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.
Archive for the ‘Tahoe outdoors’ Category
Get ready for winter!
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009One of the Best Words: R-E-S-O-R-T
Monday, September 21st, 2009Ever 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…
Ahhh those sweet trees, Heavenly!
Take a Walk on the Mild Side
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Those Darn Dam Gates
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!
The Best Short Hikes
Saturday, August 29th, 2009Is 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.
