Lakes- Tahoe

Lake Tahoe, is one of the gems of USA. Tahoe is a large fresh water lake located on the border of California and Nevada. With clear blue water the beautiful lake is second deepest lake in North America.  Popular as year around destination offers activities for all types of visitors. In summer people enjoy water sports like speed boats, motor skiing, kayaking and simply swimming. The beaches here are wonderful for picnics with family and friends. The heavy snowfall in the winter months makes it a very popular skiing destination. Being in high altitude the color of aspen and maple trees make it look like heaven during fall.

I don't have a count of how many times I have visited this place. The recent visit with family brings back all the sweet memories of my adventures and misadventures during past years. This time I went family style- driving around, enjoyed views from overlooks, family photos, long picnics, beach walks etc ... relaxing is fun too!! 72 mile drive around the whole lake was extremely enjoyable while I re-relayed non-stop the stories of my past adventures to my family. There are several State Parks, beaches, private beaches and marinas. All these parks and marinas have entrance fees.

Emerald Bay- The most beautiful and popular overlook point. From here one can see the view of Emerald Bay. The water looks bluest from this point. A small island and a historical structure on it, the boats and the lush forest around is beautiful. My sister was so enchanted by the beauty of this sight!

Pope's Beach- I consider this one best for family picnics. Not so crowded, at least every time I visited this place, is near to South Lake Tahoe city and very near to Fallen Leaf Lake campground. The place is equipped with picnic tables, barbeque, fire rings and restrooms. Mallards and Canada geese roam around freely to add to the beauty.

Sand Harbor- Rocky and beautiful state park on the Nevada side. The lake-side has huge granite boulders. The water is so clear that the boulders submerged under water are visible. At sunset these boulders turn to gold and it is an enchanting view.

During my earlier visits I have hiked few trails in summer, in winter did some skiing, and fall color photography during the fall.

Fall Colors ... As I mentioned earlier Tahoe basin offers activities for all seasons. During fall one can observe lines of photographers around. Not only the lake-side but the forests around will be colorful in different shades of yellow, gold and red. I have enjoyed driving around near El Dorado hills, Hope Valley etc. And once stayed in Sorenson's cabins amidst those yellow-gold aspens. Heaven on Earth!

Skiing ... is one of the popular winter sports at Tahoe. During this time getting accommodation is very difficult. This place is very special to me because I learned skiing here. Haven't tried much steeper slopes yet. In the picture you see the ropeway up the slope to ski-down! The Ski-resorts rent the right equipment and also offer training for beginners. Initially I hated the cold and the snow-shoes, but once I learnt to control the movements I loved the fresh snow!

Waterfalls ... Tahoe basin has quite a few beautiful waterfalls during springtime. These waterfalls are fed by melting snow and hence disappear by late summer. Some are easily accessible and some need a short/long hike. Eagle Falls is nearby Emerald Bay. 

Lower and Upper Glen Alpine Falls are near Fallen Leaf Lake. Lower falls (in the picture) is prettier of the two and is on the roadside. A short drive on a not so good road leads to this falls. Upper falls needs a short hike and a stream crossing. From the trail to upper Glen Alpine falls one can see a distant view of Horsetail falls.

I can go on and on with more exciting things about Tahoe Basin. Look for more information on the lake and hikes in the area in the next post Tahoe- Part II.

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This post is linked to Nature Notes on Rambling Woods.

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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.