by Lee Foster

“As I looked, a peculiar sensation seemed to fill my whole being,” wrote the militiaman. “And I found my eyes in tears with emotion.”

Such were the sentiments of the first white man to see Yosemite, a mountain retreat of awesome beauty in east central California. The year was 1851. Our observer was not a poet, but a rough militiaman, and the simple eloquence of his recorded thoughts testifies to the universal experience of Yosemite. So many travelers, when first encountering Yosemite Valley, an eight-mile funnel with a flat base and 3,000-foot granite walls, feel the same subdued grandeur about the place, a sense of nature’s cathedral, and a spare and ennobling aura.

Today there are many ways to experience the best of Yosemite. You can circle the valley in the park service tram, walk the non-strenuous trails leading out of the valley, or rent a bicycle to explore the valley floor. But that is only a start. Join a guided horseback ride, hike the high country in summer, cross-country and alpine ski in winter, take classes with the Yosemite Mountaineering School, rock climb the granite faces (with an experienced guide), and attend ranger walks or talks. Yosemite Valley, which 90 percent of the visitors never get beyond, is only a miniscule part of Yosemite National Park. The valley is seven of the total 1,170 square miles of the park. Make an effort to get out of the valley to Wawona to see the big trees, the sequoias, or to the high country to see Tuolumne Meadows. There are 263 miles of primary roads and about 840 miles of trail to entice you beyond Yosemite Valley.

Accommodations are just as varied. You can bask in the first-class resort comforts at the Ahwahnee Hotel, take a rustic cabin at Yosemite Lodge, reside in a canvas cabin at Curry Village, stay at a drive-in campground, or pitch your tent and roll out your sleeping bag under the stars at a walk-in campground. You can even arrange a walking tour of the high country with lodging and meals awaiting you every 10 miles or so. Whatever your preference, it is necessary to make reservations in advance for the popular summer months.

A consumer should also consider the lodging options outside Yosemite. It is sometimes difficult, in the modern context, for a national park to offer the amenities that some travelers seek. (The most excruciating example of this is the Hot Springs Arkansas National Park. No one within that park will ever have a modern sybaritic and sensual experience in a spa. The spas at properties will have to remain historically accurate and clinical, with medicinal aromas rather than wafting Chardonnay or Merlot fumes. No opposite sex sensual spas will ever exist in that park.) Yosemite’s situation is not that extreme. But the consumer wanting kitchenettes, fireplaces, in-room spa tubs, private balconies, and patios with river views should be advised to look outside the park. One provider among many with properties outside the park is Yosemite Resorts (www.yosemiteresorts.us). Pristine park appreciators, who do not want such amenities, seeing them as anathema burdens impinging on the purity of the park experience, will want to reside within the park at campgrounds, if possible.

Entrance fees to Yosemite are $20 per car (valid for seven days).

Getting to Yosemite 

The main gateway to Yosemite is Merced, a town in the Central Valley of California. From Merced you take Highway 140 east into Yosemite Valley, which is open all year. Merced is about three hours by car from San Francisco or five hours from Los Angeles. Allow another hour for the drive in along narrow, winding roads to the park. Train and bus connections can also be made from Merced into the park. Fresno, a larger city near Merced, has a commuter airport and several regularly scheduled carriers. From Fresno, Highway 41 proceeds to the southern entrance of the park, 36 miles from Yosemite Valley. The southern entrance is famous for the Wawona area, where giant sequoia trees are the main attraction.

Once in Yosemite you don’t need a car because the well-organized shuttle buses take you about. Much effort now focuses on reducing the automobile impact in Yosemite. Tours can take you to distant areas of the park.

Yosemite’s History

The history of major interest in Yosemite is not the mere human time frame but the geological story. Over eons the forces of glacial activity have scraped away at the granite rock, exposing the faces such as El Capitan and Half Dome, which stun the imagination with their size. The rushing Merced River has carried rock fragment and silt from higher mountain areas to the floor of the valley. Prior to the glacial periods Yosemite was a sea, with extensive sedimentary deposits. Gradually, geological forces of uplift thrust the sea bed to its present elevation.

Miwok and Mono Lake Paiute Native Americans established villages along the Merced River that runs through Yosemite Valley. The Native Americans called the Valley “Ahwahnee,” which apparently meant “gaping mouth.” They gathered acorns and seeds, fished for trout, and hunted deer. Except for a period of years around 1800 when a disease known as “the fatal black sickness” forced them out of the area, the Native Americans lived peacefully within the Yosemite Valley. Not until much later, after the Gold Rush, did the white man stumble upon the area.

The first white men arrived in 1851, as mentioned. They were militiamen of the ragtag Mariposa Battalion, a group of miner-soldiers who attempted to establish order in the gold region. The first group included the militiaman whose thoughts approximated those of so many later visitors, nature lovers rather than soldiers. The Mariposa Battalion entered the Valley in pursuit of Ahwahneechee Native Americans who had retreated here after stealing mining supplies. It could be said that the Battalion made a discovery in the realm of nature as astonishing as the discovery of gold in 1848.

The rapidity with which the area was fenced, farmed, and logged by settlers alarmed the public, especially because the giant sequoias might be cut down. Public pressure on the California legislature created the Yosemite Grant, in 1864. This was historically important as one of the first efforts in the United States to spare an area from commercial development and keep it as a public property. In 1864 President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation that gave Yosemite to California as a public trust. Yosemite was not the first national park, an honor that fell to Yellowstone, but it was the first federally mandated park. Yosemite became a national park in 1890.

The greatest advocate for Yosemite was a Scotsman who came to California via Wisconsin and devoted himself to writing persuasive articles and books about conserving California’s Sierra Nevada, which means Snowy Mountains in Spanish. He was John Muir, the founding father of the U.S. environmental movement and of the Sierra Club, which he started in 1892. Wilderness forests throughout the country were in danger at the time. Muir’s ability to coin a phrase is well-known. To him Yosemite was a “vast celestial city, not clothed with light but wholly composed of it.”

Muir’s writings combined an exuberant feeling for nature, a thorough competence as a botanist, and an apostolic fervor about preserving the rapidly disappearing wilderness. On a famous 1903 campout in Yosemite Park with Theodore Roosevelt, he reinforced and nurtured the president’s own conservation ethic. As president, Roosevelt set aside 5 national parks, 23 national monuments, and 148 million acres as national forests.

“Wilderness is a necessity,” Muir wrote. “Mountain parks and forest reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”

Prior to coming to Yosemite, try to read Muir’s book, The Yosemite. The book goes in and out of print, but your local library or bookstore can probably locate a copy.

Yosemite’s Main Attractions

Start at the Visitor Center, with its excellent selection of guidebooks and maps, plus a ranger to suggest outings. Behind the Visitor Center is a re-creation of a Miwok-Paiute Native American village, approximating how the Native Americans lived in the valley, harvesting the black oak acorns for food, hunting deer, and living in bark structures. During summer, various living history programs on Native American life are conducted, sometimes by actual Miwok descendants.

Here are three of my favorite outings for beginners:

Drive or take the tram around the valley to get a view of all the different falls. Yosemite Falls is the most obvious and dominant. Upper Yosemite drops 1,430 feet in one abrupt fall, and Lower Yosemite Falls descends another 320 feet. Adding the intermediate cascades, Yosemite Falls plunges a total of 2,425 feet, making it one of the world’s highest waterfalls. Other falls to see are Vernal, with a 317-foot drop, Illilouette at 370 feet, Bridalveil at 620 feet, and Ribbon at 1,612 feet. Each fall has its own character, with Bridalveil, for example, a subtle diaphanous counterpoint to the pounding force of Yosemite Falls or the thundering power of Vernal Falls. See the falls both during the day and at night when there is a full moon. The month is also important. Falls are at their greatest force May-July and then decline until the autumn rains bring them renewed runoff.

Walk up to Mirror Lake. The hike is lovely and the setting, an alpine lake quickly silting in due to natural succession, illustrates the geologic forces at work today. You can also take the tram up to Mirror Lake, but no cars are allowed. This transportation change is part of the park service effort to reduce automobiles in the park. The tram system continues to expand and roads in the park have been made into a one-way loop. The Master Plan, adopted in 1980 to guide the development of the park, calls for fewer cars and the removal of as many structures as possible. However, this is a slow process.

Hike to Nevada Falls. Part of the pleasure of this walk is the ever-changing vistas presented of such familiar landmarks as Yosemite Falls or Half Dome. In this walk you begin to appreciate how more ambitious walks in the high country can open up engaging vistas. Here you see the two rock formations of Yosemite that surpass all others in their dimensions. El Capitan rises 3,593 feet above the valley floor, one of the world’s largest rocks. At the east end of the valley looms Half Dome, rising 8,842 feet above sea level.

Each season brings its special rewards to a Yosemite visitor. Indeed, there are connoisseurs of Yosemite who spend a lifetime making trips here at different times of the year. Spring is a time of green foliage, wildflowers, and the roar of waterfalls. In summer the sun is highest, lighting the far reaches of the canyons, stimulating plant growth. Summer also brings the largest portion of the nearly 4 million annual visitors, straining the carrying capacity of the valley. In autumn you will encounter herds of deer passing through the valley to their winter foraging grounds at lower elevations. The oak tree leaves turn gold and the sumac attains a bright red. In winter the white mantle of the valley and the heavy snowpack at the upper elevations lend a crystalline aspect to the region.

As a further move to reduce the need for your auto, the concessionaire and park service have organized an increasing number of paid tours through parts of the park. You can take free trams through Yosemite Valley at any time, with a tram passing the main checkpoints every 10 minutes. You can also take a paid, guided tram tour of the valley with a naturalist. Other tours take you by bus to Glacier Point, the magnificent overlook; to Wawona to see the Big Trees, the sequoias; and to the high country of Tuolumne Meadows. An extensive number of free hikes, led by naturalists and rangers, occur daily on the floor of the valley. Information on what’s available is published in the free Yosemite Guide, available everywhere in the park. Artist trips, photography outings, bicycle rentals (for the 12 paved miles of bike trails in the valley), rock climbing (with a knowledgeable guide), horseback riding, and rafting on the Merced River are just some of the summer activities. Ranger- or naturalist-led programs occur nightly at the lodgings and at the campgrounds in the valley.

If you are camping in Yosemite Valley, it’s important not to tempt the bears with carelessly exposed food. At night be sure that all food is securely covered, stored in a solid container, and placed in a steel bear-proof locker, if you are so directed.  Failure to properly manage your food can lead to citations and fines. Careless campers and earlier garbage disposal practices have conditioned bears, who have a superb sense of smell, to seek human food.

Nearby Trips from Yosemite Valley  

Three nearby excursions can complete your initial Yosemite experience. The excursions take you out of Yosemite Valley, but keep you within Yosemite National Park.

To see the entire valley from a vista, drive or take the bus to the view turnoff on the road to Glacier Point and Wawona. This turnoff, just before the Wawona Tunnel, presents one of the most famous lookouts in the park, rivaling the view from Glacier Point. From this elevated position you enjoy a sweeping panorama of all the major landforms in the valley. You acquire an excellent perspective here on the glacial geological forces that scoured out the upper part of the valley, peeling off the granite layers from the mountains as if they were the layers of an onion, and deposited a moraine of rocky debris at the western end.  Three successive waves of glaciers slid across the granite face of Yosemite, polishing Half Dome and El Capitan to their present smoothness, with the most recent glacier retreating only 10,000 years ago.

The drive all the way to Glacier Point is possible only June-October because of snow. A view from Glacier Point is well worth the 30-mile drive, however, because you can look straight down, more than 3,200 feet, to the valley floor below, and see a sizable panorama of High Sierra real estate. Looking across the Valley, Glacier Point gives you your best close-up of the massive granite thumb known as Half Dome. From this height, looking down, the full drop of Yosemite Falls also becomes apparent. A mile walk at Glacier Point can take you to the Sentinel Dome overlook. Because of the elevation, pace yourself and take the walk slowly.

In summer various hikes take place from Badger Pass. In winter the Badger Pass Ski area opens for families, beginners, and intermediate skiers. There is a Ski Tots Playhouse for young children. The large meadow called Summit Meadow, above Badger Pass, is an excellent cross-country ski area, with long ski hikes possible through the woods, ending with spectacular overlooks of Yosemite Valley. If you have the will and the skills, this is also a favorite backpacking ski camping region. Crane Flat is another cross-country ski area in Yosemite.

The Sequoiadendron giganteum, the Big Tree, can be seen at three groves in Yosemite. The most prominent grove lies 35 miles south of the valley along Highway 41 at Wawona. Wawona means “big tree” in the original Native American language. The giant sequoias are the inland species of redwoods, the most massive living entities on the earth. They are worth a half-day trip to Wawona to see. The largest example of the inland redwood, called the General Sherman Tree, is farther south along the mountains in Sequoia National Park. At the Wawona area cluster of trees, called the Mariposa Grove, the Grizzly Giant is the oldest tree, at an estimated 2,800 years. It has a base diameter of 30.7 feet. Nearby, the Massachusetts Tree, broken into chunks, shows the wood of the sequoia. The 232-foot-tall California Tree is a tunnel tree, but cars are no longer allowed to drive in the grove. The Wawona Tunnel Tree fell over in the 1968-1969 winter storms.

Ironically, one truth that the park service has learned in the last decades is the need for fires around the big trees. Fires clear out the undergrowth, allowing young sequoias, stimulated to germinate by the heat of fire, to grow in the newly available sunlight and in the mineral-rich ash soil. The park service now manages “controlled burns” here.

The venerable Wawona Hotel, with its weekend barbecues, and the Pioneer Yosemite History Center describing the life of early homesteaders in 10 restored cabins, are other resources at Wawona.

Yosemite’s high country is noted for its rocky alpine wilderness. Access is via Highway 120, the Tioga Pass Road, which is closed in winter (November-May). While the valley floor is often crowded with visitors during peak summer months, the high country is less frequented. Wilderness permits are necessary for overnight camping. The high country acquaints you with the source of the Merced River, which flows through the valley, and also shows you an entirely independent watershed, that of the Tuolumne River, which lies to the north. Both rivers flow to the west from their snowy sources in the high country.

San Francisco interests dammed the Tuolumne early in this century to create the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. To reach Hetch Hetchy, an eight-mile-long body of water, take the 38-mile drive from Big Oak Flat, passing attractive forests of sugar pines. The Tuolumne Gorge was thought by observers, such as John Muir, to equal Yosemite Valley in beauty, but San Francisco water interests succeeded in arranging for the dam, despite a last-minute plea by Muir to President Woodrow Wilson. You can view the Tuolumne Gorge and such phenomena as Waterwheel Falls, but hiking is required.

In the high country the main attraction, if an observer is limited to a single pleasure, is the silky lawns of Tuolumne Meadows, one of the largest subalpine meadows in the Sierra. Tuolumne Meadows is an 8,500-foot-high plateau. The drive there is 56 miles from Yosemite Valley over windy roads, but well worth it for the views, lakes, forests, granite domes, and canyons. A ranger station at Tuolumne Meadows can help guide you to the hikes, horseback riding, and camping in the area. Tent-cabin lodging is available at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and at White Wolf Lodge in the high country. Backpacking trips, trail riding excursions, and walking trips are possible. The walking trips, led by naturalists, are special because they make a circular route through the High Sierra, locating you on successive evenings at different primitive lodgings, spaced roughly 10 miles apart. The lodging provides you with shelter and meals, but reservations are required. Backpacking trips can also start from here and traverse sections of the John Muir Trail, which extends to Mt. Whitney 210 miles to the south. The John Muir Trail forms part of the serpentine Pacific Crest Trail, the 2,500-mile-long route from Canada to Mexico.

