Sundays). Then you ride the extended South Shore strip before turning north again to hit the gem – Emerald Bay. These are the tightest turns on the route (10mph hairpins) and also the one true knife ridge where a tipped bike could go down either side for 500 feet. There are a few nice parking areas and interpretive signs giving some history of the Lake and its only island. Continue north and you’ll see more of that big blue water before arriving in Tahoma, the farthest south post office on the West Shore. You’ll pass two nice marinas at Homewood then the famous deck of Sunnyside Restaurant, just a couple miles south of Granlibakken. Pull on into the Big G for some rest, maybe a hot tub and you’ve earned yourself just about any sort of dining option you can imagine.
Street Vibrations crowd watching the fireworks
This past week I saw a sleeved (tattoo’ed entirely up one arm) biker giddy as a schoolgirl when he told his mates about the beauty of his circum-ride-ulation of the Lake. This big guy went on to say that he rented a kayak that morning to go back and see the impossibly blue waters of the East Shore. He looked about as likely to ride a kayak as Bill Gates would be burning wheelies on this dude’s Harley – but he did it. And it’s great because while here, he rubbed off on us and the Lake rubbed off on him –I just hope it didn’t rub hard enough to remove any of those tattoos….
Fireworks and Motley Crue - and they say California knows how to party
Ever think you deserve a quick zip to some resort for an easy getaway? It’s kind of a tough thought given the current economic climate – maybe the job’s a little shaky, or your tapping what’s left of the home equity line, or maybe you’re just keeping things a little tighter to the belt.
Three Lanes of Heaven
Well check this out: you can come to Granlibakken, stay for a great price and feast every morning on an expansive (and free) spread. If you’re feeling ambitious you should know that just about everything I’ve written about in the blog posts below is still a possibility. It’s a great time for mountain biking and hiking, you can swim in the Lake at any time of day and into the evening, the fishing is getting better and better (though not on the Truckee near Tahoe City), stand-up paddling is perfect, you can motorboat in the mornings and sail most afternoons. It’s heaven-time up here!
After you’ve (maybe) done one of these activities after breakfast, you can waltz on down to the crystal clear waters of Granlibakken’s pool-a-palooza. If you’re one of those people who think it’s always chilly in Tahoe then start in the mammoth hot tub replete with its own island. This ought to heat you up enough to hop in the pool (which is also heated & has some lanes) which for me is the perfect place to start (by the way, there’s also a kiddie pool). Then take your pick of the chaise lounges, umbrella’d tables or the lush grass which are all poolside. This time of year things are quiet enough in Tahoe that you’ll feel like it’s your very own personal r-e-s-o-r-t, ahhhh!
A Slab of Heaven
If you’re not like those lucky people who can sit by a pool for hours then choose from a list of mellow options to fill the rest of the afternoon – tramp on the famous Tahoe Rim Trail right from the ‘backyard,’ roll a cruiser bike to Tahoe City, stroll down to Granlibakken’s tennis courts for game or two. Or, since most of the rooms at Granlibakken are so nicely laid out, you can just chill back at the pad and listen to the wind blow through the trees…
We’ve had the first of those warm fall days with a steady breeze and long, brown needles falling from the pines. But they aren’t going to take over the climate just yet. It’s also the beginning of the incredible Tahoe Indian Summer. This is the amazing time of year when “nobody’s” here, the days are still long, and the sun still powerful. For me, it’s the best time of year for golf, tennis, mountain biking and hiking. A dip in the Lake is as refreshing as one in May and some us call this the start to the fall surf season (more on that in another post).
One of the best lazy days you can have right now is by grabbing a copy of the Tahoe City Walking Tour brochure and making a day of it. You can start right at Granlibakken by walking or riding on the bike path into town. Park at the Marion Steinbach / Gatekeeper’s Museum and check out a unique angle on the lake - this is the exact northwest corner of the Big Blue. Then walk above the headwater /dam(!) of Tahoe’s only outflow, the Truckee River. You can check out the aging hardware that opens and closes the gates which control the Truckee’s volume. Stay on the paved walking path (yes, this is very stroller-friendly) and stroll out the first of a number of public piers in Tahoe City, this one right before Commons Beach. Stub your toe? Well, this is your day! The Fire Dept. is right here….
