trails

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Spring is in full swing in the Tahoe Basin and Tahoe black bears are searching for food. Intentional or unintentional feeding of bears results in unwanted bear behaviors, increased human-bear conflicts, and public safety issues as well as fines and possible jail time for violators. Each year, local law enforcement and state wildlife officers respond to hundreds of calls in which bears may pose a public safety threat or are damaging property. In some cases, the bear must be euthanized.

Ambiguity, uncertainty, and contradictions abound in this pandemic. Add time to the list of contradictions swirling around us. Morning and night sometimes seem a week apart. The first month of shelter‐in‐place dripped by for many of us. The second month was gone before we knew it. And now summer is fast approaching. We welcome the season because in ordinary times it can elevate our well‐being, but these are not ordinary times. With most of the attention and intensity now on reopening, the question that hangs in the balance is, are we ready? Is it the right time?

Through its four-part webinar series, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has offered a window into the future of Lake Tahoe’s transportation system. Each part in the series – from trails and transit, to technology and communities – explored a different aspect of the Regional Transportation Plan, the vision that will guide transportation in the Tahoe Basin for the next 20 years.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As of the City Council's special meeting Wednesday morning, the new South Lake Tahoe City Manager was on the job for 48 hours after being sworn in during a digital event that started off the week.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A temporary closure order for USFS beaches and recreation sites around Lake Tahoe has been extended through at least May 15, 2020. The original order was set to expire May 1. 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, it was extended.

Trailheads and trails outside of the orange areas of the attached maps, or the ones on the closure website, are not affected by this order but parking lots are closed.

Beautiful weather and a case of cabin fever from shelter in place directives have many of us yearning to get outside. Being in nature provides many wellness benefits. When we leave home to enjoy the bounty of outdoor activities, parks, and trails around us, we can honor those working on the front-line of the coronavirus pandemic by doing our part to stay healthy and keep each other safe.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - The public is invited to attend a series of webinars that will allow participants to explore the future of Lake Tahoe's transportation system through the Regional Transportation Plan. The plan outlines the projects and programs that will shape the next 20 years of Lake Tahoe’s transportation system.

The Regional Transportation Plan is the transportation vision for the Tahoe Basin. The plan focuses on transit, trails, technology, and communities to support the environment, economy, quality of life, and visitor experience.

Follow the links below to register:

The California State Public Health Officer and Director of the California Department of Public Health have ordered all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence, except as needed to maintain continuity of operation of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.

Some people may be confused and hear different messages and wonder exactly what are "essential services". To list what the State order covered they have come out with a guideline to help navigate these unchartered waters.

What does this mean?

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT), which includes local, state and federal land management agencies, will continue prescribed fire operations in the Tahoe Basin over the next several weeks, weather permitting. Smoke may be visible.

Aspen 1011 - USDA Forest Service - Location: Off Pioneer and Marshall trails near South Lake Tahoe. Burn Type: Hand Piles. Total Acreage: 10.00. Planned Ignition: 02/28/2020

Twin Peaks 1091 - USDA Forest Service - Location: Near corner of Pawnee Drive and Iroquois Circle, Meyers, CA. Burn Type: Hand Piles. Total Acreage: 30.00.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The "Take Care Bear" spent the recent holiday weekend helping spread the message of keeping Lake Tahoe sled hills clear of trash and sled debris.

While hundred of visitors snapped selfies with the bear, others mingled with him as he reminded all to throw away their broken sleds, rather than leaving them littered on the snow.

To coincide with the bear visits, a new billboard went up in Folsom, California with the same message.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Vail Resorts EpicPromise has selected 76 local nonprofits in the Lake Tahoe area to receive one of their 2019-20 community grants, totaling $2.8 million in grant support.

Heavenly Mountain Resort and Kirkwood recently held a breakfast to honor the recipients. The followed with a similar celebration at Northstar, the third area Vail resort.

TAHOMA, Calif. - You don't have to be an Olympian to explore the self-guided trails of the Olympic Heritage trails at Sugar Pine Point State Park. Sierra State Parks Foundation, the local nonprofit park partner, is hosting a free park day in honor of the 60th anniversary of the 1960 Winter Olympics, which took place in Squaw Valley and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe.