The season is short in the high country, from June through October, with fields of wildflowers an enticement. At Tioga Pass the road crosses the crest of the Sierra at 9,945 feet, the highest automobile pass in California. From the pass you see a divide with two worlds. Looking west, the moist rain-filled world of meadows and forests stretches before you. Looking east, you see the parched face of the high granite deserts. The spines of the high mountains halt the eastward movement of rain-filled clouds rolling in from the Pacific.

***

Yosemite: If You Go

Contact Yosemite Reservations, (801) 559-4884. Their website is www.yosemitepark.com.  As the park concessionaire, they manage park information and reservations.

Campsites in the park are managed by www.recreation.gov, (877) 444-6777.

The park service can be reached by writing the Superintendent, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389; www.nps.gov/yose; (209) 372-0200.  The phone tree has road and weather information.

Updating...

Related Posts

1. California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park
2. A Drive Through Death Valley National Park, California
3. Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park

By Lee Foster

The time had come, with Paultje between the ages of 2 and 3, to observe a pleasant family ritual—introducing my young grandchild to snow.

This is the birthright of a child in Northern California, especially in the Bay Area, and Lake Tahoe is the likely celebration place of the ritual. Our goals were simple—some gentle sledding and making a snowman.

Paultje was able to say “Make a snowman” quite clearly and fairly often.

I was the elder branch in this family tree, Grandpa Lee, and my son Paul and his wife Sabrina were the parents of Paultje, an affectionate Dutch derivative nickname for “Little Paul.”

There was another family member who would be part of this trip, and that was an adolescent, at 15 months. The adolescent was Paultje’s puppy, a Rottweiler named Beertje, or Dutch for “Little Bear.” With Beertle along, the word “dog friendly” figured prominently in our travel planning. Beertje had also never seen snow.

Where would we go, and how would we organize the trip?

We piled into the family car, but only after spending some time on the Internet scouting the possibilities.

Our plan was to go from Berkeley/Oakland up to North Lake Tahoe on Interstate 80. We could have gone Highway 50 to South Lake Tahoe, but as we were traveling in the season of snow, Interstate 80 was the easier route, with less of a need for chains. Interstate 80 is also a somewhat straighter path, compared to the serpentine route on Highway 50. Considering the season, a straight road was more to our liking.

We decided also to leave in mid-afternoon from the Bay Area and stay 24 hours before heading back. This departure hour would give us the warmest time of the day, in good light, on the high passes. The decision proved to be wise. During both days there was snow, melting, and freezing. Travel at other times of the day would have been riskier and the need for chains more likely. Regardless of when we drove, we realized that the choppiness of the Highway 80 roadbed, due to the deterioration of the concrete because of heavy truck chains, would make the drive a little bumpy.

At Truckee, we turned south on Highway 267 to Lake Tahoe and the town of Tahoe Vista. The lodging we had chosen after searching Google for “dog friendly North Lake Tahoe lodging” was Alvina Patterson’s Holiday House in Tahoe Vista. We had a second story suite with a deck looking out at Lake Tahoe. The cozy suite had both a master bedroom and a rollaway in the living room for Grandpa, plus a small kitchen. We had everything we needed for a self-contained evening. We all slept soundly that night.

Paultje was up early, and ran out on the deck as soon as he was allowed. A light snow overnight had dusted the deck, but the sun came out in the morning. Paultje quickly made a prototype small snowman and echoed his mantra of the trip, “Make a snowman.”

Alvina Patterson was a pro at lodging and had everything we needed for a snow play day. She offered sleds we could borrow. She knew what snow park to advise us to visit. She indicated where we could rent some snow gear, which we needed.

The snow gear spot was Tahoe Dave’s, just a mile north on North Lake Boulevard in King’s Beach. We were amazed at everything that was for rent. For Paultje we could rent a snow suit for the day, a good strategy for a fast-growing child. For our adults, there were some needs for good gloves and snow pants. Tahoe Dave’s had everything at the ready.

All geared up, we drove south two miles on North Lake Boulevard to the public snow park that Alvina had recommended. The park was the North Lake Tahoe Regional Park. We turned off at National Avenue in Tahoe Vista and followed the signs to the park. This was exactly what we wanted, just a slight slope with a few hills for a child to sled. The site had flat areas where Beertje could run and we could build a snowman. There was no charge at the park. The park was certified dog friendly. Alvina of the Holiday House said she liked to hike in this park in summer with her German Shepherd.

Paultje was a little apprehensive in his first ride down the slight hill with dad, but soon succumbed to the thrill of gravity and its effect.

Beertje also took to the snow with alacrity, bounding around until the 4,000-foot elevation began taking its toll. Beertje is a dog with a pedigree. The scenic environment provided us with a chance to get some stately photos of this adolescent, which would assure his breeder that Beertje is carrying the gene pool proudly forward.

After the sledding energies were expended, it was time to make the snowman. Sabrina had brought a carrot for a nose and Brussels sprouts for the eyes. A couple of branches were commandeered from a fallen tree for the arms. Paultje proudly packed on the details, one small snowy addition at a time. Soon Paultje had his snowman. We recorded a family photo for posterity.

Grandpa Lee got to stretch his legs a little with his snowshoes in this public snow park.

By 2 pm we all felt we had sufficient outdoor snow play. So we took the sled back to Alvina, the gear back to Dave’s, and stopped at family-friendly Burger Me in Truckee to address the appetite that a day in the snow can stimulate. Burger Me offers burgers and fries, all with progressive fresh-food cache. Soon we were headed back on Interstate 80, traveling down from the mountains, feeling good that we had achieved our mission.

Paultje and Beertje had been introduced to a special new aspect of life, snow. Paultje now knew what sledding and making a snowman were all about.

**

If You Go:

For lodging, Alvina Patterson runs the family friendly and dog friendly Holiday House, 7276 North Lake Boulevard, Tahoe Vista, CA 96148, 530-546-2369, www.tahoeholidayhouse.com.

If in need of snow rental gear, everything can be sourced at Tahoe Dave’s, 8299 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA 96143, 530-546-5800, www.tahoedaves.com.

When choosing a snow play area, consider North Lake Tahoe Regional Park, 530-546-5043, in Tahoe Vista. Turn down National Avenue and follow the signs. There is no charge. Dogs are allowed.

For a family meal in Truckee, one good option is Burger Me, 10418 Donner Pass Road, 530-587-8852, http://burgermetruckee.com/.

Related Posts

1. South Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures
2. North Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures
3. California’s Northstar Ski Resort at Lake Tahoe

The massive snows of January 2010 prompted me to take a fresh look at the winter sports scene around Lake Tahoe, which is one of the great winter sports areas anywhere in the world. After looking first at North Tahoe (see my post North Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures), I drove around the east side of the lake, with a stop at scenic Sand Harbor State Park, before arriving at the south end of the lake. I drove down Highway 50, back to the San Francisco Bay Area, after my stay in South Lake Tahoe.

Getting to and from the south end of the lake and San Francisco along Highway 50 is more challenging that driving Interstate 80 on the north side of the lake. Interstate 80 suffers from a pockmarked roadbed, but is at least fairly level and straight. Highway 50 is a twister with steep grades, definitely more treacherous in inclement weather. Try to hit a window between the storms. Be sure to carry chains when traveling in the Sierra in winter.

Harveys and Harrah’s (www.harrahslaketahoe.com), casinos in the same corporate family, continue to deliver well on elegant rooms and fine dining. From a room on the 18th floor at Harveys, it was pleasing to look out over the lake and the mountains. When the 19th-floor restaurant, 19 Kitchen Bar, is open, it provides a stunning view of the lake and the mountains. In winter you can walk a tunnel underneath the street to Harrah’s, which I did to enjoy a meal at Harrah’s Friday’s Station Steak and Seafood Grill.

Among independent restaurants in the area, my favorite in the past has been Evans American Gourmet Cafe, and it was good to hear that Evans is still flourishing. My new discovery was Mirabelle (www.mirabelletahoe.com), a French restaurant run by chef Camille Schwartz, born and raised in the Alsace-Lorraine. I savored an exquisite dinner of lobster bisque, mixed greens with seared prawns, and grilled lamb chops. This is a good place to put yourself in the hands of an expert and let him suggest wine pairings with his courses.

Not far away, at 169 Shady Lane, off Kingsbury Grade, is the photo selling shop cleverly named A Frame of Mind (www.aframeofmind.com/), run by John Thomas and Linde Ravize. There you can see their images of the Lake Tahoe region and get their lovely coffee table book of images and poetry, titled “Hearts of Light: Impressions of Lake Tahoe.” This is a good volume to curl up with in front of the fireplace and meditate on the beauty of the Lake Tahoe region.

Preserving the beauty of Lake Tahoe and making the vision sustainable is on the minds of many local residents. I went to a breakfast at the Embassy Suites Hotel (www.embassytahoe.com/ ) and listened in to a conversation on a sustainability and green theme, led by some local luminaries, such as Dennis Oliver, head of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Dave Hansen, chief engineer at Embassy Suites, which has received a coveted California green lodging award.

So much is happening in this area that is truly exciting for the future of the region. The clarity and purity of Lake Tahoe is an ongoing benchmark of the struggle. Much of the conflict involves mitigating the sins of the past. In the lumber era the hills were stripped, leaving erosion residues that remain. During the excessive building at the time of the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics, misguided projects occurred, such as the Tahoe Keys residential area on the region’s primary marshland. These are difficult trends to reverse.

Today, however, at a site such as the Embassy Suites, extreme measures are taken to filter the runoff water to keep the lake pure. Efforts to wash bedding in a new ozone technology, rather than in hot water, have taken hold. All disposable food containers on the property are truly biodegradable. Even the straws are made of plant material. All food wastes and paper food container wastes are composted and sold as soil amendment. Such green circular thinking in Tahoe suggests a path into the future where planning is carefully controlled. Planning is needed for an area with only 65,000 residents and 3 million annual visitors, with 80 percent of the economy depending on tourism. Much of the pleasure of tourism is involved in savoring the resource, meaning Tahoe must remain a relatively pristine place worth returning to.

Winter sports were my quest on this trip, so in South Tahoe I devoted a day each to perusing Heavenly Mountain Resort (www.skiheavenly.com) and to snowshoeing at Camp Richardson Historic Resort & Marina (www.camprichardson.com).

I rode up the Heavenly gondola and paused midway at the Observation Deck, at 9,123 feet, to get the most glorious elevated view of the lake that is easily accessible to everyone. Clouds and fog drifted about, giving a drama to the scene, revealing the entire lake with clarity and then obscuring its beauty in a teasing manner. I then continued on the gondola to the top, called Adventure Peak, to acquaint myself with the range of winter sports possible here. For the entire gondola ride, which takes 12 minutes, you move from the 6,255-foot lake level to 9,126 feet above sea level.

Snowshoers are welcome here and can bring their own snowshoes, the only personal winter sports gear, beyond skis and snowboards, allowed on the Heavenly mountains. Circular plastic sleds can be rented and used for very young children in a special sled area. Tubing on Tubing Hill is an interesting intergenerational sport for all people 42 inches high and higher. A motorized conveyor belt carries the tubers and their tubes up a hill, allowing them to then come circling down. This proved to be an enticing parent-and-child activity. From this Adventure Peak area, lifts take skiers and snowboarders to all areas of the Heavenly terrain, which can take days to ski thoroughly.

Hearty food is available with outdoor seating. I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich at the Smokehouse Grill. Chilled beer at the Umbrella Bar was welcome because Tahoe typically enjoys a sun-washed afternoon. It was important to keep myself well hydrated in the dry alpine air.

Another enjoyable treat involves a day of snowshoeing at historic Camp Richardson Resort, a lakefront setting on the southwest side of the lake. I stopped for lunch at their Beacon Bar and Grill restaurant, where the shrimp tacos are a good choice. At the Beacon Bar you can dine with a direct view of the lake and then snowshoe right out the front door along the lake shoreline. Camp Richardson is especially inviting because I could snowshoe along the blue lake, making a trek to the north and back, affording the full aesthetic combination of snow, forest, lake, and mountains. There are also groomed cross-country and snowshoe trails in the woods at Camp Richardson, going all the way back to Fallen Leaf Lake. Snowshoers walk on the outside of the cut cross-country tracks, leaving the cut tracks for the cross-country gliders and the interior part for the “skaters” moving quickly. However, in truth, Camp Richardson’s trails are not that busy or congested, so there isn’t that much traffic. I came back later that evening for a snowshoe walk along the lake with a full moon overhead, which was a bewitching outing. Camp Richardson is popular in summer for camping and offers cozy cabins year round.

When leaving Camp Richardson, I allowed time for a short ride north to the lovely overlook at Emerald Bay. This is my favorite lake-level view accessible to everyone in the entire Lake Tahoe region. You can park right alongside the road and look out at Fanning Island, the bay, and the Nevada mountains in the distance. On the north side of the bay there are turnouts to park at Eagle Falls, which lends a water element to this lovely landscape. Emerald Bay and Eagle Falls are favorite places to make stunning photos of Lake Tahoe. The light parades in a beguiling manner at dawn, during the day, and at sunset.

I finished my Tahoe winter adventure with a helicopter ride around the south side of the basin. This activity is organized by Claudio Bellotto, whose copters at HeliTahoe (www.helitahoe.com) fly out of the South Lake Tahoe airport. My 20-minute ride (available for $129) swung up the east side of the turquoise and teal-blue lake, then back around the south and west side up past Emerald Bay, then inland over the mountains. From a helicopter you can get a good sense of the forested alpine grandeur of the Lake Tahoe region, a 500-square-mile basin, with several smaller alpine lakes tucked into the mountains, besides Lake Tahoe itself. The full aesthetic of the region–meaning forests, mountains, lakes, and snow—coalesced in the helicopter flight. One of my favorite photos from the day shows iced-over Cascade Lake in the hills behind Emerald Bay. Lake Tahoe never freezes because of the huge volume of water in the lake.

**

When planning your own winter sports outing to South Lake Tahoe, the main tourism information source is www.tahoesouth.com.

See Lee Foster’s 200 worldwide travel writing/photography coverages at www.fostertravel.com.

Related Posts

1. North Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures
2. Skiing and Winter Adventures at Lake Tahoe, California
3. Skiing and Winter Sports at Lake Tahoe, California

The record snowfall in January 2010 made a winter sports trip to Tahoe an irresistible opportunity. Here are some details on what is new and interesting now, and looking into future years. I started at North Tahoe.

Reaching Tahoe via Interstate 80 during a snowy interlude requires chains and is stressful, due to road deterioration. The high points are at Emigrant Gap, Boreal, and Nyack, so once you get past those landmarks, if you haven’t been required to put on chains, you may be home free. Caltrans makes the decisions about the necessity of chains. Caltrans has certified so-called “chain monkeys” in green raincoats who will put on your chains for about $30 and then later take them off for another $15. Getting the chains installed correctly is important.

