visitor center

Due to continued public health and safety concerns, trail construction, risk of bear-human encounters and in order to discourage large groups from gathering, the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has extended a Forest Order that temporarily closes Taylor Creek and the surrounding area. This order (see here) is extended through November 9 at this time.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The numbers of people who normally visit Taylor Creek for the fall spawning of the Kokanee salmon has prompted forest officials to close the popular area October 2 - November 2, 2020.

Due to continued public health safety concerns related to COVID-19, trail improvement work, the risk of bear-human encounters and in order to discourage large groups from gathering, the area is closed.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A South Lake Tahoe resident has tested positive for plague according to El Dorado County health officials. The individual is currently under the care of a medical professional and is recovering at home.

It’s believed that the person, an avid walker, may have been bitten by an infected flea while walking their dog along the Truckee River Corridor north of Highway 50 or the Tahoe Keys area in South Lake Tahoe. Health officials started investigating the situation after being notified by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. - A portion of the popular East Shore Trail will be closed starting May 8. Nevada State Parks has closed access to Sand Harbor via the Tahoe East Shore Trail temporarily due to expected visitation surges. Most of the trail will remain open.

Popular Sand Harbor has remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic and will remain open from 8:00 a.m. to one hour past dusk. The cost per car is $10.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Earlier this week the USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit announced all national forest recreation areas and sites in the South Shore Recreation Corridors were closed to the public with fines for individuals or groups disobeying the order.

They said the closures were to keep in alignment with current federal, state and local guidance for social distancing and to ensure the health and safety of its employees, visitors, and volunteers.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The public is invited to explore the future of Lake Tahoe's West Shore during one of three public opportunities offered by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and Tahoe Transportation District. The State Route 89 Recreation Corridor Management Plan outlines the projects needed to improve the visitor experience, reduce traffic congestion, and preserve the environment from South Lake Tahoe to Tahoma.

Members of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT), which includes local, state and federal land management agencies, will continue prescribed fire operations over the next several weeks in the Tahoe Basin as conditions, staffing and weather allow. Smoke may be visible.

The following 12 areas are on the schedule:

Aspen Lily Lake 1011 - USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.
Location: Powerline Road (Forest Road 12N08), off Pioneer Trail near South Lake Tahoe. Burn Type: Hand Piles - Total Acreage: 14.00 - Planned ignition: 1/25/20

It has been 60 years since the 1960 Winter Olympics were held in Squaw Valley and Sugar Pine Point State Park at Lake Tahoe. To celebrate this anniversary, the Sierra State Parks Foundation is hosting a presentation on the event with author David Antonucci on February 15, 2020.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Plenty of permits to cut down Christmas trees in the Lake Tahoe Basin remain at both sales locations. Due to permits being sold out after just a week in the past, people were only allowed to buy one of the $10 permits per family this year.

The result is plenty of leftovers.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Long lines at the US Forest Service office in South Lake Tahoe on Monday put a dent in the supply of Christmas tree permits, but there are still many left.

Last year the supply was depleted in two weeks but the change in policy to only one permit per family instead of two may have had an effect on the numbers still available.

The USFS-Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit in South Lake Tahoe is open Friday until 4:30 p.m.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will begin the sale of Christmas tree permits on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. Permits cost $10 each payable by cash, check or credit card (though they prefer the quicker transaction of cash).

There is a change to the policy this year - only one permit will be allowed per family or per address, instead of the previous two. They said by limiting permits to one per family, more will enjoy cutting down a tree this year.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Just as the throngs of visitors head to Taylor Creek to watch the annual salmon run up Taylor Creek, the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) has issued a forest closure to last through the spawning season, October 27.

The public, including photographers, cannot enter Taylor Creek or be within 400 feet of the creek from the Fallen Leaf Dam and continuing north to the high-water mark on the shore of Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is on Saturday, September 28 and in the Lake Tahoe Basin it will be celebrated by the parking fee being waived for the day at the Eagle Falls Trailhead.

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) manages approximately 78 percent of the public land in the Tahoe Basin. They will continue to the celebration of NPLD through the weekend of October 5-6 when they host a booth at the Fall Fish Festival at Taylor Creek in South Lake Tahoe. This time is also the 50th anniversary of Desolation Wilderness.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Wilder Than Wild: Fires, Forest and the Future will be shown at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center amphitheater on Friday, June 28 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Besides the free showing of the film there will be a panel discussion that includes forest management experts, public land management agencies, local fire districts, local law enforcement, Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities, Liberty Utilities and more.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The popular Stream Profile Chamber at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center has been closed since the glass broke during a routine cleaning almost one year ago. With financial help from the Tahoe Fund and Tahoe Blue Vodka, those walking the Rainbow Trail will once again be able to get an up-close underwater view of aquatic life and the spawning Kokanee salmon at Lake Tahoe each year.

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is holding a grand reopening celebration of the chamber with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon on Friday, June 7.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is now accepting reservations for the 2019 Winter Trek Conservation Education Program. Fifth-grade teachers may reserve a spot by calling the Forest Supervisor’s office at 530-543-2789, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Winter Trek begins Tuesday, January 15, and continues through March 28, 2019, weather permitting. Field trips are generally three hours long and are offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Celebrate the annual fall migration of the Kokanee salmon of Lake Tahoe at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center during the two-day Fish Fest October 6/7 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.

Join the fun and participate in this free family event which has become one of the most fascinating educational and wildlife viewing events in Northern California.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Nature is healing, and a new partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and Barton Health is bringing the benefits of 154,000 acres of wellness around Lake Tahoe to the public.

"Nature is medicine, nutrition is medicine and you don't have to pop pills for health," said Nancy Laurenson of Barton Health during a recent wellness outing on the Rainbow Trail at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center.

Fire restrictions on National Forest System lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin began Friday, August 17, 2018, and will remain in effect through November 15. Warm temperatures and dry vegetation combined with numerous wildfires burning in our region prompted the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) to implement restrictions intended to safeguard our communities across the Tahoe Basin.

On Saturday, June 23, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Sugar Pine Foundation will co-host a Tahoe yellow cress (TYC) planting with the Tahoe yellow cress Adaptive Management Working Group at Baldwin Beach, which is National Forest System land managed by the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU). In addition, the LTBMU will host a TYC information booth at the Native Species Festival on June 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center.

The California office of Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority (LTVA) has been closed due to roof and flooding issues, with all of their operations in their Stateline office, for now.

Last year's flooding caused LTVA to rip out the carpet in the back of the building which was the first county jail at the lake, opening in 1947. Three staff executives who had their offices at the rear of the building were moved to the front.

Six delegates visiting the United States from Russia stopped by Lake Tahoe last week as part of the cultural exchanges programs, Friendship Force and Open World.

The delegates first stopped in Washington, D.C. before heading to the Reno/Lake Tahoe area.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling Services will again team up this holiday season to make giving to Christmas Cheer easier than ever.

The LTVA’s Drive and Drop for Christmas Cheer takes place Monday, December 4 through Saturday, December 9, from 9AM-5PM. Drive through the Visitor Center parking lot at 3066 Highway 50, South Lake Tahoe, and drop your donations of food or toys into the bins provided by South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling.

Cash donations should be brought into the Visitor Center. Restaurants and businesses are encouraged to participate.

Location

The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) and the Eldorado National Forest (ENF) will begin the sale of Christmas tree permits on Monday, November 13, 2017. Permit holders may choose from a variety of pine, fir or cedar trees up to six inches in diameter at the base in designated cutting areas. Trees must be cut on the forest where the permit was purchased (the ENF is south and west of the Lake Tahoe Basin, on the west slope).