This is a great opportunity to explore the Olympic Heritage trails and interpretive displays while learning about the cultural and natural history of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - Construction is set to begin in May 2020 on the renovation and reimagination of facilities at Spooner Lake State Park. A collaboration between Nevada State Parks, Nevada State Lands and the Tahoe Fund has been successful in securing funding and donations to complete plans for the 35-year-old park.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If you have never experienced snowshoeing, this is your chance! If you can walk, you can snowshoe! You don't have to race, just have fun during the annual Eric Nageotte Memorial "Fresh Tracks" 5K Snowshoe Walk and Race on Sunday, February 23, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. at beautiful Historic Camp Richardson Resort. This event is being sponsored by the Tahoe Mountain Milers Running Club.

Sign up by Feb. 8 to save $10 off over race day registration, and be sure to reserve a pair of snowshoes if you need them or bring your own. First time walkers are encouraged.

Seasonal restrictions are now in place for over snow vehicles (OSV) in areas inside the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest including Hope Valley and Red Lake.

Prohibitions are detailed on the attached maps and include bans on traveling on and off forest development roads and trails.

(Web page for Red Lake order and Map HERE)

(Web page for Hope Valley order and Map HERE)

MEYERS, Calif. - Due to a lack of viable bids from local snow removal contractors there will be no plowing of the multi-use trails on the lake side of El Dorado County this winter.

In July the Bicycle Advisory Committee of the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities JPA awarded $22,000 to El Dorado County for bike trail plowing in the county for winter of 2019/20. When the project went out to bid they only received interest from Alpine Smith, according to Donaldo Palaroan, P.E., senior civil engineer for the County. Their $48,500 bid was more than double of what was budgeted.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - When the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) revised their Forest Plan over 10 years ago, many wanted them to include changes to snowmobile and other winter travel access to public lands at the same time. With the amount of public comment and the recognized need to have its own plan, they separated the two.

In 2011, LTBMU started a collaborative group to develop a proposed action plan for Winter Recreation and Over Snow Vehicle (OSV) use in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Almost six months after work on the rehabilitation of Sierra Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe began, an official ceremony dedicating its reopening was held Thursday.

"The Sierra Boulevard project is more than just a road project," said SLT Mayor Brooke Laine. "It is a quality of life project. Its completion brings more than a half-mile of bike and walking trails to this area."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) has been working on improving public access at Conolley Beach in South Lake Tahoe for many years, along with other spots along the lake. During their October meeting, the CTC Board voted to spend up to $420,000 on the "Conolley Beach Public Access Project" for the execution of easements and other agreements to build stairs to the beach, construct a trail, add seating areas and stabilize the slope with boulders.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) has released the "Proposed Action for the Winter Recreation and Over Snow Vehicle (OSV) Travel Management Project," and in that document are changes to snowmobile access in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

They have proposed to open OSV use (snowmobiles) to areas around the lake that have been restricted in the past and close up other areas. The plan still leaves about 50 percent of the lands managed by LTBMU open to OSV use.

The new areas proposed for OSV use

Californians, including the people of Lake Tahoe, love our public lands. We love the cold deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, the rugged mountains, and the varied forests that are part of the nearly 100 million acres of land all Californians can claim ownership of. We love these public lands not just because of their natural beauty, but because they are central to our way of life. Many of us live here, or moved here, because of what they provide - culture, lifestyle, and livelihood.

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. — More than 300 employees from Vail resorts at Lake Tahoe - Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar - joined in during the 10th year of Vail's EpicPromise Week and volunteered hundreds of hours with local community programs focused on youth, education and the environment. This year they teamed up and contributed to four different projects around Lake Tahoe.

STATELINE, Nev. - A draft of the vision plan for the Kahle Drive and Lower Kingsbury areas along the US 50 corridor between Lake Parkway and Elks Point Road will be unveiled during a community meeting on Wednesday, September 4.

The meeting will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Tahoe Transportation Center, 169 US Highway 50, across from the Lakeside Inn and Casino where LTVA and Tahoe Chamber have their offices.