The chain monkeys allow you to avoid the road gunk, which is a cosmetic issue. The slushy road gunk can accumulate on your car’s headlights and windshield, so make sure you are traveling with an extra gallon of windshield wiper and fill the fluid container as needed. The local joke is, “Wash your car, so the snow will start falling.” Traveling early in the morning and in the evening or at night, when the wet road often freezes, is more treacherous than driving in the middle of the day, the time when chains are least likely to be required. Always carry chains in winter rather than chance it, but there are gas stations that can sell chains if you didn’t bring any.

The condition of the Highway 80 pavement may shock many travelers who haven’t been over it in recent years. You’ve heard of infrastructure decline. Well, Interstate 80 is a prime example and an opportunity to experience it. The sensation is that of driving over a cobblestone road at times. The constant pounding from heavy trucks, especially when they have chains on, has worn down the roadbed.

Northstar at Tahoe (www.northstarattahoe.com) is one good option for a complete winter sports immersion. Northstar is a self-contained ski area offering condo lodgings, skiing in and out from a village, and some fun village amenities. There’s an ice-skating rink circled by cabana lounge areas with outdoor gas-fired fire pits for the après-ski warm-up and marshmallow roasting. The Overlook Bar and the Cabana Bar can offer your beverage of choice. The Village at Northstar has its Starbucks and its one-of-a-kind restaurants, such as Baxters, among several eateries, plus some fun hangouts, such as the Chocolate Bar, and some upscale shopping. The mountain offers good intermediate skiing. There are views of the lake from the highest ridge.

Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing at Northstar are well organized, with 25 miles of dedicated trails. Snowshoeing occurs along the cross-country trail, starting from the mid-mountain dedicated hut called the Cross-Country, Telemark & Snowshoe Center. Good trail maps are available, showing the extensive trail system. You can even trek up to a picnic lookout area with a view of the lake.

At Northstar, the new lodging option is the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, set on a commanding ridge above the mid-mountain skiing. You can ski in and out from the Ritz. The Ritz décor has a theme of wood and water, and is strong on bold stone. Large indoor and outdoor fireplaces give it the feel of the Ahwahnee in Yosemite. I had breakfast at their Manzanita restaurant. It has an open kitchen, which is the actual kitchen, not just a show place. A Chef’s Table adjacent to the kitchen can give you immediate access to chef-inspired creations.

For fine dining experiences in the North Tahoe area, beyond the Ritz’s Manzanita, some good options are the Lone Eagle Grille in Incline Village, Six Peaks Grille at Olympic Valley, and Pianeta Ristorante in Truckee. All are capable of offering truly memorable dining experiences.

Six Peaks Grille (www.squawcreek.com/six-peaks-grille.php) is run by Chef Chad Shrewsbury, and he favors a new-style cooking technique called “molecular gastronomy.” This involves changing the basic food chemistry in some dramatic ways to enhance taste and affect texture. One of his plans for 2010 involves developing olive oil as a solid. “Sous-vide” is another of his techniques, which involves cooking in a vacuum at low temperature, sometimes called Cryovac cooking. The new taste frontiers require some new terminology. Chef Shrewsbury has his traditional menu as well as a new menu. I tried his braised veal cheek, butternut squash soup, and sea bass with truffle essence. The dinner was a delicious taste adventure and employed some of his new technology experiments.

Lone Eagle Grille (www.loneeaglegrille.com/) sports a handsome stone-and-wood interior, a kind of great hall, with a view of the lake in daylight. The menu is inviting and substantial. My creamy carrot soup, buffalo tenderloin, and huckleberry cheesecake created a memorable and leisurely meal.

Pianeta Ristorante (www.barofamerica.net/) is a rustic Tuscan dining venue in downtown Truckee. The goat cheese plate, lentil vegetable soup, and slow-braised Colorado lamb shank proved to be good choices.

For quick food in Truckee, try Burger Me (www.burgermetruckee.com/ ), which has inventive turkey, beef, and fish burgers, all strong on fresh produce and locally raised ingredients. Sweet potato fries are a specialty. This is a cozy and friendly place, a good spot to stoke up before heading out to a snowshoe or ski outing. The Me in Burger Me stands for a local chef, Mark Estee, who is one of the partners in the operation, along with Tom Farina, who will probably be on hand running the place. Burger Me is not “fast food,” but could perhaps be described as both quick food and slow food, all wrapped into one satisfying gustatory package.

A traveler interested in the gaming and entertainment history of North Lake Tahoe, complete with its tinge of mobster presence, will find it intriguing to stop by the Cal Neva Resort (www.calnevaresort.com/) and get a guided tour. Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack spent some time here, as did the mobster Sam Giancana. The resort started in 1927 and gambling was legalized in 1933 in Nevada. Nevada had no taxes in the 1920s and you could get a divorce quickly. Judy Garland sang here. Marilyn Monroe resided here the weekend before she died, in August 1962, at 36 years of age. A lot of lore and legend surround this now somewhat tired establishment, with its mobster aura.

Cal Neva bills itself as the first licensed casino in Nevada and the oldest operating casino in America. Frank Sinatra bought a part of the establishment in 1960 and brought his pals here. In summer you can stay in the Sinatra Cabin #5 and Monroe Cabin #3. At Cal Neva, Cynthia Langhof offers tours every day at 2 p.m. The Indian Room was the main entertainment room, but Sinatra also built a Celebrity Room with better acoustics so his voice would carry more melodiously.

One of the great nature sites in the area, especially in winter, is the Donner Memorial State Park (www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=503). This is an excellent site to snowshoe. Equipment can be rented in Truckee, but I recommended that you buy your own pair to use any time you wish.

Before going on a snowshoe trek at Donner Lake, stop in at the fine Donner Memorial State Park Museum, which has an appealing natural history display of the mammals, birds, and fish of the region. You can make the acquaintance of bobcats and beavers, as well as the kokanee salmon and Lahontan cutthroat trout. Beyond the natural history displays, there are cases and dioramas telling the story of the local Washoe Indians, the tragic Donner Party and its ill-fated attempt to cross the mountains in 1846, the railroad-building era, and the later lumbering period. The setting is most noted for the Donner Party tale. A fully re-created wagon exhibit shows the kinds of carriages they pulled westward with oxen. As is well known, the Donner Party got trapped in the mountains in early snows in October 1846 and resorted to cannibalism to survive the winter. A bookstore at the Visitor Center carries a good selection of area books covering history, travel, and natural history.

Ranger-guided snowshoe hikes are a special amenity at Donner State Park. Ranger Don Schmidt leads them and is a font of knowledge on both the history and the natural history of the region. If you ever need a walking, talking argument for the merit of funding the California state park system, make the acquaintance of ranger Don Schmidt. Through ranger Don a visitor learns of the complex Donner Party story, and how a series of miscalculations led them to become trapped in those October snows. The park is a good place to hike all year round, but the guided snowshoe hikes of winter are an unusual opportunity.

Donner Memorial State Park has a 2.9-mile Adventure Trail and a 1.8-mile Nature Trail for snowshoe hikes. You pass the Murphy cabin, one of four Donner party sites in the area. The various groups in the Donner cluster were bristling with animosity regarding each other. There was hostility between the Catholics and Protestants, for example. The scene was bubbling over with blame for what went wrong.

If you enjoy snowshoeing, there are plenty more venues available, including the most elaborate, which are alongside all the cross-country trails at Northstar. Etiquette requires that you walk on the right edge of the groomed area, rather than damage the elegant cut tracks for the cross-country skis or interfere with the “skaters” who ski the groomed area between the two sets of tracks. Camp Richardson at the south end of the lake is another snowshoe-friendly site. Sand Harbor State Park on the eastern shore of the lake would be a fitting rustic and scenic spot to tromp around. Sand Harbor is known for its massive boulders in the water.

After skiing or snowshoeing, there is a fun place in Truckee for wine tasting. The Truckee River Winery (www.truckeeriverwinery.com) has a tasting room and claims to be the “coldest and highest winery in the U.S.” You can get a free taste, then buy a glass of what you like. Russ and Jane Jones are the owners, with daughter Katy also now coming on board. Russ has an oenology degree from UC Davis and started the bonded winery in 1989. Pinot Noir is his favorite grape. They make about 1000 cases a year, and 450 are Pinot Noir.

Russ gets his Pinot grapes from Gary’s Vineyard in Monterey. He makes some Zinfandel from grapes grown near Lodi. The winery, open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. year round, has a pleasant outdoor picnic area in summer and functions as an après-ski wine-tasting site in winter. Russ Jones is an innovator on one aspect of wine packaging. He goes for screw caps, at negligible price, rather than cork stoppers, at 50 cents per cork, for some of his wines. Russ feels that the screw cap is an excellent closure, assuming you don’t want to age the wine. However, bowing to public perception and demand, he uses cork on his highest end bottles, partly also for the aging opportunities.

Stop by the Carmel Gallery (www.thecarmelgallery.com), adjacent to the Truckee Hotel, if you want to immerse yourself in some fine art photography of the Tahoe basin and perhaps take home a memento book about the region. The artists here are Elizabeth Carmel and her husband Olof Carmel, both accomplished photographers. Elizabeth’s photos of Sand Harbor, with its huge rocks, and of Eagle Falls near Emerald Bay, especially at dawn in summer, alert you to some of the loveliest views you can experience in the Tahoe trip. The gallery downstairs covers the Tahoe region, with images farther afield on display upstairs.

Historic Walking Tours in Truckee are offered by Chelsea Walterscheid of the Truckee Donner Historical Society (www.truckeehistory.org/ ). Try to hook up with Chelsea if your schedule permits. Chelsea is both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the details of this railroad and lumbering town, with its wood buildings still intact and looking quaint. Truckee’s legacy downtown is a survivor of the frequent fires that wiped out wood towns throughout the West. Truckee has a special place in the history of western lumbering because the rail presence made transport out easy and the surrounding hills had ample forests, which were pine and fir, of course, totally unlike the redwood trees of the northern California coast. Truckee had 14 mills running in 1868, turning out 66 million board feet of lumber per year.

One picturesque lodging option, while exploring Truckee, would be to stay out at Donner Lake, which offers some scenic possibilities. A night in a condo at Donner Lake Village Resort (www.donnerlakevillage.com) allowed me to enjoy both a sunset and sunrise perspective over this lake, which is one of the lovelier alpine lake views in California.

After looking at this North Lake Tahoe area, it was time to proceed to the south, which is recounted in my post “South Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures.”

**

Tourism information sources for the North Tahoe area include a multi-entity site www.gotahoenorth.com, a good place to start. The Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce is at www.truckee.com.

See Lee Foster’s 200 worldwide travel writing/photography coverages at www.fostertravel.com.

Related Posts

1. South Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures
2. Skiing and Winter Sports at Lake Tahoe, California
3. Skiing and Winter Adventures at Lake Tahoe, California

by Lee Foster

Is there an art to organizing a family reunion?

For a period of eighteen years my four sisters and I, accompanied by our parents, spouses, significant others, and children, gathered for an annual summer family reunion.

Our group of 15-20 people, ages 1-75, convened at some choice location, usually in California or the West, for a few core days of family camaraderie. Our family members come from Minnesota, California, and Indonesia for this annual ritual.

The original event that sparked our first family reunion was a sad moment–the death of our mother. The feeling of the five children coming together was so positive that we resolved to meet each year, rather than wait for funerals to unite us.

Over the years I have been appointed de facto family organizer of this event. After all, shouldn’t a veteran travel writer know something about good places to travel to? As the years progressed, I have been given broad discretionary powers, almost as a benevolent dictator.

The reunions have gone well, so I have decided to define some thoughts both on how to organize a reunion and where to go.

I’ll share with you my best judgments about the process and our favorite reunion locations.

So here goes:

1. Appoint someone in the family as chairman to take charge and make decisions.

Family reunions can’t be run by a committee. A family reunion needs a group leader with the time, patience, and tact to arrange the details.

Weigh all the expressed wishes of family members as to date, place, and activities. Everything from school schedules to desired budget limits must be considered. Then decide what the plan will be and communicate frequently to family members who will attend, building the anticipation.

2. Realize that the family changes and is never the same.

We try to emphasize that each reunion is an event in itself, a moment to be savored, for the here and now.

The reunion exists for those who choose to participate. Some family members inevitably will not be able to come.

The reunion is not a repeat of past years. We usually choose a new place every year to signal the freshness of the event.

Part of the fun of the reunion is the opportunity to embrace the evolving family scene.

3. Accommodate your family in the style to which they have become accustomed.

Don’t go too rustic, which will offend, or too posh, which will strain budgets.

If the chairman wants to commit everyone to a five-day rafting trip on Idaho’s River of No Return, the Salmon River, the question arises: is that everyone’s notion of a good time?

Our family has discovered in recent years how much we like to cook for ourselves. Your family might want to escape this task. We have some talented chefs, so our idea of a good time now includes creating a family feast. Our Kauai, Hawaii, and Bodega Bay, California lodgings proved excellent for this passion.

Around the dinner table or out on the trail, the one-on-one conversations and cross-generational bonds create the essence of a satisfying family reunion. If the lodging, food, and activities all work together, magic moments occur.

4. Balance the social intensity of the family meeting with some cultural activities that enhance the family.

Our Ashland, Oregon family reunion was particularly memorable because we all saw Shakespeare’s Richard III at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Besides the attraction of re-meeting family members, think of the reunion as a time when family members can enrich themselves culturally or in their awareness of nature. For example, at Ashland we also rafted the Rogue River together.

5. Plan some activities that everyone can participate in, regardless of age or physical prowess.

The glue that binds families together is the sense that being part of the family is all that is needed.

For example, at our most recent reunion, held at Waimea Plantation Cottages on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, I wanted everyone to see the fabled Na Pali Coast.

Previously, I had hiked the Kalalau Trail to see the beauty of this coast, but I ruled that out for the family, as too rigorous for some participants.

So I chartered a boat, the Na Pali Kai, for the day, and we motored up to see the beauty of the coast. We snorkeled in some choice spots, then watched the sea turtles and dolphins that swam by. The trip offered something for all ages, all physical abilities, and required no special clothes or equipment.

On other years I’ve chosen some zany activities that were great levelers. Think of activities that everyone can do, especially if you are a competitive group, as we are. At our Bodega Bay, California, reunion I bought kites for everyone and we flew the kites at Salmon Beach. With a kite in hand and a brisk wind blowing, everyone could participate equally.

What activities the family will want to participate in will change over the years. For example, when we started, there were only a couple of golfers in our group. Now there are only a couple of people who don’t play golf. A reunion site, for our group, must now include golf courses.

6. Emotional fireworks will occur, even if you never hear them explode.

Reunions are inherently volatile and incendiary events, even if the turmoil has little outward manifestation.

As everyone ages, the reunion becomes a time to evaluate ourselves and our clan, to take stock of our relationships. Elation, equanimity, and disappointment are only a few of the possible resulting emotions.

Frictions may simmer as all the generations compare success stories and evaluate each other’s achievements.

Sibling rivalries never die, but may mellow out.

The grief of a family saddened by death, divorce, and other possible traumas affects children and adults at a reunion, who realize that the traditional, once-complete family no longer exists.

Successful reunions require that family members extend to each other generous emotional space and support, especially if one or more family member is going through difficult times.

Emotional gyrations may take unusual forms. For example, the intensity of our family reunions, the anticipation of seeing each other, the pleasure in the core group is so strong that bringing a casual acquaintance along can be risky. Will this person, competing for valuable family attention, be around next year?

Family reunions are times when floods of happiness and sadness wash over people. Both emotional ranges can be overwhelming experiences.

