The kids had a four-day weekend for Memorial Day (this school! Seriously!), so Kelvin and I took Friday and half Thursday to head out of town a bit early.
It had been several years since we saw Kelvin's college friend Ann-Chi (husband Anthony and daughter Abby), and we met them for some food, ice-cream and park play time before a quick overnight in Chico (about 4 hours from hour home, longer due to several stops on the 299).
Iver made a root beer float
The next morning, we drove another 2.5 hours to the northwest side of Lake Tahoe, an extremely special and beautiful place I really enjoy (and got to know when in residency in Sacramento). If we didn't live ~7 hours away, we would definitely be here more often (it's like Switzerland, but in our state)-- it's a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts!
We refueled at lunch at the Olympic Village, at the base of (formerly Squaw) Palisades ski resort, which is open through this weekend!
We then ventured on a hike that came recommended, the Five Lakes Trail.
Trail Lizards
We had to cross multiple patches of snow on the hike! (about 4 miles round-trip).
The views (although none were of the lake) were lovely
"skis"
After tagging along with a couple of young women who had an Alltrails map on their phone, we traipsed through a snowy forest (where no trail was visible!) to find Lake #1 (partially frozen) at the top. However, not wanting to get lost, we turned around to head back towards the car.
Hiking in snow is hard and tiring (at one point, Kelvin [with Niall on his back] fell face down after stepping in a "snow hole.").
The next morning, we headed along the lakeshore south to Emerald Bay State Park, closer to South Lake Tahoe.
Eagle Falls Hike was a really short, easy hike to see some full waterfalls with the snowmelt.
Trail chipmunk
Vista point
The nearby overlook (near Vikingsholm trail, where we parked) had wonderful views of Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay (as well as Fannette Island, the only island in the lake). The views reminded us a lot of Crater Lake in Oregon.
On the way back to the Northern side of the wake, we hiked a popular short but steep trail to Eagle Rock. The views at the top were incredible on such a clear day, and it was a great spot for an early packed lunch.
We tried to take a flat walk in Paige (/Page) Meadows to see wildflowers, but couldn't see the trail for a big meadow-swamp, so we turned around.
Our friend Char from residency (who lives in Auburn, along with her son and sister) joined us for a lovely afternoon at Kings Beach Recreation Area. The air was cool, but the sun was warm. We last saw her (a great outdoorswoman and athlete) for a wonderful Tahoe-area Thanksgiving hike (Mt. Judah) in 2021.
Kiteboarders took advantage of the wind!
After dinner, we played some doubles Pickleball at the condo.
On Sunday, we headed back to the Palisades/Olympic Valley area so Kelvin and Iver could get in some spring snowboarding/skiing on the last open weekend.
The day was sunny and not too cold.
Niall and I (with "sightseeing passes") took the Funitel (gondola) up (and down).
We then rode the Aerial Tram up to High Camp (8,200 ft), which had spectacular views over both the ski mountain and Lake Tahoe.
Alpine Marmot
We visited the small Olympic Museum, with memorabilia and exhibits about the 1960 games (VIII Winter Olympics) held at (then) Squaw Valley.
On our final eve in the area, on Kelvin's request, we drove 40 minutes to Reno, NV, for a highly rated magic show, Magique. It was really entertaining for both us and kids, and well worth it!
We had a wonderful long weekend in the Tahoe area. I'm sure we'll be back, maybe in another season!
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