The snowball arced perfectly overhead, its stark white cleanly silhouetted against an azure blue sky. The throw, however, could have used a little more muscle. Rather than reach its target, the snowy orb fell short, splashing harmlessly into the lake below. Safe for the moment, I fired up the engine of my three-seater personal watercraft, checked out a little more of the gorgeous shoreline, and then proceeded to head out of the bay.
That’s when I noticed the snowball,
minutes later, still bobbing on the lake’s surface, a pint-sized iceberg threatening to bump my Titanic as I motored past.
Welcome to Lake Tahoe in spring, a time of year when this majestic lake bordering California and Nevada welcomes its first intrepid boaters, while still holding onto its wintery appeal. Today, we’d elected to ride PWC on a lake with water temperatures not yet out of the 40s. Tomorrow, we’d be sliding across more of that water, only in frozen form.
Yes, it’s some kind of mixed-up idea of
a vacation. But sitting on the seat of that PWC and staring out at one of the most beautiful ride spots I’ve ever encountered, it suddenly made perfect sense.
Watercraft World
Tahoe defies description. And judging by the life span of that snowball, Tahoe is undeniably cool … in more ways than one.
Snow Job
We had come to Lake Tahoe ostensibly to evaluate the latest generation of touring craft—Honda’s recently released F-15X, Kawasaki’s Ultra LX, Sea-Doo’s GTX Limited and Yamaha’s FX SHO Cruiser. All are sterling examples of the newest and cleanest four-stroke technology, meaning they were a perfect fit on a lake that once infamously banned their two-stroke brethren.
We had also come to experience one
of the most picturesque riding destinations in the U.S., a spot we’ve often mentioned in passing, but sad to say, never actually splashed a hull.
Why we came the very first week of May is my fault. I wanted to snowboard. Scratch that—I wanted to do a story showing how unique the area is in spring, how you can actually still get up in the mountains and get snow, yet also get out on the water and ride. At least that explanation sounded more plausible in meetings. I emphasized the amazing backdrop of snowcapped mountains, then proceeded to ring up Slippery and beg for neoprene.
Arriving in Tahoe, I was in awe. The lake simply lived up to its billing, with beautiful blue and turquoise waters and a 360-degree backdrop of majestic, snow-covered peaks. Formed by geologic faulting 2 to 3 million years ago, and given a final shaping by glaciers during the ice age, Tahoe is big (22 miles long by 12 miles wide), deep (1,645 feet at its max, making it second only to Oregon’s Crater Lake in the U.S.) and high (its average surface elevation is 6,225 feet above sea level).
Watercraft World
Taking the elevation into consideration, the manufacturers breathed a sigh of relief when we noted we would not be doing performance testing.
It also offers amazing places to stay, like the gem we found just outside of Tahoe City, the Sunnyside Lodge. Like much of Tahoe’s northwestern shore, the lodge is quaint, rustic and full of the charm that seems to embody the area. Our rooms were a perfect blend of pine furniture and mountain ambience, each with a balcony overlooking the amazing lake directly beyond the rail. Add in a fantastic restaurant and bar, dock space only steps from the backdoor and a fleet of PWC and boat rentals for those who don’t wish to trek their own craft, and you’ve got the makings of one fantastic vacation spot.
Trust us, we’ll be back.
A Picture’s Worth …
As luck would have it, the weather gods—for once—blessed our trip. Outside, sunshine was in abundance and the air temperature promised to flirt with the 60-degree mark. Gearing up to head to the launch ramp a short while later, we were soon joking that we may have been too concerned about the weather, and pondering ways to dump all that sweaty neoprene.
Watercraft World
Those thoughts vanished after the first sprint across the lake. Despite the sunshine, water temps were still downright frigid. Once running in the wind, the coolness quickly became apparent, so much so that my first order of business after stopping back at the Sunnyside Lodge to pick up the photo boat was to run to my room and grab a beanie … and a touring coat.
With the photographer and videographer loaded aboard one of the Sunnyside’s rental Nautiques, we began our journey by venturing south, hugging the pristine shoreline of Tahoe’s western edge. Even before we made it to any of the “must-see” locations, the ride was breathtaking.
The Carson Range and Sierra Nevada mountains are a constant backdrop, the water beautiful shades of blue. The latter is thanks in part to the sky, which on this day was reflected perfectly on the glassy surface. The lake’s unbelievable clarity also makes it possible to clearly see the bottom in more than 70 feet of water.
Our first stop was Meeks Bay, where the pine-covered shores give way to rocky cliffs. Combined with the amazing clarity of the water, the setting was nothing short of postcard material. We lingered in the area for a while, committing our own mental pictures to memory while photographer Robert Brown sent his Canon into overdrive doing likewise for the magazine’s pages.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here, I’ll let his images do the talking.
The next stop on our list of must-sees was a site familiar to anyone who has ever visited the area—Emerald Bay, considered the most photographed natural wonder of the lake. We quietly motored through the bay’s narrow entrance, then did a lap around the shoreline.