7. Some final advice:

Go back to your roots, but also venture forth. We’ve enjoyed a return to our native Minnesota, an immersion in the lake cottage world of Grand View Lodge on Gull Lake. But we’ve also savored excursions into new territory, such as Hawaii.

Reunions get easier as the years pass. Reunions can be an extremely satisfying residual memory as life proceeds.

Consider creating reunion mementos. T-shirts, basbeall caps, and kites with your family name on them are good possibilities.

Everyone will protest the effort to do the family photo or video, but all will appreciate it later.

For the Fosters, the annual family reunion became a high point of the year, a time of celebration, sharing, and special events. Perhaps your own family will also have some memorable experiences if you practice the art of the family reunion.

***

FAMILY REUNIONS: IF YOU PLAN ONE

Here are my judgments on five good family reunion sites, the best we’ve experienced in our 18-year research:

1. Waimea Plantation Cottages, Kauai, Hawaii. We rented a large house, the Manager’s Estate, on this former sugar cane plantation. The house had five bedrooms. This may have been our best reunion ever. We could prepare our feasts, savor the wide lawns, indulge in the peace and quiet. Though somewhat rustic, the place had an excellent pool. We all saw the beautiful Na Pali Coast from a chartered boat. Some of us drove to Waimea Canyon and hiked the Kalalau Trail.

For further information, contact Waimea Plantation Cottages, www.waimea-plantation.com.

2. House rental at Bodega Bay, California. We rented a large, five-bedroom house on the coast, at Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco, from a local entity known as Vacation Rentals USA. The house was called the Harbor Master house, 1487 Bay Flat Road. We flew kites at Salmon Creek Beach. One of our best family hikes ever was a choice three-miler along the Pomo Canyon Trail, showing us both oak woodlands and redwood groves. We ate regional seafood at Lucas Wharf in Bodega Bay.

For further information, contact Vacation Rentals USA, www.vacationrentalsusa.com.

3. The Ahwahnee and Yosemite Lodge at Yosemite National Park, California. The natural splendors of Yosemite are a world-class treat. The Ahwahnee is posh. Yosemite Lodge is more reasonable. We did day hikes on the valley floor and explored some of the outlying areas by car, such as Glacier Point. We let the chefs at the Ahwahnee do our cooking.

For further information, contact Yosemite Concession Services-Reservation, www.yosemitepark.com.

4. Grandview Lodge on Gull Lake, Minnesota. This reunion allowed us to re-live our youth, those lazy summer days at cottages and lodges in Minnesota. Grandview is one of the best such lodges, with a choice lakefront location. The lodge price includes delicious breakfasts and dinners, plus plenty of watersport activities for everyone during the day. There’s also golf, something that has become more and more important to some members of our family over the years.

For further information, contact Grand View Lodge, www.grandviewlodge.com.

5. Buckhorn Springs Inn at Ashland, Oregon. This lovely rustic retreat, about 15 miles east of Ashland, was another great reunion site. The proprietors cooked delicious food from their large, organic garden. The setting was rural and peaceful, a former turn-of-the-century spa. From this base we rafted the Rogue River, bicycled around Crater Lake, and took in Shakespeare at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The Adventure Center in Ashland arranged logistics for our outings.

For further information, contact Buckhorn Springs Inn, www.buckhornsprings.org.

Related Posts

1. California Travel Itineraries
2. California’s Yosemite National Park
3. The Mystique of Cross-Country Skiing in California

by Lee Foster

California offers an itinerant skier some of the finest skiing in the world, especially at the major ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe basin.

All the ingredients necessary for an outstanding skiing experience are present.

The snow usually falls plentifully, amounting to some 350-400 inches per year. Major ski areas have also invested in snow-making equipment to give Mother Nature an assist. The ski season usually runs mid-November to mid-March.

The sun usually shows a welcome presence in California skiing. You are not likely to experience the long periods of bitter cold that characterizes some inland skiing areas. Typically, a dazzling afternoon sun takes the chill off the early morning, creating a 25-45 degree afternoon temperature.

The setting is extraordinary, especially if you focus your attention on the Lake Tahoe basin. Mark Twain, who was not given to superlatives, asserted that an exception should be made in the case of Lake Tahoe, which he called “the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”

Twain, who had a remarkable ability to turn a phrase, went on about Tahoe, noting, “The water is clearer than the air, and the air is the air that angel’s breathe.”

The lake can be seen readily from the ski slopes of four major resorts–Heavenly, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, and Sierra-at-Tahoe. Clarity (said to be 97 percent pure), deep bluish color, elevation (at 6,225 feet), mountainous and wooded setting in the Sierra Nevadas, and size (22 miles long and 8-12 miles wide) combine to make Lake Tahoe one of the most attractive freshwater lakes in North America. The extraordinary blue color occurs because of the lake’s remarkable depth, as much as 1,645 feet, with about 1,000 feet as the average.

California skiing presents world-class runs at well-organized resorts. On the northwest side of the lake you’ll find three of the stellar ski sites–Squaw Valley, Northstar, and Alpine Meadows. The fourth, Heavenly, sits at the south end of the lake. And the fifth and sixth, Kirkwood and Sierra-at-Tahoe, nestle in the mountains southwest of the lake. At Squaw Valley, in 1960, the Winter Olympics gave the world a taste for California skiing. There is some skiing in California from Mt. Shasta in the north to the mountains east of Los Angeles in the south, but the finest skiing in California occurs in the Lake Tahoe basin, with the possible addition of relatively inaccessible Mammoth Mountain in the southern Sierra. The Lake Tahoe area has developed the largest concentration of ski resorts in the U.S. Nineteen ski resorts can be reached within a 45-minute drive of the lake.

Good access is a major plus for the Lake Tahoe region. The ski resorts and major lodgings are within an hour’s shuttle or rental-car drive from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Most of the lodging takes place at the south end of the lake, where there are major casino hotels, such as Harrah’s and Harvey’s, and a chateau-like hostelry, the Embassy Suites. The alternative route in is from San Francisco to the west, about four hours by car to the north end of the lake, along Interstate 80, or to the south end of the lake, via Highway 50. Once you’ve arrived, the all-weather route around the lake is on the east side. The west side drive, past Emerald Bay, is closed in heavy snow, though take it if the road is open because the view at Emerald Bay is the choicest in the Lake Tahoe region

If there’s a non-skier in your group, the scenic tram rides at Heavenly and Squaw Valley to the tops of the mountains, with sweeping views of the lake, are highly recommended. Both trams have restaurants at the top, pleasant places to pass some time, plus large sunny decks where you can curl up with a good book for a winter’s afternoon. A drive around the lake to see the views or an excursion ride on a tour boat, MS Dixie II, are activities favored by non-skiers.

Skiers and non-skiers enjoy the diversion that the Nevada side of the border offers at the “gaming” tables and entertainment in the casinos. The casinos at Stateline also offer excellent buffet dinners at reasonable prices. Harrah’s Forest Buffet is highly recommended. There are also gourmet restaurants, such as the Sage Room steakhouse at Harvey’s or the California-cuisine offerings of Echo at the Embassy Suites. Evans restaurant is another fine-dining pace setter in the region.

A ski trip here requires some attention to planning, preferably with a map in front of you. Where will you ski? You can’t go wrong with any of the top six ski resorts. Travelers often ski one per day, hitting all six in a week’s trip. Where will you lodge? South Lake Tahoe has plentiful lodging and three of the resorts–Northstar, Squaw Valley, and Kirkwood–have on-site condos and restaurants. You can be peripatetic and see the whole area or take a condo at one resort and ski back and forth to your front door for your whole vacation period. If you want an alternative type of lodging, consider Sorensen’s, a cluster of historic cabins run by hospitable John and Patty Brissenden, about 20 minutes from the south end of the lake. Sorensen’s would be a good choice of lodging if you want to concentrate your skiing at Heavenly and Kirkwood. Some skiers also lodge in Reno to enjoy the nightlife and take day trips out to the slopes, though it’s not a short commute if you do it repeatedly. And finally, how will you get around? A rental car gives you maximum flexibility. Always carry chains and be prepared for storms, which can come up fast. Shuttles from the south end of the lake can take you back and forth to the ski areas.

All these major ski areas offer excellent ski instruction programs, whether group or individual. Group lessons are usually two-hour to half-day affairs. Individual lessons can often be scheduled for one intense hour of instruction. Each resort also has its children’s instruction and daycare program, known as Starkids at Northstar, for example.

Each ski area maintains an elaborate rental shop, so you don’t need to bring skis if you don’t wish to or don’t have skis.

Aside from alpine or downhill skiing, California also offers some of the country’s most elaborate cross-country skiing. Northstar and Kirkwood have well-developed courses of cross-country track and “skating” lanes, referring to the cross-country style of rapid skiing on short skis in the manner of a speed skater. West of the lake along Interstate 80, at Soda Springs, you’ll find Royal Gorge, the most developed cross-country site in the country, with over 200 miles of set track. Royal Gorge is the first of the destination cross-country resorts, complete with its gourmet food and lodging setup, either mid-mountain or at its handy highway-side lodging, Rainbow Inn.

With these introductory remarks in mind, let’s look more closely at the six major alpine ski destinations and the country’s premier cross-country resort. Each site has its own particular magic for skiers:

HEAVENLY

For a high intermediate or advanced skier, Heavenly offers enough runs to explore for days without repeating yourself.

Heavenly is heavenly both for its view of the lake and the diversity of its runs. The view of the lake from the top of the tram, plus even more rewarding views of the lake from the summit, make Heavenly special. The view can be savored while nursing a drink at the Top of the Tram Restaurant.

The size of Heavenly is amazing. Fully nine mountains and over 20 square miles of skiable surface delineate Heavenly, one of the largest ski areas in North America. Thirty-one lifts carry skiers to the far reaches. The high-speed tram transports skiers quickly to midmountain, where they can disperse. Heavenly boasts 84 runs, including a five-and-a-half-mile trail if you put several runs together. The vertical drop is a gargantuan 3,500 feet.

Access to the mountain is from locations in both states, Nevada and California. The Nevada side of the mountain, complete with its Boulder Base and Stagecoach Lodge, is a good morning sun area. The California side, where the tram operates and the Main Lodge is sited, is a sunnier afternoon ski location.

Heavenly is an upside-down ski area, with one of its most challenging runs, a mogul-studded precipice called “Gunbarrel”, right at the bottom, in full view of a sweeping deck loaded with oohing and aahing appreciators of this nuanced alpine sport. Much of the base lodge has been rebuilt with reflective glass and a wood-shingle exterior.

At the California base of Heavenly a gondola carries skiers rapidly from downtown to Heavenly and then up the mountain. The Park Avenue Project provides resort lodging and a village atmosphere.

SQUAW VALLEY

Squaw Valley exudes a distinct world-class and Olympian feel. This aura is not merely an historic reflection of this site for the 1960 Winter Olympics, which celebrated one of the steepest collection of runs in the nation. You feel it in the parking lot as you arrive and look around. A portion of the patrons seem to be beautiful people who have just stepped out of advertisements. The women are wearing furs. In a shop next to the slope you can snap up a $500 skiing outfit.

As you ascend the mountain, either in the speedy, six-person, modernistic gondola called a Funitel or in the huge 150-person tram-cable car, you get another impression. The mountain has ski runs spread out in wide bowls rather than narrow trails. Squaw maintains a 30-unit lift system, one of the most extensive in the country.

The two day lodges at mid-mountain are elaborate affairs. Gold Coast complex at the top of the gondola includes large outdoor decks, a restaurant, bar, ski check area, and ski repair shop. High Camp complex at the top of the tram-cable car includes the rather posh Alexanders restaurant, with white table cloths, glass wine glasses, and a view of Lake Tahoe.

Beginner and intermediate skiers feel comfortable at Squaw. The gradual slopes are near the top of the mountain, not in the path of a hotdogger’s descent. An intermediate skier can roam over six peaks that receive an average of 450 inches of snow each year. An expert skier can trace the path of Olympians down renowned mountain KT-22 and the famous Red Dog run. A long end-of-the-day run sweeps the full distance of the mountain bowls down to the base of Squaw.

NORTHSTAR

Northstar is the most complete, residential ski area of the five major ski sites at Tahoe. Condominiums and a Village Mall of restaurants and shops give Northstar a well-planned self-contained feel. The private, peace-and-quiet feel of Northstar is notable. A new Ritz Carlton opened here in the 2009-2010 season.

The mountain at Northstar, Mt. Pluto, has excellent intermediate runs and is well-patrolled by the Northstar staff, insuring safe skiing. Beginners and low-intermediate skiers find plenty of wide, meandering trails. Expert skiers rocket down steep chutes, such as the Schaffer Camp run. Ticket sales are limited to the carrying capacity of the mountain, which insures that lift lines will not be long.

The Starkids ski school guides children. Certified ski instructors assist adult learners. A six-person gondola takes skiers to the mid-mountain area, where most of the runs originate. Large decks at the Wine and Cheese House provide a rest area between runs.

From the ridge along the top of Mt. Pluto there are pleasing views of the lake, though the perspective is obscured somewhat by trees. Northstar’s northeast-facing direction makes it a wind-protected site if the weather kicks up around the lake. A spa and hot tub in the communal Swim and Racquet Club take the chill off skiers at the end of the day.

Northstar also has developed an extensive cross-country system, complete with a Cross-Country and Telemark Center at mid-mountain. The Center is well-equipped with rental gear. Twenty-five miles of groomed paths await the nordic skier and the “skater” who prefers cross-country racing. Telemark or downhill skiing on cross-country skis is also allowed.

The food facilities, split between the base and the Day Lodge areas, range from Pedro’s Pizza, a family pizza parlor, to the more elegant Schaffer’s Mill Restaurant, which serves three meals a day. The Rendezvous bar is a good drinking and meeting place.

ALPINE MEADOWS

Though Alpine Meadows is only a mountain away from Squaw, the tone of the establishment differs markedly. Alpine Meadows is a family-oriented day-visitor ski area, but it is not merely family size. Alpine includes grand slopes with runs second to none, including the notorious bump run called Scott’s Chute. Over 2,000 skiing acres stretch across two large mountains.

However, the huge day lodge at the base, the most spacious such lodge in the region, epitomizes the matter of style. The main floor of the day lodge consists of a large cafeteria that plunges one into a massive party of families, teenagers, and college kids. Each year Alpine celebrates another season of friendly, family skiing.

The high base area and variety of sun exposures at Alpine combine to offer one of Tahoe’s longest ski seasons and some of the most dependable snow conditions in the region, especially in late spring when other resorts falter. The terrain of the ski bowl is easily comprehended as you view it with a ski map in hand. Ski runs tend to converge at the base of the mountains near the central lodge.

Week-long ski clinics can turn the never-ever skier into an accomplished aficionado. Of the two mountains, Ward Peak offers good open-bowl skiing and Scott’s Peak offers more tree skiing for the expert who wants to thread through the forest.

KIRKWOOD

Kirkwood has the most wilderness feel of all the ski areas because it is set back in the mountains, far from the lake and from city development.

The ski area sprawls over a wide mountain, with plenty of beginner as well as expert runs. Kirkwood, whose base is at 7,800 feet, is consistently home to one of North America’s deepest snowpacks and features snow of the highest quality all through its runs. There is a lodge at the base of the ski runs.

