trails

Boot stomping to bluegrass in a 1920’s boat house turned theater with Lake Tahoe in the background, kicking back at free concerts on a historic lakeshore estate’s grand lawn, and experiencing the Washoe tribe’s ceremonial dances and drumming are some of the many iconic experiences at Lake Tahoe’s Valhalla Arts, Music & Theatre Festival this July.

1. It is SO much cooler than the valley. With nights in the 40s and days in the 70s and 80s, it’s the perfect spot to cool off!

2. Yes, our beautiful lake is a little lower, but with a depth of 1,644’, a loss of one foot over the next 4 months really isn’t that much. There is still lots of water left to play in!

3. This is a great time to explore the other water sport options since it may not be perfect for motorboats and jet skis. Plenty of places to rent kayaks and stand-up paddle boards.

Cycling in South Lake Tahoe was the focus of the second Annual Cycle Celebration on Saturday. Kids both young and old were at the Heavenly Village to participate in a Bike Parade, Bike Rodeo, Bike Tune-Up station and informational booths.

The celebration wrapped up the two-week long Tahoe Bike Challenge where hundreds of people got out of their cars and biked to school, work and for play.

During Saturday's activities, the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition honored the Town of Truckee and Karen & Pete Fink for their contributions to cycling in the region.

We face some big, daunting environmental restoration challenges here at Lake Tahoe. But helping our environment every day can be as simple as riding a bike, walking, or taking transit. And the hundreds of people who participated in the Tahoe Bike Challenge this June, including many of our employees at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, are showing how big of an impact our individual actions can have.

Lake Tahoe’s 36th annual Valhalla Arts, Music & Theatre Festival opens June 17 at the historic lakefront Heller Estate (Valhalla) on the South Shore. Exclusive “one night only” performances will deliver a high caliber lineup of music and dance performances to Lake Tahoe’s arts and culture scene. Master Scottish Fiddler, Alasdair Fraser, will strike the first chord of the summer festival in Valhalla’s celebrated Boathouse Theater with Lake Tahoe as the backdrop, in a rare and highly anticipated solo performance.

A meadow restoration and road rehabilitation project will close the first 1.5 mile segment of North Canyon Road at Spooner Lake State Park to recreational traffic from June 1 to July 12.

The road closure will affect access to the Flume Trail via North Canyon Road and the Marlette Lake Trail Mondays through Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during the construction period. Access to the Spooner Lake Loop Trail will not be affected.

Hike for the Lake Tahoe Humane Society & Action Adventure EXPO will offer hiking, lunch, a vaccination clinic, celebrities and adventure exposition.

This dog friendly event will be taking place in the back parking lot of Harrah's Tahoe on Saturday, May 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (reminder, all dogs must be on leashes)

Enjoy the Tahoe Legends 5k and 10k runs in beautiful South Lake Tahoe. The trails winds through rolling hills, forests and meadows on single track and a bike path. Competitors start at the Lake Tahoe Community College parking lot and finish on the South Tahoe Community Sports Complex, former home of the 1968 Olympic Trials track. All proceeds from this run support the maintenance of the track and field on this site.

Race day registration: 7:15-7:45 AM in the LTCC parking lot

Race finish: South Tahoe Community Sports Complex (1/2 mile from start)

Lake Tahoe’s natural geography of steep climbs and long descents against postcard views will offer plenty of sites to catch race action as the top women cyclists compete in Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race May 8-9.

With the start and finish line at Heavenly’s California Base Lodge, spectators will be updated with live race announcements, and entertained with high-energy music, local and Amgen Tour of California exhibitors, food and beverage.

The annual Harrah's/Harvey's Hike for the Humane Society has teamed up with the Action Adventure Expo! Join us Saturday, May 16th, in the back parking lot of Harrah's from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Admission to the event is free, and a low cost lunch will be offered to benefit the Humane Society.

There will be an opportunity to meet Brandon Nelson and Cara Maria Sorobello of "The Challenge" series, and have your picture taken with your pet. You can also join the guided hike, which starts at 9:30, for just $10 for the hike and lunch! Pets are welcome, but they must be on leash at all times.

Closed since last fall's fire which burned over 97,000 acres near Pollock Pines, the King Fire area opens to the public on Saturday, April 25.

"I've decided to reopen the national forest lands in the King Fire area to the public beginning Saturday, April 25, in conjunction with the general opening of fishing season," said Forest Supervisor Laurence Crabtree. "Parts of the fire area are still hazardous, but that will continue to be true for years."