At the far end of the bay sits Fannette Island, the only island on all of Lake Tahoe. As the story goes, the crumbling building that sits atop the rocky island was once the “tea room” for the sprawling Vikingsholm Estate that sits at the head of the bay.
In the summer months, boaters are allowed to visit the island. A nearby campground offers more than 100 sites and a “boat camp” with an additional 20 spaces. Not a bad way to spend a summer night.
Rolling the Dice
While Emerald Bay is beautiful at lake level, this is one of the rare instances where I’ll admit the view from above is superior. If you go, by all means take a ride through the bay by watercraft. But before you leave, venture a ride on Emerald Bay Road (Route 89), for the view from on high. It’s breathtaking, not only for the height (500-plus feet), but also the color the water takes on, a stark contrast to the surrounding granite peaks.
Several hiking paths, including one that follows the majestic Eagle Falls waterfall, can be accessed from the primary parking area. The ride along Route 89 is also notable for the incredible sight shortly thereafter heading south, as the narrow, two-lane road soon mirrors Emerald Bay on the left with the landlocked Cascade Lake to the right.
With the early afternoon winds beginning to build, we left Emerald Bay and the lake’s California side, making a beeline for the casino-filled promiseland of Stateline, Nev., to the east.
While much of Tahoe may be thought of as a place where evenings consists of watching a beautiful sunset from the shore or staring at the stars, Stateline is the exception. Six casinos, including Harrah’s, Harveys and MontBleu, are located opposite each other on U.S. Highway 50. Each offers plenty of nightlife, restaurants and enough shopping to round out any vacation. Mere steps beyond is Heavenly, one of the area’s prime ski resorts. My advice? Whatever the season, take the gondola ride. The view is breathtaking.
Maybe it was the threat of building weather or maybe it was the fact that we were encased in varying shades of skintight neoprene, but for some reason we opted out of hitting up the casinos right then and there. Instead, we bundled up as best we could and ventured north, battling some wind-whipped chop as we headed back toward the uppermost tip of the 22-mile-long lake.
Off Tahoe’s northeastern tip, we again marveled at the magnificent rocky shoreline; rounding Incline Village we soaked in the pricey lakefront homes (hence a local nickname—Income Village) and in Tahoe City we stopped for lunch, our crew
commandeering the porch seating at Rosie’s Cafe, a local favorite.
Watercraft World
Heading once again down the western shore, the winds died and the trip finished as it had begun, with sunny skies above and the lake reflecting that same picture below.
Back at the Sunnyside Lodge, we hung out on the docks as the sun began to fade, and then a portion of the crew headed back to the state line to donate a little money to the Nevada economy.
Slush Puppies
It could have been the previous night’s donations to Lady Luck, but somehow we once again awoke to sunny skies and temperatures that promised to make it beyond the 60-degree mark. And once again we geared up, this time trading in the form-fitting neoprene for a little baggy cut GORE-TEX. The destination? Squaw Valley USA, one of the only ski and snowboard resorts in the area to remain open this late in the season.
Squaw Valley is legendary in skiing circles. Tracing its origins back to 1949, the resort is lauded for its amazing terrain and 450-inch annual snowfall. In the beginning, the resort consisted of a mere double chairlift and two rope tows. Later, Squaw Valley would beat the odds and be chosen as the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Today, it encompasses six separate peaks, 34 lifts and has more than 4,000 acres of skiable terrain, including cliffs, glades and a trio of world-class terrain parks.
Like Heavenly’s gondola, the cable car at Squaw Valley is worth a ride itself. With room for 150 passengers, it rises some 2,000 feet from the valley floor, taking those aboard on a scenic journey before docking at Squaw’s High Camp. It’s there that this ski area boasts the most unlikely of mountaintop amenities—a pool, hot tub and Olympic-size ice rink. There’s also a small museum in honor of Squaw’s Olympic history.
I had dreams of our photographer catching me dropping in on Squaw’s famed Granite Chief, a picture that would soon take a position of honor on my office wall. But clad only in sneakers, he opted for the less-striking Bailey’s Beach—little more than a bunny hill dropping away from High Camp. Nevertheless, editor Jason Johnson and I did our best, attempting to make the gentle hill on the mountain look good in print. What onlookers thought as two guys on a bunny slope were followed constantly by both a cameraman and a videographer I’ll always wonder.
Glamour shots out of the way, Johnson and I ditched our own personal paparazzi and headed to the lone areas still open that late in the season, the slopes off the Shirley Lake and Granite Chief lifts. With the sun fast rising in the sky and temps doing likewise, we were soon bemoaning the wintery gear. Still, with few crowds and classic spring corn snow, we were having one heck of a time playing in the snow only hours after riding across the lake below.
I can now say I’ve ridden Tahoe … from above and below.
—Jeff Hemmel is a freelance writer for WaterCraft World magazine.