The cross-country program includes 80 miles of set track. The staff is highly professional, offering competent lessons. Conservation and environmental awareness are distinctive parts of the program. Posted signs show the wildlife often seen during winter in the meadows and at the lava cliffs above. Coyotes, golden eagles, weasels, martens, and chickadees are sometimes spotted by skiers. The Caples Creek trail takes you past beaver ponds. Scenic views show the western downslope of the Desolation Wilderness.

A large meadow at the cross-country trailhead allows beginning skiers to build their skills. Elaborate intermediate and expert trails can be found in the adjacent hills along the Schneider and Caples Lake trail systems.

Kirkwood offers condominiums you can ski to and the Cornice restaurant for gourmet dining.

Ski lodges at Kirkwood include The Mountain Club and Snowcrest Lodge, both luxury ski in/ski out establishments.

SIERRA-AT-TAHOE

A final major player in the Lake Tahoe skiing scene is the ski area known as Sierra-at-Tahoe, located on Highway 50 on the west side of Echo Summit, making it the closest snow-sports resort to Sacramento and San Francisco. Sierra-at-Tahoe has a number of positive aspects to recommend it.

The view from the top of its highest lift at Grand View peak gives a stunning perspective on the Sierra, showing the ridge line of the Desolation Wilderness and the distant appearance of Lake Tahoe. Along the Desolation Wilderness ridge you see the peaks known as Pyramid, Ralston, and Tallac, the last of which is the highest peak in the Tahoe basin. Moreover, the Grand View lift takes even the beginner skier to see the spectacular view, which can be enjoyed comfortably from a ridgetop restaurant, the Grand View Grill & Lake View BBQ, which offers a rare 360-degree view of the mountains from this lofty 8,852-foot deck.

At this ethereal spot a beginner skier can take the 2.5-mile Sugar and Spice run to the bottom, making this one of the longer green runs anywhere. Indeed, it is an emphasis on fun, on families, and on beginner skiing that Sierra-at-Tahoe excels at. For the youngsters, there is a Fun Zone area where costumed creatures lead the child into snow and ski fun. The specially-designed Ski Tracks program takes a beginner skier, whether child or adult, literally by the hand and walks him or her up to a moderate level of proficiency. For someone who wants to learn to ski, this is one of the good programs. Sierra-at-Tahoe boasts much good intermediate and some expert terrain, but does not compete with the elaborate downhill runs for experts at the other major ski sites. Tucked into the mountains, the resort is fairly well protected from winds. Snowboarders find Sierra-at-Tahoe a congenial place. Unlike the other major ski areas, Sierra-at-Tahoe closes down entirely in summer, so mountain bikers and hikers should go elsewhere.

ROYAL GORGE

Royal Gorge amounts to the largest and most elaborate cross-country ski resort in existence. The trends of the future in cross-country are being tested today at Royal Gorge. About 120,000 skiers glide across the trails at Royal Gorge each year.

The numbers at Royal Gorge are impressive. The resort presents 65 trails, about 200 groomed miles in total, allowing you to ski for days without repeating a trail. Eight warming huts are scattered around the property. The resort boasts an eight-mile, gradually-descending run as one amenity among many on its 7,000-acre site.

The Ice Lakes Lodge, in the heart of Royal Gorge, requires a several-day commitment, starting with a sleigh ride or a ski in to get there. Once situated, you enjoy gourmet food, the relaxation of a hot tub, and expert guides taking you out on the trails.

The day skier at Royal Gorge benefits from a highly professional staff and a large north-facing mountain slope, located off Highway 80 at Soda Springs, four hours east of San Francisco.

Royal Gorge attracts three times more skiers than its closest competition in California. The California resorts also dwarf cross-country skiing in any other region, including New England or the Rockies. Only Anchorage, Alaska, with its Kincaid Park, rivals Royal Gorge in size.

Besides Wilderness Lodge, they have another facility, Rainbow Lodge, a ski trip away.

One scenic trail up to Snow Mountain Hut allows you to gaze out over the Royal Gorge on the North Fork of the American River.

Whether your passion runs to downhill or cross-country, California’s Lake Tahoe area can deliver a ski experience second to none.

***

CALIFORNIA SKIING: IF YOU GO

For information on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, contact the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, www.tahoesouth.com.

For information and lodging prospects at the north end of the lake, contact the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, www.tahoefun.org.

Reno, the fly-in gateway, is an hour northeast of Tahoe. Major lodgings in Reno offer shuttles to the slopes. For information, contact the Reno/Sparks Convention and Visitor Authority, www.rscva.com.

Major airlines fly into the Reno Cannon International Airport.

If driving to or within the region, accurate road information, especially in times of heavy snowfall, comes from Caltrans (800/427-7623). Always carry chains.

The major ski resorts are:

Heavenly Ski Resort, www.skiheavenly.com.

Squaw Valley USA, www.squaw.com.

Alpine Meadows, www.skialpine.com.

Northstar-at-Tahoe, www.skinorthstar.com.

Kirkwood, www.skikirkwood.com. Kirkwood is 35 miles south of Tahoe on Highway 89.

Sierra-at-Tahoe Snowsport Resort, www.sierratahoe.com.

Royal Gorge Cross-Country Ski Area, www.royalgorge.com.

Related Posts

1. Skiing and Winter Sports at Lake Tahoe, California
2. South Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures
3. North Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures

As you peruse the bountiful travel options in the Golden State, the question arises: just what are the best things to do and see at each of the major travel destinations?

You probably don’t want to be overwhelmed, so let’s consider just the five choicest options for each destination.

If traveling with kids, you might enjoy a couple of suggestions for each destination titled Especially For Kids.

Here are my judgments on the choicest picks for a traveler in California:

SAN DIEGO

Suggested Itinerary:

*See the harbor from Point Loma and the Cabrillo Monument.

*Linger at the first California Mission founded by Junipero Serra.

*Witness the dynamism of the downtown Horton Plaza architecture.

*Take a boat tour of the Harbor to see the city skyline and the naval fleet.

*Enjoy an evening of theatre at The Old Globe, which might be Shakespeare or a contemporary play.

Especially For Kids:

*Allow a half-day at Sea World. Be sure to see The Penguin Encounter.

*Plan for another half-day at the San Diego Zoo. The re-created Tropical Rain Forest has provided habitat for many exotic creatures.

SAN DIEGO’S NORTH COUNTY

Suggested Itinerary:

*Take the tram tour at The San Diego Wild Animal Park.

*See the architectural splendor of Mission San Luis Rey.

*Taste Wine at Ferrara Winery, example of a family winery.

*Hike to see spring wildflowers at Anza Borrego Park.

*Tour the fruit stands around Escondido, with a stop at Bates Nut Farm.

Especially For Kids:

*Observe the animals during feeding at Wild Animal Park.

*Gaze at the large telescopes at Palomar Observatory.

LOS ANGELES

Suggested Itinerary:

*Start at the heart of Los Angeles with a walk in the Pueblo area around Olvera Street.

*Contrast this with a stroll around the new downtown starting at the ARCO Towers.

*Watch the taping of a favorite TV show on one of the network programs.

*Immerse yourself in some of the amazing art museums of the Los Angeles region, such as the Huntington in Pasadena or the Getty Center.

*In Orange County, enjoy a range of movie and restaurant entertainment options at the Irvine Spectrum Center.

Especially For Kids:

*Plan a full day at Disneyland, arriving early in the morning to avoid the crowds.

*Tour Universal Studios to see how movies are made.

PALM SPRINGS

Suggested Itinerary:

*Acquaint yourself with the desert flora and fauna at the Living Desert Reserve.

*Make a half-day tour of Joshua Tree Monument, taking in the palm-filled washes and ocotillo-strewn uplands.

*See desert plants from many of the major deserts of the world at the Moorten Gardens.

*Soak in a hot spring at a spa resort in this land of the Aqua Caliente Indians.

*Tour the Coachella valley to see date and other crops in California’s year-round agriculture production.

Especially For Kids

*Ride to the top of the Aerial Tramway, from the desert floor to the pine-covered highlands.

*Take a horseback ride through one of the Indian-owned Palm Canyons.

DEATH VALLEY/MOJAVE DESERTS

Suggested Itinerary:

*Witness the profuse spring wildflowers at the California State Poppy Park, west of Lancaster.

*Enjoy the trompe l’oeil vista at Zabriske Point in Death Valley National Park.

*Tour Death Valley Scotty’s fantasy castle at the north edge of Death Valley.

*Let a Death Valley park ranger introduce you to a pupfish during one of the guided park outings.

*Hear the poignant story of the Manly Expedition survivors at the Furnace Creek visitor center.

Especially For Kids:

*Pose for the family snapshot at Badwater in Death Valley, lowest point in the USA.

*Camp out to see the starry desert night sky at Saddleback Butte, east of Lancaster.

SANTA BARBARA

Suggested Itinerary:

*Visit the Mission, one of the loveliest in California, partly because of its fountain and adjacent gardens.

*Walk the Red Tile Tour to see the unified city architecture in the downtown area.

*See the Art Museum’s California paintings, including some Bierstadt landscapes.

*Peruse the California flora at the Botanic Garden, an extensive display of various California plant communities.

*Stroll Stearns Wharf and the shoreline promenade along the provided walking/biking paths.

Especially For Kids:

*Rent family-size bicycle cabs for a ride along the shoreline path.

*Wade the Pacific at a shallow, inviting beach, safe for kids, known as Carpinteria.

MONTEREY-CARMEL-BIG SUR

Suggested Itinerary:

*Visit the final resting place of Junipero Serra, the indefatigable Franciscan, at the Carmel Mission.

*Observe the marvels of offshore life along the California coast at the Monterey Aquarium.

*Tour the 17-Mile Drive at Pebble Beach and note the manner in which the Lone Cypress has survived the elements.

*Spend a half-day strolling the art galleries of Carmel.

*Walk the trails of Point Lobos to commune with the sea otter and the California poppy.

Especially For Kids:

*Introduce them to the playful sea otters at the Monterey Aquarium.

*Let them build sandcastles at China Cove in Point Lobos while you open a bottle of Cabernet to toast the Pacific.

EXPLORING BIG SUR

Suggested Itinerary:

*Stop at turnoffs along the drive, such as Bixby Bridge, to savor the Pacific.

*Meditate at Point Sur Lighthouse on the isolation of the area before the road.

*Walk the beach at Andrew Molera and Big Sur state parks.

*If you have the time, take a side road trip on Palo Colorado Road to see redwoods and the pine-covered back country of Los Padres National Forest.

*Enjoy a drink on the deck at Nepenthe, high over the Pacific.

Especially For Kids:

*Let them become apprentice beachcombers at Molera or Big Sur state park beaches.

*Arm them with binoculars to spot whales, from the Nepenthe deck, going south in January and north in March.

SANTA CRUZ

Suggested Itinerary:

*Stroll the last of the California boardwalks and take a nostalgic ride on the Big Dipper, one of the best of the old-fashioned rollercoasters.

*Enjoy a seafood dinner out on The Wharf.

*Walk Pacific Garden Mall to assess how the city is recovering from the Earthquake of 1989.

*Amble around the University of California-Santa Cruz campus to see its innovative and diverse architecture.

*Take a barbecue dinner ride on the Roaring Camp Railroad.

Especially For Kids:

*The Boardwalk is a kid pleaser, whether it’s the carousel horses for the young or the arcade games and rides for older kids.

*The Roaring Camp Railroad takes kids of all ages back to the era of steam trains.

SACRAMENTO AND THE DELTA

Suggested Itinerary:

*Witness the story of the railroad in the West at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento.

*Observe Swiss entrepreneur John Sutter’s outpost of civilization, Sutter’s Fort, in Sacramento. Sutter was overrun by the Gold Rush. Adjacent is the State Indian Museum.

*Feel the political power of the Golden State by gazing up at the State Capitol dome.

*Meander through the Delta waterways by taking sideroad Highway 160 along the Sacramento River.

*Tour Locke, a Delta town originally founded by Chinese.

Especially For Kids:

*Lodge kids on the restored riverboat, Delta King, now a hotel in Old Sacramento, and immerse them in railroad romance at the State Railroad Museum.

*Authentic Indian lore and artifacts are abundantly evident in the State Indian Museum adjacent to Sutter’s Fort.

GOLD RUSH COUNTRY OF CALIFORNIA

Suggested Itinerary:

*Immerse yourself in the Gold Rush at Columbia, the best restored Gold Rush community.

*Lodge in a quaint Gold Rush hotel, such as the City Hotel in Columbia or Murphys Hotel in Murphys.

*Attend a Gold Country event, such as the annual Fireman’s Muster at Columbia, the spring Daffodil Hill flowering, and the Angel’s Camp Jumping Frog jubilee, recalling Mark Twain’s story.

*Stop at the site where it all began, in Coloma, where John Marshall discovered gold in a millrace.

*Indulge in a cozy dinner at one of the Gold Rush era dining rooms, such as the National Hotel in Nevada City, and wash down dinner with a good Gold Rush country wine, such as Zinfandel from D’Agostini.

Especially For Kids:

*Pan for gold at the Matelot Mining Company in Columbia or in the more rustic Mariposa Creek at Mariposa, after seeing the 211-ounce Fricot nugget at the State Mineral Museum, Mariposa.

*See how Indians ground up acorns in the thousands of depressions in the rocks at Indian Grinding Rock State Park.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

Suggested Itinerary:

*Walk and take the tram around Yosemite Valley to see the major land forms, such as Half Dome and El Capitan, from different perspectives and in the varying light at different times of the day.

*Walk to the various falls, such as Yosemite Falls and Nevada Falls, in Yosemite Valley. Use the tram to take you to the farther walls.

*Walk up to Mirror Lake to see an alpine lake naturally progressing from lake to meadow.

*Drive up to Glacier Point to get an elevated view of the Valley and the major land forms, stopping at the Wawona Tunnel for the striking mid-level vista of the valley.

*Drive south to Wawona to see the Mariposa Grove of massive inland sequoia trees.

Especially For Kids:

*Show them the Ahwahneechee Indian village recreated in back of the Visitor Center.

*Rent bicycles for a ride through Yosemite Valley.

LAKE TAHOE

Suggested Itinerary:

*Savor the view of Emerald Bay at the southwest corner of the lake.

*Get out on the lake on one of the cruise boats, such as the Tahoe Queen.

*Spend a leisurely day driving around the lake, with time to stop and explore the Nevada-side state parks.

*Get an elevated view of the area from the top of the year-round tram at Heavenly Valley.

*Drive south on Highways 89 and 88 through the Hope Valley to Kirkwood for a sense of the alpine environment.

Especially For Kids:

*Take a tram ride to the top at Heavenly Valley or Squaw Valley.

*Cruise the lake on the paddlewheeler boat MS Dixie II.

SAN FRANCISCO

Suggested Itinerary:

*Tour the downtown of the City on a Cable Car, which you can board anywhere on the line if the Powell/Market start has long lines.

*Pause at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge to marvel at the aesthetics of the structure, then walk out to mid-span for a look back at San Francisco.

*Stroll in Golden Gate Park and take in the current art show at the DeYoung Museum, stopping for tea at the Japanese Tea Garden.

*Walk the Grant Avenue Chinatown from Post to Columbus, then turn left and walk Italian North Beach up to Washington Square.

*Indulge in a tour boat ride from Pier 41 to enjoy the appearance of the City and the Marin Hills from out on the water.