The Hardware
Commons Beach includes Tahoe’s original jail – this must be one of the smallest ancient jail cell’s in California. There is an awesome kids playground, a nice lawn, sand and rock beaches and also stairs up to Main Street and (right in front of the Blue Agave Restaurant & Bar and the Watson Cabin Museum). Keep on the trail past some natural rock caves, probablu carved when the Lake persisted at a higher rim elevation. These lead you to the second public pier at grove Street. Here you can change the whole day by renting a boat, jetski or other waterplay device at Tahoe Water Adventures.
Next you can grab a seat at Jake’s Restaurant or hit the Boatworks Mall and Lighthouse Center. Or hit the TC Library for a reading other adventure. You can come back on Main Street and choose another restaurant or coffee shop and then also take a gander at the Cobblestone Center (another nice shopping area). Score a huge hit with grandma, mom or sweetie by getting a Lake Tahoe emerald necklace at one of the jewelry joints.
Gatekeeper's Museum
The best place to finish the tour is the Bridgetender, especially when it’s warm enough to hang outside. They have a great on-river patio with its own bar. Grab a good burger and a tall brew, or change a diaper on the riverbank. You can it all done at the BT and what a strong finish the Tahoe City Walking Tour!
So you’re one of those people who don’t have any plans for the last big weekend of the Summer? Don’t worry there are plenty of others just like you and with things the way they are, these days you get rewarded for making last minute travel decisions.
View from High Camp looking dooooooown
Let me start with the deals then move on to a little something about one of my favorite places up here…
First and foremost, Granlibakken is offering a Stay Two Night and Get the Third FREE special for Labor Day, Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving.
Thursday – Saturday: Jake’s Restaurant in Tahoe City is having an awesome Full Moon Date Night: $79 per couple including tax and tip for a four course meal.
Friday is the first ski flick premier: ‘Black Winter’ by Standard Films is showing at Squaw’s Olympic Village Lodge at 8pm ($8 advance, $10 at the door)
Also on Friday the Tahoe Rim Trail Association is hosting a free guided hike from Kingsbury to Spooner Summit, a 12 mile trek with some of the best views you’ll ever see. (info@tahoerimtrail.org)
Sunday is the Alpen Wine Fest benefiting the Jimmy Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis. This is a classic Tahoe late summer-early fall event now on it’s 21st year.
Four-time Grammy nominee Marcia Ball plays a FREE Commons Beach Concert in Tahoe City on Sunday. Granlibakken guests who want to go will get a free picnic lunch 0 be sure to ask at the front desk in advance.
Also Sunday is the Truckee Reggae Festival at the Regional Park – one of the best mini-amphitheaters in the country featuring some solid reggae acts including Israel Vibration and Giant Panda ($20).
Squaw’s founder and one of Tahoe’s leading visionaries believed in the mantra ‘Build it and They will Come.” He built this crazy structure on top of the mountain then billed it the 8th Wonder of the World. Remember this is the same guy who brought Siberian Tigers in for the opening of the new Siberia quad chair (later he wanted to prove the size of Squaw’s new aerial tram by shoving an elephant inside!).
High Camp has seen some changes so although a couple really cool things aren’t there any more (bungee jumping, golf range) it is still an incredible place to spend a day. If you can, pick one with calm weather and get up there when it opens. You can go for little day hikes, swim laps, float, ice skate, drink beers in a hot tub and eat some lunch - all out in the open and with a spectacular view of the infamous Palisades. Also the Olympic Heritage Museum has been re-upped and is a pleasant place to spend an hour. It’s just one of those wild places and if you make friends with a local or employee you might find yourself marveling at the counter-weight room that keeps the trams from plummeting to the ground….
I brought my grandma up there once and by the time she was ‘over’ her fear of heights from the tram ride, she was just about ready to give ole Alex Cushing a high five. Everyone loves High Camp so go see why!
Is your idea of a vacation just sitting by a pool, sipping on something delicious and generally being about as active as a manatee? Well, believe it or not Tahoe is the place for you!
The View from Crystal Bay Fire Lookout
There are a number of really easy hikes in the Tahoe Basin some of which offer incredibly vast views of the Lake. Honestly we don’t deserve these vistas given the effort put forth but they are here and I am going to tell you about them.