Litter. Dog poop. Unsafe fires. Bear safety. These are just some of the issues impacting our Region. Today, the Lake Tahoe Outreach Committee unveiled the Take Care™ campaign to help reduce these impacts and promote a more responsible use of our great outdoors.

The campaign was designed for use in outreach efforts by public agencies, private businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Region. Aimed at residents and visitors, the campaign is a series of reminders that poke fun at the mistakes we all make when we’re not paying attention.

Heavenly's Epic Discovery project passed their biggest hurdle Thursday as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's (TRPA) Governing Board unanimously approved the newest year-round recreational experience in South Lake Tahoe. With it, comes a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike. Epic Discovery will include new zip lines, sky cycle tree canopy tours, a mountain bike park and trails, ropes courses, and interpretive and educational tours to teach visitors about the Lake Tahoe Region’s cultural and environmental resources.

The public has an opportunity to meet Forest Service Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) engineering, trails and recreation staff during an open house on April 2.

This is a great time to ask questions regarding OHV used on designated routes within the Lake Tahoe Basin, the LTBMU Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) and the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreational (OHMVR) Grant application.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is accepting public comment for the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Cooperative Funds grant application submitted to the State of California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division.

The OHMVR grant provides staffing for OHV education and information, law enforcement patrols, resource and use monitoring, protection of natural and cultural resources and maintenance of OHV trails and trailheads on the LTBMU.

Boulder, Colorado has one. Portland, Oregon has one. Even Roseville and Truckee, California have one. If plans go as they appeared to during a presentation at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, South Lake Tahoe will soon have one.

What is it?

"It" is a combination BMX track and mountain bike skills park which will be located at the city owned Bijou Park.

Bijou Bike Park Association (BBPA) and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) President Ben Fish laid out the proposed plan to the Council and community.

As we enter a New Year, it’s time for artists to share their thanks in celebrating one of Northern Nevada's icons by applying for spring residencies at the Black Rock Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area. Applications will be accepted until March 31.

In the summer of 2013, I walked a demanding 500 miles and I'm damn proud of it.

After working 60-80 hour weeks for nine months, living in a crowded city, and becoming one of the thousands of tired, nerve-shaken souls John Muir spoke about, I realized the famous naturalist was right when he said, "going to the mountains is going home."

Lake Tahoe has received much needed rain and snow from a wet Pacific storm on both Friday and Saturday, while more is expected late Sunday afternoon.

Heavenly Mountain Resort received 4-8” of new snow overnight Friday and opened two additional trails on Saturday. Sierra at Tahoe has received 10" of new snow while Kirkwood reports 9" of fresh snow. The big winner of this storm, so far, is Mt. Rose Ski Resort who are reporting two feet of new snow.

A winter weather advisory is in effect in Lake Tahoe from 4 p.m. Sunday through 4 p.m. Monday.

The following originally ran in South Tahoe Now on January 21, 2014 as part of a series of stories about winter activities when there isn't much snow:

Since there is a lack of snow through the Sierra Nevada, visitors and locals in the Lake Tahoe basin are enjoying things that are normally reserved for the summer months.

Vail Resorts announced the opening of the Terrain Park and Mombo Trail just in time for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, one of the biggest winter weekends in South Lake Tahoe.

Groove Park is Heavenly’s most popular progression park, providing an ideal learning environment for beginners with a variety of features including five rails, one bonk and two jumps.

“Hotel Showdown” squares off four different hotels against one another in a
winner-take-all competition. Representatives from the competing hotels spend the night at each other’s property, and with an exacting eye for detail, award points for every aspect of their experience. The highest-rated hotel wins a coveted $25,000.

The hour long episode featuring South Lake Tahoe’s 968 Park Hotel is titled ”Cat’s Out of the Bag with a Gun Show” and premieres Tuesday, January 27 at 9:00 p.m. PST.

You can now buy either a California or Nevada license plate and help raise money for Lake Tahoe environmental efforts.

The Tahoe Fund is working with the California Tahoe Conservancy and Nevada State Lands to promote the sale of their Lake Tahoe license plates. Between now and April 5, 2015, receive two free alpine or nordic tickets to the resort of your choice when you purchase the special plates.

The following is a summary of accomplishments during 2014 by the City of South Lake Tahoe.

Strategic Priority: Fiscal Sustainability
The most important issue facing cities and local agencies is continued steadfast attention to the budget, both short term and long term fiscal impacts.

· Implemented “budget watch” approach to financial analysis; a year-long effort evaluating state, national and global economic impacts for South Shore economy, and capital investment opportunities