Especially For Kids:

*Rent in-line skates from a skate store on Stanyan Street for a skate outing in Golden Gate Park.

*Immerse them in the gangster world of Al Capone with a tour of the former federal prison on Alcatraz.

OAKLAND-BERKELEY EAST BAY

Suggested Itinerary:

*Explore California nature, history, and art at the Oakland Museum of California.

*Walk Oakland’s Asiatown and have lunch there.

*Tour the University of California Campus, make a stop at the Lowie Museum to see the anthropology exhibits, and meander down Telegraph Avenue to visit the bookstores, such as Cody’s.

*Explore north of the campus in the Berkeley “Gourmet Ghetto,” headquartered at Chez Panisse restaurant.

*Encounter the East Bay Parks with a walk out Inspiration Point in Tilden Park, above Berkeley.

Especially For Kids:

*Turn kids loose amidst the wonders of science at Lawrence Hall, on a hill above the U.C. Berkeley campus.

*Rent a paddleboat or a sailboat at Lake Merritt and make an excursion out on the water.

SAN MATEO COUNTY

Suggested Itinerary:

*Treat yourself to a dining/lodging getaway at a California country inn, Half Moon Bay’s San Benito House.

*Walk the beaches at San Gregorio and Pescadero to enjoy the rolling surf of the Pacific.

*Explore the one-street town of Pescadero, with its whitewashed frame houses, and stop for a seafood dinner at Duarte’s.

*Tour William Bourn’s Filoli Estate to glimpse the turn-of-the-century grandeur of this water baron.

*Imagine the splendor of Billy Ralston’s world while strolling his former home in Belmont.

Especially For Kids:

*Walk from the ridge of the mountains to the shore as they descend through biosystems at the Coyote Point Museum of Environmental Education.

*Make the acquaintance of seashore life in the tidepools during low tide at the James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.

SAN JOSE-SILICON VALLEY/SAN JOSE RENAISSANCE

Suggested Itinerary:

*Take a light rail ride from downtown San Jose out to the Santa Clara Convention Center and back to get a sense of the high-tech companies and their corporate headquarters.

*Peruse the high tech exhibits at The Tech Museum, which catalogs the innovations in the Silicon Valley region.

*Sample the cultural life of San Jose at its downtown Art Museum or at its Performing Arts Center.

*Taste wine made by the pioneer Mirassou family at their winery east of San Jose.

*Escape from the world of computer chips to rustic Los Trancos Reserve for a walk in the oak trees along a trail describing earthquake effects.

Especially For Kids:

*Instruct a robot to do tasks for you at The Tech Museum in downtown San Jose.

*See spacecraft and high tech displays at the NASA Visitor Center at Moffett Field.

MARIN COUNTY AND NORTH COAST

Suggested Itinerary:

*Immerse yourself in the glorious redwoods of Muir Woods, the closest redwoods to San Francisco.

*At Point Reyes, make the Earthquake Walk, observe the Miwok Indian Village, or hike out Bear Valley Trail to the coast, as time allows.

*Proceeding up the coast, note the Russian presence in California at Fort Ross, a restored Russian fortification.

*At Point Arena, meet one of the classic lighthouse constructions in the western U.S. See the ingenious fresnel lens that magnified a spare kerosene light to be visible 20 miles out to sea.

*In Mendocino, indulge in a picturesque California seaside town and its quaint B&Bs, such as the McCallum House.

Especially For Kids:

*Introduce them to the hushed, cathedralic groves of redwoods at Muir Woods.

*Show then an Aleut Indian kayak at Fort Ross. Aleuts, employed by the Russians, hunted sea otters along this coast.

SONOMA REGION

Suggested Itinerary:

*At the Sonoma Mission, see the most northerly penetration of Spanish influence in California.

*Visit the home of General Mariano Vallejo to make the acquaintance of a survivor, a Spanish Californian who knew how to function in the American California after the Gold rush.

*Taste wine in Sonoma at the original winery, Hacienda, of the father of California viticulture, Agoston Haraszthy.

*In Glen Ellen, visit the tragically burned Wolf House of writer Jack London, now a state historic park.

*In Santa Rosa, see where the gifted horticulturalist, Luther Burbank, stimulated the flourishing fruit and vegetable agriculture of California with his experiments.

Especially For Kids:

*Make an adventure trip out of a Sonoma Farm Trails outing. You never know what you’ll find, from beekeepers to apple juicers.

*Show them the life of the soldiers and the priests at the Sonoma Mission, well interpreted at the state historic park.

NAPA WINE COUNTRY

Suggested Itinerary:

*Tour wineries and taste wine, perhaps on a first trip with stops at Chandon, Mondavi, and Sterling.

*Meet the spirit of the genial commentator on the Napa wine country, Robert Louis Stevenson, at the Silverado Museum in St. Helena.

*Visit the wine country in September when the season has changed, the harvest is in full swing, and the green vine leaf of summer has changed to striking red.

*Take a hot air balloon ride to give yourself an aerial perspective on the Napa region.

*Soak in one of the hot pools or mud baths of Calistoga.

Especially For Kids:

*Show them the Old Faithful Geyser at Calistoga, which is faithful, spurting out every 50 minutes or so.

*Acquaint them with the Petrified Forest west of Calistoga, where they can see felled trees turned to stone, and emerge with a souvenir of petrified wood.

REDWOOD COUNTRY

Suggested Itinerary:

*Stop at the Humboldt Redwoods Park for an orientation at the Visitor Center.

*Meander along the Avenue of the Giants at Humboldt Park, noting the superlative trees, such as the Dyerville Giant.

*Self-tour the large redwood milling operation at Scotia, a company town.

*Walk to the tallest trees, located in Redwood National Park, after stopping for information at the Visitor Center near Orick.

*Lodge in the main redwood towns, such as Eureka, with its Eureka Inn, and the Victorian village of Ferndale, where a good choice is the Gingerbread Mansion.

Especially For Kids:

*Track the Roosevelt elk herds in Prairie Creek Park to get close to these magnificent animals.

*Take home as a souvenir a redwood burl and watch it sprout over the years.

Related Posts

1. California’s Top 10 Museums
2. California’s Monterey-Carmel-Big Sur
3. California’s Monterey: Nature Travel Adventure

Partisans of California’s Mammoth Lakes region in the eastern Sierra can argue persuasively that it competes for the honor of the most diverse outdoor summer region of the Golden State.

The scenery is stunning, starting with the basalt columns at Devils Postpile National Monument. A traveler arrives at Mammoth right in the mountains, with no foothills as prelude, and with many small alpine lakes as a setting.

The natural history of the region intrigues, especially at Mono Lake, immediately north of Mammoth Lakes. Remnants of volcanoes and earthquakes, tufa formations, and an abundant food supply for birds make Mono Lake special.

Day hikes or ambitious backpacking can easily take a visitor into the wilderness, such as the John Muir Wilderness, perhaps on the John Muir or Pacific Crest trails. In few places will a traveler find so many accessible trails.

The most elaborate horsepacking outfits in the state can remove the huff and puff from traversing this granite terrain, between 7,000-12,000 feet. A full-day pack trip, for example, takes you six miles into the wilderness to Duck Lake, revealing a back-country wilderness that only a hiker in superb condition could experience.

Mountain bikers delight in the region, partly because of the numerous bikable roads, and partly because the great winter mountain, Mammoth, so noted for its ski runs, becomes a mountain-biking park in summer. You take the gondola to the top and then bike down the switchbacks, through the trees, to the bottom.

Fishermen get the style of trout fishing they desire. Some seek out the trophy trout in Crowley Lake. Others fish for the numerous, planted “catchables” in the several Mammoth Lakes. Purists angle with barbless hooks in world-class catch-and-release Hot Creek.

A traveler will find the requisite tourism infrastructure in this modern, little, mountain town of 4,500 people. Abundant mid-range condos, such as Snowcreek, serve the needs of the family traveler and can be arranged through a central reservation service. Local restauranteurs offer individualistic menus.

All considered, Mammoth has appeals that equal its famous competitors, Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Both those regions are better known than Mammoth, partly because they are easier to get to. Already popular as a winter ski destination, Mammoth now attracts more summer visitors. Summer travelers tend to echo the comments of the transplants in the local population, who say, “I came for the winter, but stayed for the summer.” Mammoth is a six-hour drive from San Francisco or from Los Angeles.

THE SCENERY

Everywhere you look in the region, the pleasure of mountain scenery greets you. Mammoth Mountain dominates the area. A gondola ride to the 11,000-foot summit, summer or winter, reveals a panoramic vista. Another favorite view, near Mammoth Mountain, is the overlook to the Minarets, spires to the west, which looked like Moslem churches to the early namers. This sawtooth effect was created by the freezing and thawing of water in the stone, gradually using the expansive force of ice to crack off the sides of the rocks. From the Minaret Vista you get a sweeping view of the eastern Sierra, including the start of the San Joaquin River.

The choice scenic area is compact, taking in Mammoth Mountain, the Minarets Vista, and Devils Postpile National Monument. Early morning light is the most satisfying time to see the Minarets, from the vista turnout between Mammoth Mountain and the National Monument. A shuttle bus then takes you into the National Monument, where short and level hiking trails lead to the two principal features, Postpile and Rainbow Falls. Postpile amounts to geometric, blue-grey, basalt columns, 40-60 feet high, formed when a vertical lava flow cooled quickly. Geologists feel this event occurred about 100,000 years ago. Rainbow Falls is a sharp 101-foot drop in the San Joaquin River, where the sun causes a rainbow in the spray. The optimal time for viewing both Postpile and Rainbow Falls is early afternoon.

The town of Mammoth Lakes has an alpine lakes district on its edge, which is a pleasure to drive or walk around. The lakes are popular camping places. Campers tend to be fishermen eager to catch the stocked rainbow and brown trout.

The terrain north from Mammoth to June Lake contains one of the largest forest stands of Jeffrey Pine, noted for its vanilla-smelling bark. Walking through these stands on a warm, summer afternoon reminds one of a cookie-baking operation.

The morning sun on the mountains to the west and the sunset light on the eastern peaks put a glow on each day at Mammoth.

NATURAL HISTORY

Mono Lake, just north of Mammoth, is the major natural history attraction in the region. The Forest Service, which has jurisdiction over the lake, maintains a major interpretive center at the south edge of the lake. Be sure to stop in to see the exhibits, get maps, and learn about the lake, especially the tufa spires, those other-worldly formations of minerals that now extend above the surface of the lake. The spires are visible due to the receding level of the water. The tufa towers are limestone deposits created from calcium-bearing freshwater springs bubbling up through the lake’s carbon-rich, alkaline water.

The best place to see the tufa formations is at the South Tufa site. Rangers on duty lead periodic hikes there. You’ll be amazed at the density of the non-biting flies, called brine flies, which make up the base of the animal food chain here, allowing for abundant bird life. Brine flies and brine shrimp attain explosive populations at Mono Lake. The Native Americans of the area, called the Kuzedika, lived by eating the pupae of the flies. More than 70 species of migratory birds feed on the flies. The populations of the migrating bird species here are huge, including about 150,000 phalaropes in July-August and 800,000 eared grebes August-October.

Efforts to save Mono Lake from being drained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which had purchased the area water rights, eventually led to a Supreme Court-mandated settlement calling for restoration of inbound streams and stabilization of the surface level of the lake. A higher lake level gives more protection from predators to birds nesting on the islands and insures that the alkalinity of the water, which has already doubled, will not change further, affecting the ecosystem.

The main political controversy in the Mammoth Lakes region was, is, and always will be over water and the rights to control its use.

HIKING

With an orienting map in hand, available from the Visitor Center in Mammoth Lakes, you can choose easy or more strenuous hikes in the region. Keep in mind that the elevation is high, starting at 7,000 feet, so allow a day to get adjusted, drink plenty of water when hiking, and be advised that underestimating your capacity is the mark of wisdom.

Enjoyable and easy hikes are available in the Devils Postpile Monument to see the principle features, as mentioned. The hike to the Postpile itself is only a quarter-mile. The hike to Rainbow Falls is a mile-and-half, but even young children do this level hike, taking their time. The National Monument has other hikes to be recommended, such as a wildflower walk at Agnews Meadow or a view of beaver dams at Sotcher Lake. You witness the effect of avalanches shearing off forests to create open space. You also see lakes, such as Starkweather, gradually progressing to become meadows.

Many hikes can be made from the lakes area at Mammoth Lakes. Behind the town, tucked amidst the mountains, are Mary, Mamie, George, Horseshoe, and Twin lakes. The area is laced with hiking trails, which become the cross-country ski trails of winter, with headquarters at Tamarack Lodge on Twin Lakes. In summer, the alpine forests of lodgepole pine, the reflective waters of the lakes, and the granite mountains are the hiking impressions. This is also a jumping-off point for ambitious horsepacking or backpacking trips into the John Muir Wilderness.

HORSEPACKING TRIPS

Nowhere in California is horseriding or horsepacking into the mountains offered more extensively than at Mammoth. Each of the four main areas around Mammoth has its own pack outfit.

The oldest packing business here is Roeser’s Mammoth Lakes Pack Outfit, started in 1915, making it also the oldest packer business in the eastern Sierra and one of the earliest businesses in Mammoth. Packers carried in mining supplies to the gold miners in the region before the pleasure traveler came onto the scene. The Summers family started the business. The Roeser family later bought them out.

A pack trip puts you in the capable hands of a wrangler, such as Larry Maurice, who knows the horses and the trail. Maurice understands well the mystique of the Eastern Sierra and happens also to be a cowboy poet. Maurice led our party on a four-hour trip into the back country, past Barney Lake, and on to Duck Lake and Pika Lake, crossing 10,750-foot Duck Pass. With a day on a horse you can see terrain that only a hiker in expert condition could traverse.

Nothing surpasses an immersion in this wilderness as an antidote to citified malaise. A day of horseriding in this back-country will leave you with memories of lodgepole and red fir forests, granite vistas still dotted with snow in summer, trout rising to take flies in remote lakes, clean air in a pristine setting, and the surefootedness of horses on the edges of precipices.

The horsepacking season runs June through September. All kinds of trips can be arranged, from a one-hour scenic loop along Mary Lake, suitable even for young children, to a week-long “spot” trip, meaning you are left out in the wilderness. One popular option is the “inclusive” trip, meaning the wrangler and horses stay with you, and the wrangler does the cooking.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Mountain biking has exploded here in recent years, both because of the many miles of country roads, such as Scenic Drive road north from Mammoth Lakes, and because of the rare opportunity to bike right down Mammoth Mountain.

The ski areas of winter become a bike park in summer. You ride up the gondola with your bike and then embark for a ride down the mountain on specially-designed bike trails. Gravity replaces pedal power as the energy source in this down-the-mountain adventure, which extends the potential appeal even to a bicyclist who would otherwise be classified as a couch potato.

At the base, Mammoth Mountain Bike Park will rent you a bike and the required helmet. The bikes are tough models, as they have to be, to take the beating of rides down the bumpy, stony trails. A ride down can be a two-hour jaunt, traversing switchback trails adroitly laid out for biking, with names like Over the Bars, Brake Through, and Paper Route.

The biker can choose a desired pace, ranging from a leisurely tour, with stops for enjoying the views, to hell-bent careening intent on setting a speed record in this rocky terrain. The latter style appeals especially to high-testosterone males under 30. A cult of down-the-mountain racing has led Mammoth to organize several summer biking events.

