Tahoe a wonderland of trails
The Tahoe Sierra is a wonderland of expansive trails that seemingly never end. You can spend a lifetime racking up miles hiking and mountain biking and you’ll likely never get to them all. And each season brings trail expansions to add to the richness of our trail systems.
Building new trails is no easy feat either through the physical work of breaking trail or the years spent fundraising and working with a myriad of federal, state and local agencies to approve new trails.
An even more daunting task is restoring the lands that humans have destroyed through the centuries and returning them to their full glory to be enjoyed into the future. Such is the case of the trail systems that weave through the Coldstream Basin, whose waters fed into the Truckee River, a vital watershed providing essential habitat for wildlife and drinking water for residents of Northern Nevada.
Coldstream Canyon has long been a locals’ favorite for year-round fun. More than 20 years ago, long-time Truckee local Maggie Graff took me and my sister, Michelle Allen, on our first outing on cross-country skis into Coldstream Canyon. That day we skied through quiet forests, marveled as the sun broke through the trees to illuminate creeks and went out to Lost Trail Lodge for the first time. I was hooked on cross-country skiing (on and off the trail) from that day forward and on exploring the region’s many trails in every season.
Today, Foriver and California State Parks are a decade in on a project to restore the wetlands and wildlife habitats of Coldstream destroyed by logging and gravel mining, among other impacts. Priya Hutner, a Donner Lake resident who frequents the trails in Coldstream, recently explored the trails again for her story “Coldstream Canyon: A Truckee playground.”
Downhill mountain bike parks
“The adrenaline rush I got from bombing down rock gardens, speeding through berms and exploring fresh territory always has me planning my next mountain biking trip,” writes Kayla Anderson in her feature “Adrenaline rush at downhill mountain bike parks.”
With four downhill mountain bike parks in the region (all at winter ski areas) from Kirkwood and Northstar to Sky Tavern and Woodward, there’s something to offer every level of mountain biking (and e-bikes are welcome at several of the parks).
Drone shows on tap
High winds postponed the much-anticipated 4th of July drone shows in Kings Beach and Tahoe City, but both shows have been rescheduled for Labor Day weekend. The shows will be on Sept. 2 in Kings Beach and Sept. 4 in Tahoe City, and both will happen after season finale concerts. Details are in this edition.
