Recreate responsibly if heading to Lake Tahoe this weekend

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With nice weather, a relaxing of some travel restrictions, and some snow on the ground, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend is expected to be a busy one in the Sierra.

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) and California State Parks have joined together in an outreach campaign to provide simple actions to increase the enjoyment of the outdoors experience. Staying local, planning ahead, social distancing guidelines, not leaving trash and following the posted rules are just some of the ways to enjoy Lake Tahoe and the Sierra.

Recreating responsibly will help ensure that expanded access to recreational facilities, services, and opportunities continues. Day use areas of National Forests and state parks currently open to the public remain open for the health and welfare of Californians.

Even though people are ticketed and fined, and cars are towed, the public continues to park in unsafe and illegal areas along US50 and other mountain highways. This not only ruins what should be a fun time in the snow, it creates an unsafe situation that could leave to injury, or worse.

LTBMU has provided some tips on how to recreate responsibly in the outdoors:

Stay Local: Stay close to home during this pandemic period. If you or anyone in your household is feeling sick, please remain at home and plan your trip for another time.

Plan Ahead: The ongoing pandemic response continues to be dynamic and fluid. Prior to leaving home, check the webpage of your outdoor destination you plan to visit to find out if it is open, if parking is available, and what visitor guidelines are in effect.

Sno-Parks: A permit is required for each vehicle parked at a SNO-PARK site. Permits are sold as day permits or seasonal permits. Day permits are sold for $5 and are valid for one single day. Season permits are sold for $25 and are valid for the entire SNO-PARK season. More information can be found at https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/SNOPARKS. Parking is on a first come, first-serve basis at all SNO-PARK sites. The public is advised that parking lots are filling up early in the day. Do not do this process last minute as law enforcement requires the pass to be printed and left on dashboard.

Make sure your vehicle is snow ready.

Parking: Road safety is paramount. Some roads may be closed due to winter conditions and illegal roadside parking only puts you, your family and other visitors at risk. If the first approved parking area is full, please proceed to the next approved parking area. Please visit us another day if parking lots are full.

The areas that are consistently misused are US50 from Strawberry to Echo Summit and US50 by the Lake Tahoe Airport. The road is clearly marked with "No Parking" signs, and in the case of the airport, yellow caution tape and "Private Property" signs. Every winter these deterrents have not made much difference.

Stay Safer at Six Feet: No matter the recreational activity, maintain a physical distance of six feet or more. Your guests should only include those within your immediate household. This means no guests or friends, and no gatherings or parties. If there are too many people to maintain the required physical distance, please visit us on a different day.

Keep Clean: Be prepared as not all services may be available. Some restrooms and trash receptacles are closed in the winter. Bring soap/hand sanitizer. Bring a trash bag and be sure to pack out broken sleds, plastic pieces, food containers and other trash. Public lands are experiencing heavy use and you can help alleviate the impact on their facilities.

LTBMU also suggests people always have a trash bag with them when traveling. There are not always trash containers when out off the highway or sledding on non-commercial hills. The simple saying "Pack It In, Pack It Out" should be common place and no trash should be left behind.

Additional resources from the Forest Service and State Parks include:

Forest Service -- Recreate Responsibly Winter Toolkit -- The toolkit provides resources on planning ahead, weather conditions, avalanche awareness, trash management, and Leave No Trace principles. A Spanish version of the toolkit can be found here.

State Parks – Flatten the Curve Website -- The department has created this online resource to serve as a one-stop center to find information on park closures and modifications and resources available to partners. Additionally, you will find information on complimentary broadcast-style home learning programs for K-12 student from various park locations across California.

The Forest Service and State Parks thank visitors for their partnership as we collectively enable responsible recreation that protects the health of visitors and the dedicated National Forest and State Parks staff.