FISHING

Several strains of trout, but mainly rainbow and brown, are the prize in the Mammoth Lakes region.

Crowley Lake, actually a man-made reservoir, is in a class by itself because of its trophy trout. The mineral fertility of the lake produces an abundance of fly and shrimp growth that enables trout to gain weight fast. This reservoir, part of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power operation, has a marina managed by Sierra Recreation Associates, where you can rent a boat or engage one of the expert guides. Anglers troll with Rapalas or Needlefish for the five strains of rainbows and browns in the lake. Still fishermen use nightcrawlers and “power bait”, a synthetic bait, while bottomfishing. Crowley has many two-pound trout, some five-pound trophies, and did yield a record 18-pound brown trout. The season runs end of April to end of July. Crowley is stocked each autumn for the next season’s fishing.

Mammoth Lakes, the cluster of small lakes near the town, provides good fishing from shore or small boats, which can be rented. The lakes are stocked weekly in summer.

Hot Creek provides a different type of fishing. Hot Creek is a special scenic area where boiling fumaroles and heated springs enter a creek, reminding everyone of the volcanic presence beneath the Mammoth region. In certain areas of Hot Creek the public is invited to soak in the hot water. Hot Creek is also preserved as a special trout stream, considered world-class, sometimes rated by fishermen as one of the 10 best in the world. Anglers at Hot Creek must use dry or wet flies with barbless hooks. The style here is catch-and-release. Hot Creek attracts the sport fisher, not the meat fisher.

On the road to Hot Creek, be sure to stop in at the Hot Creek Fish Hatchery, one of three main hatcheries in the state. There you can see, in the raceways, thousands of the two-pound broodstock trout used to create the eggs for the state’s fish-planting program. You can even feed the fish with the pellets they eat, creating a frenzy on the surface. The sight of lunkers at the Hot Creek Hatchery can excite the pulse of even a nascent fisherman. From this hatchery, about 20 million trout eggs, four million fingerlings, and 800,000 catchables enter California fishing waters each year.

MAMMOTH’S TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE

Getting to Mammoth by car takes about six hours from Los Angeles or San Francisco.

The drive from Los Angeles crosses the Mojave Desert and then moves up Highway 395 on the east side of the Sierra.

The route from San Francisco is Highway 120 across the Tioga Pass in Yosemite or Highway 50 to Tahoe, then turning south on Highway 395. Visitors from San Francisco can enjoy driving different routes coming and going to add scenic interest.

Both the drive from Los Angeles and from San Francisco rate high for traveler satisfaction. From San Francisco, for example, the crossing of Yosemite’s high country is a mix of granite starkness and the lushness of Tuolumne Meadows. The Highway 395 route emphasizes the drier side of the mountains, the east side, with cattle-grazing flatlands, small wood-frame towns such as Markleeville, trout fishermen along the East Carson River, alternate chaparral terrain and dense aspen groves, some rapid eight-percent-grade descents, and the smell of sage.

Once you arrive in Mammoth Lakes, the Visitor Center on Main Street is a good first stop. You can obtain maps and all desired info on the region, either in person or mailed to you earlier if you call or write. Across the road from the Visitor Center is Mammoth Properties, which handles many of the lodging bookings for the region. Overall, the town has a clean, new, and modern feel, rather than the old falsefront mining town one might expect. Four small shopping centers anchor the town.

Condos, such as Snowcreek, make a good base of operation for a family trip. Snowcreek has every amenity desired, including a jacuzzi a few steps away, good for an active family wishing to relax in the evening after a rigorous day of sporty outings. The condos are equipped for food preparation. Von’s is a small supermarket in town.

MEMORIES OF MAMMOTH

Mammoth Lakes is one of those special California places that confirms how satisfying the Golden State can be for travelers. Unlike Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, with their focused identity, conjuring up immediate images of El Capitan or the blue lake, Mammoth Lakes offers a more diffused range of impressions. This may be a marketing problem, from the point of view of the destination’s identity, but it is a plus in terms of the way people actually travel today. Today’s traveler is a slippery person to define, who may want scenery, natural history, hiking, biking, horsepacking, or fishing on a trip. Mammoth responds effectively to the ever-increasing range of these personalized approaches to travel.

***

CALIFORNIA’S MAMMOTH LAKES REGION: IF YOU GO

For full information, visit the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau website at www.visitmammoth.com. They can send you information packets on many subjects.

To write for information, the contact is Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 48, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546; 888/466-2666.

Related Posts

1. Cruising Alaska in Summer
2. The Mystique of Cross-Country Skiing in California
3. California’s Yosemite National Park

Soft, thick flakes of snow, falling at the rate of three inches an hour, greeted me as I skied cross-country along the Aspen Forest Trail at Bear Valley in California’s Sierra. The aspen and pine trees of the forest assumed a magical appearance, aspen branches stark against the white and pine branches bent almost vertical with the heavy snow. The grey sky of this major storm proved inviting, warm, and perfectly quiet, rather than ominous. Only the crunch of my skis, gripping the snow in the touring track, broke the complete stillness of the forest. In the good company of my two children, Karin and Paul, I savored the moment. For moments such as this, I knew, I had made cross-country skiing my winter sport of choice.

I was not alone in choosing this sport. Cross-country or “Nordic” resorts flourish in the current winter sports travel picture across America, while downhill or “alpine” ski growth is flat. Industry observers estimate that there are about 10.7 million downhill skiers, 3.5 million cross-country skiers. After skiing at all the major cross-country resorts in California, added to my cross-country skiing in three other western states, I finally asked myself: what is the mystique of this sport that makes it so attractive?

A pleasing mix of solitude and sociability characterizes the experience. While skiing along, I’ve had wonderful talks with my children and other companions. One afternoon, Glenn Jobe, who then ran the Tahoe-Donner cross-country resort, regaled me with his cross-country exploits in the 1980 Olympics, while we skied. Yet the sport also promises solitude. You can ski alone or withdraw for a time into yourself while skiing with others. Encounters are purposeful, rather than the accidental meeting while waiting in line for a ski lift in downhill skiing. The people you meet when cross-country skiing, in lessons or on the trails, tend to be a friendly lot.

A fitness element also appeals to me in cross-country. As a jogger who enjoys a couple miles of moderate running each evening, the prospect of skiing through the snow and forest environment is enticing. With cross-country I continue my fitness trajectory in a new mode. The dance-like elegance of a skilled cross-country expert is a pleasure to watch as the skier glides along set trails with relative ease, moving up hills with only a fraction of the effort required in walking. The fitness boom, such a part of modern American culture, will surely carry cross-country forward. As in other fitness activities, I proceed self-propelled, with all the ensuing joy of control that such an act entails.?

SPORT FOR ALL

Cross-country delights me as a lifetime sport, safe for all ages. Though hardly geriatric, I’ve realized in recent years that I fell into the older group among the downhill set. If you’ve ever been hit from behind by an out-of-control hot dogger in downhill, as I have, then cross-country suddenly looks more appealing. I want to ski forever, without injury, in a stress-free environment. Cross-country delivers on such a wish. You can ski with comrades across the generations in this sport. If you can walk, you can ski cross-country, though lessons on correct technique for efficient gliding movement are highly recommended.

This is a gentle sport, allowing you to set the pace. There’s plenty of excitement and speed, if you want it, in the version of cross-country called skating, using shorter skis. Moreover, each cross-country touring region has its “black,” meaning steep, downhills, so thrills are possible. But for the touring skier, who enjoys an outing without the need for extensive vertiginous descents, flat “green” trails and intermediate “blue” trails suffice. Cross-country offers a relaxed milieu, while downhill can sometimes become a carnival.

I also enjoy the dramatic winter environments that cross-country puts me in. For example, I have skied out to Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome at Yosemite and stayed overnight in a small bunkhouse. Anyone in the public can do this, but only if you cross-country ski 10.7 miles to the Point. The winter vistas in Yosemite, from Sentinel Dome, are panoramic and spectacular. Many other inviting areas of the California Sierra became accessible through cross-country. Potential places to explore are not limited by the sharp slopes required for downhill skiing. The wilderness region around Bear Valley, the back-of-the-mountain skiing at Royal Gorge, and the lovely National Forest land in the Hope Valley are among my favorite memories. Moreover, I long to ski many new areas around the country. On my future list is urban cross-country skiing around the lakes in Minneapolis. You don’t need mountains for cross-country. All areas of the country that enjoy good snow can be cross-country environs. When will I have a chance to ski from B&B to B&B in the White Mountains of New Hampshire?

Cross-country in delicate, wild environments also pleases because it is such a minimum-impact sport. You ski along efficiently on the top of the snow, causing no environmental damage. All trace of your tracks, in fact, will disappear with the spring melt.

EQUIPMENT

Advances in the equipment for cross-country have lured me and others into the sport. The late 1970s invention of waxless skis, with the skis gripping the snow through scale-like ridges on the bottoms, has made the sport hassle-free. This advance is particularly relevant to California skiing, where snow conditions can change frequently, requiring a change of waxes. An expert will still enjoy the slightly-higher performance of waxed skis, but the beginning and intermediate skier doesn’t need to be troubled with this nuance. Boot bindings have also improved, allowing easier snap in and out, with more boot control over the slim skis. At the resort-operator level, machines that groom the trails have improved, cutting tracks that allow cross-country skiers to glide through the forest.

Cross-country ski resorts have also resolved a troublesome issue that ravaged the sport in the mid 1980s. The traditional touring skier was confronted with a new style of skating skier, fighting for the same narrow trail. Skating skiers use shorter skis and proceed with the motion of a speed-skater in ice skating. The solution has been to groom a 14-foot-wide trail with a skating lane of compacted snow and a double set of touring tracks.

Finally, cross-country offers major economies both in equipment and in trail fees. My equipment package at a sporting goods store, REI, cost $158 for skis, bindings, poles, and boots. Downhill would have cost substantially more, especially for the boots. Trail fees for downhill skiing now soar astronomically. A day at Squaw Valley downhill costs beyond $45, but a day at the most expensive and elaborate cross-country resort, Royal Gorge, costs about $15. Inherent economies in the cross-country concept will keep the price of the sport relatively low. Cross-country does not require a steep slope or any mechanized towing device to get participants up hills. Some publicly owned lands, such as Yosemite, have elaborate track systems and no trail fee charge.

Though I enjoy the track skiing of a resort (or Yosemite), the cross-country skier who prefers economies and a style of no-track skiing can use National Forest roads and trails. California has organized a Snow Park permit system that allows parking in choice National Forest areas of the Sierra.

I have no wish to become apostolic about cross-country skiing. But someday, perhaps you will cross-country through the forest, as I have, and watch a quiet drama as a mound of snow cascades off a pine tree branch, near the top of the tree, and then proceeds, like an avalanche, down the tree, cleaning off the snow from the entire tree. Or perhaps you will observe, as I have, the antics of a coyote hunting voles in the deep snow. Or maybe you will encounter the winter splendor of Yosemite’s Half Dome and El Capitan from the elevated position of Sentinel Dome, accessible only to the cross-country skier. The sport offers many quiet and revealing moments, which tell a skier about the environment and about himself. After a few such moments you will understand why many outdoor enthusiasts enjoy this sport of self-propelled movement in a winter environment.

***

CALIFORNIA’S MAJOR CROSS-COUNTRY SKI RESORTS

by Lee Foster

After skiing at the major cross-country resorts in California, I personally recommend each of them. Each is different in subtle ways, just as good bottles of Chardonnay will show nuances of taste.

All these resorts offer groomed trails with separate space for touring skiers, who like set tracks, and skating skiers, who need a compacted, flat ski surface.

All the resorts offer lessons, which are strongly recommended. Cross-country skiing is neither hard nor a cinch. Beginning skiers will find that a good lesson prevents the cultivation of bad skiing habits. Good cross-country skiing technique means more efficient skier movement, increasing the pleasure of the sport. Even at intermediate and advanced levels, different instructors offer diverse tips and perspectives.

The season is roughly December 1-April 15, though the actual times depend on snowfall and the relative altitude of the resort area.

Here are the major cross-country resorts in California:

ROYAL GORGE

Royal Gorge amounts to the largest and most elaborate cross-country ski resort in existence. The trends of the future in cross-country are being tested today at Royal Gorge. About 120,000 skiers will glide through the trails at Royal Gorge this year.

The numbers at Royal Gorge are impressive. The resort presents 88 trails, about 328 groomed kilometers in total, allowing you to ski for days without repeating a trail. Ten warming huts are scattered around the property. The resort boasts a 22-kilometer gradually-descending run to its Rainbow Lodge as one amenity among many on its 9,172-acre site.

Entrepreneur John Slouber has developed at Royal Gorge the most elaborate resort lodging in a cross-country environment. Slouber’s Wilderness Lodge, in the heart of Royal Gorge, requires a sleigh ride or a ski in to get there. Once situated, you enjoy gourmet food, the relaxation of a hot tub, and expert guides taking you out on the trails.

The day skier at Royal Gorge benefits from a highly professional staff and a large north-facing mountain slope, located off Highway 80 at Soda Springs, four hours east of San Francisco.

Royal Gorge attracts three times more skiers than its closest competition in California. The California resorts also dwarf cross-country skiing in any other region, including New England. Royal Gorge, open since 1971, claims to be the first cross-country resort in California.

So large is Royal Gorge that you can ski lodge to lodge within the area’s boundaries. Besides Wilderness Lodge, they have another facility, Rainbow Lodge, a ski trip away. One scenic trail up to Snow Mountain Hut allows you to gaze out over the Royal Gorge on the North Fork of the American River.

As expected, there are plenty of trails for each of the three designated levels of expertise–beginner, intermediate, and expert.

Taking its cue from the downhill operators, Royal Gorge has added snow-making to 15 kilometers of its trails. The resort is also the only cross-country area with four ski lifts to its steeper, elevated touring runs, allowing skiers to practice their downhill, or telemarking, skills on cross-country skis.

For more information, contact Royal Gorge Cross-Country Ski Resort, P.O. Box 1100, Soda Springs, CA 95728; 530/426-3871, 800/500-3871.

TAHOE DONNER

Tahoe Donner is a medium-size, high-quality resort off Highway 80, just west of Lake Tahoe at Truckee.

The guiding figure at Tahoe Donner was Glenn Jobe, who built up Tahoe-Donner with partner Kenny Stannard before moving on, putting Stannard now in full charge. Earlier, Jobe also started the Kirkwood Cross-Country resort. Glenn Jobe was 14th in the world at one time in the Olympic biathelete competition, an event requiring that you cross-country around a track, shoot a rifle, then repeat the process.

Tahoe Donner happens to offer night skiing Wednesdays and Saturdays on 2.5 kilometers of lit tracks, a special experience.

Tahoe Donner reflects some of Jobe’s philosophic positions about the sport of cross-country. Jobe felt that cross-country should be a totally stress-free environment. Consequently, he and Stannard arranged the tracks so that most have skiers traveling in one direction only. You never need to watch for oncoming skiers.

Tahoe Donner now has 85 kilometers of tracks with that goal in mind. Moreover, the tracks are laid out with the social element of the sport in mind. You ski directly alongside a companion to carry on a conversation, rather than on either side of a skating lane, used by fast skiers with their short skis.

Tahoe Donner extends out to a scenic region known as the Euer Valley, where the resort has a day lodge. Here you can enjoy gourmet food at the Cook House cafe, as you can at the trailhead shop cafe, called the Donner Party Cafe. Euer Valley is a rustic cattle ranching area in summer, complete with old barns.