The best one, which happens to be only 3 miles south of Granlibakken (you can bike or drive) is called Eagle Rock. It’s a huge rockpile located right on West Lake Blvd just after Sunnyside and before the Tahoe Pines neighborhood. On a bike (or in a convertible/sunroof car) you go past this incredible thing and feel as if it’s leaning over you. That’s the beak of the eagle. Park right at the base and start heading up, simply keeping an eye on the summit will get you there via obvious trails. Once on top you pick your way among old lava flows to get to the end and the most incredible view of Tahoe. This is a great date spot, a fantastic place to watch the full moon rise, and one of the coolest places to be when a storm is blowing into town. It’s perched at the base of Blackwood Canyon so wind and snow flurries get funneled through at high speed. Normally you’d have to be on top of a ‘real’ peak to feel this kind of angry nature but all you did was walk for 10 minutes!
The next best one is the fire lookout above Crystal Bay Point and the north shore casinos. It’s a paved road that makes one big switchback so in about 20 minutes your at the top, looking directly over King’s Beach and due south down the length of Tahoe. It’s another phenomenal view with way more risk than reward.
Both of these are also great in winter, by the way. If you’re not in a rush it’s relatively easy snowshoeing, especially above Crystal Bay because it’s a wide trail.
The View from Vikingsholm
The third yet most popular of all Tahoe hikes is Eagle Falls. The reason it gets the most numbers is because it’s located in the number one tourist stop here: Emerald Bay. Supposedly each year hundreds of thousands of long-pants’d and leather-shoed visitors make their way to the bridge that’s about a half-mile above the parking lot. It’s a neat spot but I also like to hike down to the Lake from a nearby parking lot. At the end of this 1-miler awaits Vikingsholm and tiny Fannette Island, tow of the most intriguing places in all of Tahoe.
So have a huge breakfast at Granlibakken, venture out for a little while, and I guarantee you’ll be back with lots of time to laze around the pool and generally make like our big friend, the manatee.
Sounds like summer is in full swing in the City – word is that fog plus cold, blowy temps are a fixture of the Richmond district and all the other usual places these days. It’s one of the things that makes that place so darn romantic sometimes. Well, up here at Tahoe we have Summer in Disguise. Some days are full-blown four-alarm sunshine but we seem to be collecting a few more of those ‘other’ days where we actually see clouds.
Lots of us love it because not only is natural variety the spice of a place with little culture but also because it’s a change from the Big Tahoe Sun days of mid-summer. And the great thing about it is that you can do just about everything that’s so popular in the middle of summer - the difference now is that you have to be a little more self-reliant, oh, and there’s no traffic.
Want to raft the river? Rafting co.’s are closed - bring your own floatation and you’re off!
One of the most summery things you can do up here is go surfing off the back of a boat. It sounds weird but with the right boat and the right driver you can do take up this sport easily. If you don’t have access to a boat you can still rent an instructor and boat right in Tahoe City or at the Sunnyside Marina, both within a ten minute spin down the bike path (or five minutes’ drive) from Granlibakken.
My little family got treated to an afternoon of wakesurfing with Surf Tahoe, located at the Grove Street pier in Tahoe City. Our instructor was Chris Lange who we met while he was bilging water into two huge fatsacks used the make one rear corner of the boat super-heavy so our wave would be huge. After some easy instruction we were on our way – just 20 feet of rope from the stern of the boat and chatting with Chris all the while, we could throw the rope back into the boat and surf Tahoe with only the ramp of the wake propelling us. This is Surfing Tahoe and it is very cool.
Although I don't look cool doing it...
If you do have a boat (and you’re still reading this) it probably isn’t built for wakesurfing. So have fun with it. Grab an old surfboard and pile some buddies on a rear corner of whatever old bucket you’re running. I did this the other day with a friend who’s engine stuck out the back of the craft – not the best set-up for having your face right off the rear transam while learning to surf. So we long-lined it at regular wakeboarding speed – it was hilarious. Massive higher-speed splashes, rope-splitting pulls on the line, and sore consequences from new moves tried – these were the name of the game that day. And although it wasn’t real wakesurfing the thrill was there.
So no matter how you end up going about it, give this new rave a try and how it catches you!