As with Royal Gorge, Tahoe Donner is a cross-country site only, though there is downhill nearby.

Tahoe Donner is four miles from Truckee on Alder Road. For more information, contact Tahoe Donner Cross-Country, 11509 Northwoods Blvd., Truckee, CA 96161; 530/587-9400.

NORTHSTAR

Northstar is a full-service resort, where you can cross-country ski right to your condo. The cross-country trails are an adjunct to the large downhill program at this resort on the northwest side of Lake Tahoe, south of Truckee.

About 65 kilometers of groomed trails in all categories–beginner, intermediate, and expert–greet the skier at a mid-mountain location on the peak called Mt. Pluto.

At mid-mountain, if you turn right, there is the cross-country center and 45 kilometers of trail, with views overlooking the Martis Valley. The operation offers both lessons and equipment. If you turn left, there are 20 kilometers of steeper, wooded trails, with a caboose warming hut and views of Lake Tahoe.

For more information, contact Northstar-at-Tahoe Cross-Country Center, P.O. Box 129, Truckee, CA 96160; 530/562-2265.

DIAMOND PEAK

Located on the northeast side of Lake Tahoe, Diamond Peak offers spectacular views of the lake from its Rim Trail. This cross-country area features pleasant wooded terrain of fir and pine trees, with plenty of ups and downs for variety.

Guided by Greg Mihevc, the enterprise has gradually organized parking along the highways and graduates each year to a more substantial warming hut/ski shop, offering limited equipment rentals, some lessons, and a modest restaurant.

Mihevc presents 35 kilometers of well-groomed trails. The parking is clearly marked on a pullout along Highway 431, on the hill proceeding from Lake Tahoe toward Reno. Diamond Peak also has extraordinary downhill skiing, with a long ridge offering views of the lake. However, the cross-country is entirely separate from the downhill, insuring the quiet and solitude that so many cross-country enthusiasts seek.

The Rim of the Lake, Lover’s Lane, and Vista loops are all for intermediate skiers. Black diamond areas for expert skiers are The Great Flume and Diamond Back. Each season, new trails are added.

For more information, contact Diamond Peak Cross-Country and Snowshoe Center, 1210 Ski Way, Incline Village, NV 89451; 702/832-1177.

KIRKWOOD

All of the cross-country areas flourish even with relatively little snow. Fortunately, cross-country requires only a fraction of the snow base needed for downhill skiing. Moreover, the grooming techniques in cross-country have improved in recent years, so the chippers resetting the track need only to carve up the top quarter inch of snow to make new track. Conserving snow can be a virtue in the California Sierra, especially in the cycle of drought experienced in the final years of the 1980s, though broken, fortunately, in the 1990s.

Even when skiing conditions are poor in other areas, Kirkwood enjoys good skiing, partly because the elevation is so high. Kirkwood’s snow is also particularly dry and powdery.

The cross-country program is highly professional, offering competent lessons. Conservation and environmental awareness are distinctive parts of the program. Posted signs show the wildlife often seen during winter in the meadows and at the lava cliffs above. Coyotes, golden eagles, weasels, martens, and chickadees are sometimes spotted by skiers. The Caples Creek trail takes you past beaver ponds. Scenic views show the western downslope of the Sierra Nevada, plus the Desolation Wilderness.

A large meadow at the cross-country trailhead allows beginning skiers to build their skills. Elaborate intermediate and expert trails can be found in the adjacent hills along the Schneider and Caples Lake trail systems.

Kirkwood offers condominiums you can ski to and the Cornice restaurant for gourmet dining. A new lodge at the base of the downhill ski mountain opened recently.

The resort grooms over 80 kilometers of trails along 2,300 acres of hills.

Kirkwood is 35 miles south of Tahoe on Highway 88 near Carson Pass. For more information, contact Kirkwood Cross-Country, P.O. Box 1, Kirkwood, CA 95646; 209/258-7248.

HOPE VALLEY

John and Patty Brissenden’s Sorensen’s Resort in Hope Valley presents yet another approach to cross-country. Sorensen’s consists of 30 rustic cabins, gourmet dining (try the tomato tarragon soup), and plenty of cross-country trails leading right from the cabins. Indian Head Trail proceeds from the cabins into virgin terrain.

Hope Valley lies miles south of Lake Tahoe. For the skier looking for a personalized alternative to the large resort, plus ample cross-country trails that are marked, but not groomed, Sorensen’s is the place. Sorensen’s does not charge for use of its trail system.

For more information, contact Sorensen’s, 14255 Highway 88, Hope Valley, CA 96120; 916/530-2203, 800/423-9949. At Sorensens’ Resort you’ll find the Hope Valley Cross-Country Ski Center.

BEAR VALLEY

Bear Valley offers a ski milieu as close as you will come to wilderness at a cross-country resort with groomed trails. The resort lies on Highway 4, east of the Gold Country Highway 49. The site is located south of the Mokelumne Wilderness, a wonderful backpacking region that I have enjoyed on summer trips.

When the weather is stormy in the mountains, Bear Valley offers assured access because, though the resort area is high, at 7,000 feet, you don’t have to drive over higher passes to get there. However, always carry chains when going to any of these cross-country resorts.

Bear Valley is a small-scale resort where you can park your car and get all desired services, such as lodging, dining, and skiing, within walking distance. However, the kilometers of cross-country trail here is not small scale. Some 35 miles of groomed trails await the skier.

For further information, contact Bear Valley Cross-Country, P.O. Box 5038, Bear Valley, CA 95223; 209/753-2834; www.bearvalley.com.

YOSEMITE

Yosemite offers cross-country at several sites within the park, but the superlative experience possible here is an overnight ski trip to Glacier Point. You ski out with a guide in one day the 17 kilometers from Badger Pass to Glacier Point, stay overnight for one or two nights at the rustic lodge, and then ski back. Near Glacier Point, the highlight of the trip is a ski outing to Sentinel Dome, where a 360-degree panorama of the park opens up. From an elevated perspective you see El Capitan, Half Dome, the Clark Range, and many other features of the park.

Yosemite’s most capable mountain guides manage the outings. You may find yourself led by Tim Messick, author of the volume CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING IN YOSEMITE. The guide cooks your food and assumes basic safety responsibility for the group, which must number three or more. Intermediate skiing skills and good physical conditioning are advisable for this 7,000-8,000-foot altitude.

If you have the skiing skills and physical stamina to go out to Glacier Point and back on your own in one day, you don’t need a guide. Moreover, if you possess snow-camping skills, you can stay out at Glacier Point on your own. However, most skiers will prefer the warm bunks, hot food, and even a few glasses of wine possible in the rustic lodge at Glacier Point.

Another special Yosemite experience is a flight to the east side of the park at Lee Vining, followed by a trans-Sierra ski trip of five days across the high country and down to Yosemite Valley.

Yosemite has 40 kilometers of set track skiing in the park, but there are also 350 miles of ski-able roads, closed to cars by winter snow.

For more information, contact Yosemite Cross-Country Ski School, Yosemite Concession Services, Yosemite, CA 95389; 209/372-8444; www.yosemite.com. The park officials can be contacted at Superintendent, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389; 209/372-0200.

Though cross-country is a national sport, practiced in every snowy region of the country, California boasts the largest cross-country ski operations in the contiguous states. Only Anchorage, Alaska, with its Kincaid Park, competes in scale with California cross-country resorts.

Related Posts

1. Cross-Country Skiing in Bozeman, Montana
2. Cross-Country Skiing in Colorado
3. Skiing and Winter Adventures at Lake Tahoe, California

Ever since the Winter Olympics were held in the Lake Tahoe basin in 1960, the popularity of skiing here has increased. The dazzling winter sunshine is a major factor, with 80 percent of the winter days sunny. The average 350 inches of winter snow at this high elevation helps, of course, and the fact that the winter climate warms to 25-45 degrees on a typical day makes the snowy setting agreeable. The panoramic view of one of North America’s largest and clearest alpine lakes, as a backdrop to skiing, enhances immensely the aesthetic experience.

The Lake Tahoe area has developed the largest concentration of ski resorts in the U.S. Nineteen ski resorts can be reached within a 45-minute drive of the lake. Many of them offer nordic skiing, with groomed trails, as well as alpine or downhill skiing. Some resorts also function as summer destinations. Apres ski activities, both at the resorts and in the Nevada border towns, with their gambling and entertainment, add a dimension of adventure to the region.

One of the most complete of these Tahoe ski resorts, functioning almost as a town of its own, is Northstar-at-Tahoe, which typifies Sierra skiing.

SELF-CONTAINED COMMUNITY

Northstar, in winter, is a completely self-contained ski community, offering condo housing and a ski terrain for every level of expertise. There are 63 groomed runs on 2,420 acres of ski area, rated 25 percent for advanced skiers, 50 percent intermediate, and 25 percent beginner.

Northstar’s reputation rests mainly on its excellent intermediate skiing, well-groomed slopes, friendly staff and atmosphere, and a firm ski patrol that disciplines hot doggers who would otherwise knock you down, especially at the end-of-the-day run. You ski through wooded terrain that is some of the loveliest in the Sierra.

Beginners start around the Day Lodge and usually make the gentle Village Run to the bottom of the ski gondola by the end of the day. Intermediate and advanced skiers, who journey all the way to the top of the ski mountain, Mt. Pluto, can make a 2.9-mile run to the base. The major intermediate runs, such as Mainstreet, are usually wide enough to allow the cautious skier to proceed without inhibiting the speedster. Advanced skiers sometimes use the back side of the mountain, which has four expert runs, and a Schaffer Camp chair lift to bring you back to the top.

Besides a complete ski rental shop and a ski lesson program for adults, a competent Skiwee program offers children all-day lessons, lunch, and supervision. For very young children, there is child care.

The resort limits lift tickets for alpine skiers to the carrying capacity of its facilities, so lines are short. A gondola system increases the lift capacity dramatically to the Day Lodge area at the base of Mt. Pluto.

If you want to sample nordic skiing as well as alpine skiing, Northstar provides over 65 kilometers of groomed Nordic trails and a thorough Nordic shop, with rentals and instruction. Both track skiing and the more recent skate ski racing are practiced here. It is easy to combine a half day of nordic with a half day of alpine at Northstar. The privacy, quiet, and scenery of Northstar’s nordic area are appealing.

Northstar is relatively accessible, only six miles off all-weather Interstate 80 on Highway 276. The resort is noteworthy for its 200 woodsy condominium rental units available at the base of the ski runs or a short distance away (with free shuttle bus service provided). You don’t need added transportation to ski here. All the condos have fully-equipped kitchens.

FOOD AND OTHER AMENITIES

The food facilities, split between the base and the Day Lodge areas, range from Pedro’s, a family pizza and pasta parlor, to a family-style Basque restaurant, which serves three meals a day. The Alpine bar is a good drinking and meeting place. Sandwiches from Sam’s Deli and a cheese-wine spread on the slope at the Wine and Cheese House complete the culinary offerings. Condo dwellers can stock up on-site at Clara’s Little General Store or make a grocery run to the Safeway in Truckee.

Special amenities at Northstar include an outdoor spa and sauna to take the chill off the skier. Because the skiing face of Mt. Pluto looks north and east from the lake, skiers are relatively protected from winds, making skiing here pleasant when the winds howl off other ski areas.

In summer Northstar emphasizes its golf course, tennis courts, mountain biking, horseback riding, and hiking. The resort is a good base for exploration or fishing in the Tahoe region.

The Lake Tahoe setting for Northstar is a major part of the experience. From the higher runs on Mt. Pluto you can see a panorama of the lake. Mark Twain, who was not given to easy superlatives, felt that an exception was appropriate when speaking of Lake Tahoe. He called the lake “the fairest picture the whole earth affords….”

Clarity (said to be 97 percent pure), deep bluish color, elevation (at 6,225 feet), mountainous and wooded setting in the Sierra Nevadas, and size (22 miles long and 8-12 miles wide) combine to make Lake Tahoe one of the most attractive freshwater lakes in North America. The extraordinary blue color occurs because of the lake’s remarkable depth, as much as 1,645 feet, with about 1,000 feet as the average. This third-deepest lake in the world could cover the entire state of California with a foot of water.

When John Fremont became one of the first white men to see the lake, in 1844, the area was populated sparsely by Washoe Indians. It is thought that Tahoe comes from a Washoe Indian word meaning “water in a high place” or “lake in the sky.” The lake is indeed in the sky, easily the largest alpine lake in North America.

OTHER RESORTS

Northstar shares this idyllic setting around Lake Tahoe with four other major ski resorts and several more minor ones, all of which offer extraordinary skiing. Here is a quick portrait of the four other major resorts:

Alpine Meadows is a family-oriented resort with the longest ski season in the Tahoe area. Notorious Scott’s Chute is one of the steepest runs in skiing.

Heavenly is one of America’s largest ski resorts, with nine mountains, a 3,500 foot drop, and 20 square miles of ski terrain. Even non-skiers enjoy the trip to the Top of the Tram for the view of Lake Tahoe.

Kirkwood, whose base is at 7,800 feet, features snow of the highest quality all through its runs. For nordic skiers, Kirkwood offers 75 kilometers of groomed trails.

Squaw Valley, with its deserved reputation as a world-class ski area, offers night skiing until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The snowpack at Squaw Valley reaches about 450 inches per year.

For scenery and good skiing, the Lake Tahoe region offers much, and Northstar, with its excellent intermediate skiing and comfortable condos, serves as a complete residential resort.

***

(Advertisement: Thinking of skiing Colorado? Enjoy your vacation at a good Breckenridge Ski Resort.)

***

IF YOU GO TO NORTHSTAR OR OTHER TAHOE SKI RESORTS:

For general information on Northstar, call 530/562-1010 or 800/533-6787. Write to Northstar-at-Tahoe, P.O. Box 129, Truckee, CA 96160. For snow conditions, call 916/562-1330.

Contact numbers for the four other major ski resorts are: Alpine Meadows (530/583-4232), Heavenly (702/586-7000), Kirkwood (209/258-6000), and Squaw Valley USA (530/583-6985).

Lake Tahoe lies between two main routes that emigrants took to California. Today these routes are Interstate 80 and Highway 50. Sacramento is the Central Valley metropolis from which both highways reach into the mountains. Lake Tahoe is four hours (198 miles) from San Francisco, allowing for the mountain climb and depending on weather conditions.

Commuter flights go directly into South Lake Tahoe Airport. Major carriers fly into Reno-Cannon Airport, east of the lake. Greyhound bus can take you to Truckee on the north side of the lake. Amtrak (800/872-7245) can carry you to Truckee from San Francisco or from points east.

The major resorts of the region offer shuttle services between pickup points and their lodgings. Northstar is close to Truckee. The 45-minute drive from Reno to South Shore can be made via local shuttle.

For road conditions, crucial information if you drive here in winter, call the California State Highway Department (800/427-7623).

Information and lodging prospects about the north end of the lake comes from: Tahoe North, P.O. Box 5578, Tahoe City, CA 96145; 530/581-8700 or 800/822-5959; www.tahoeguide.com.

The same information at the south end comes from: South Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, 1156 Ski Run Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150; 916/544-5050 or 800/288-2463.

Related Posts

1. California’s Lake Tahoe
2. Skiing and Winter Adventures at Lake Tahoe, California
3. North Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Adventures