San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Spectacular 3mile stretch of Lake Tahoe loop trail opens
A new 3mile section of trail spanning one of Lake Tahoe’s most spectacular areas, from Nevada’s Incline Village south to Sand Harbor State Park, represents a major step toward the longtime dream to wrap a single paved path around the entire lake.
The new section, called the East Shore Trail, is a paved byway separated from Highway 28 traffic — designed as a multiuse trail with sensational views — for nonmotorized use, primarily walking and cycling, strollers and wheelchairs. “It is one of the prettiest spots anywhere,” said Carl Hasty, district manager for the Tahoe Transportation District, which managed the project.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony at the end of June, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak called the new trail a symbol of “a shared vision to create a safer, more accessible and brighter future for ourselves, our communities and our environment.”
Of a projected 72mile route around the lake, about 33 miles — most of which is on the California side — have been completed, Hasty said. Other sections of the larger trail include a stretch near Tahoe City, where 15 miles of bike trails extend in three directions, and another 15mile leg along the lake near Camp Richardson and South Lake Tahoe.
The next section in the works is an 8mile stretch that will connect the East Shore Trail at Sand Harbor
State Park on southward along Highway 28 past Secret Cove and inland to Spooner Junction.
“All of it will be on the lake side of the highway,” Hasty said. “You get fantastic scenery, where the road starts to climb, and you end up at a new trailhead parking lot across from Spooner State Park. We’ll look to remove shoulder parking (along the highway) and improve a seasonal shuttle.”
Incline to Sand Harbor
The trailhead out of Incline Village is near the Tunnel Creek Cafe (1115 Tunnel Creek Road), a short distance from the junction of Ponderosa Ranch Road.
The path is about 10 feet wide and paved, 3 miles one way, a 6mile round trip. The rises and falls in elevation are benign. Most travel at low speed to take in the lake panorama. The parkway is etched on the lakeside of the highway, with precarious rocky sections bridged above the lake. Six new bridges provide some of the most spectacular lookouts across the lake, and the longest is more than 800 feet. At Hidden Beach, a new underpass was constructed that routes the parkway to the west side of the road.
The trail eventually feeds onto a high terrace, where it arcs to the right around Sand Harbor Cove and feeds into Sand Harbor State Park.
For years, a longterm issue has been a parking shortage at Sand Harbor State Park. A seasonal shuttle has operated out of Incline Village in an attempt to help solve that. Many have parked illegally along the shoulder of the highway, at times partially blocking the southbound lane.
The opening of the new East Shore Trail could be the answer for that. At Incline Village, three new parking areas with a total of 90 spaces have been established near Highway 28 and Ponderosa Ranch Road. For this summer, parking is free, said Meg Ragonese of the Nevada Department of Transportation. Through Labor Day, bus service will also be available to the trailhead through the Tahoe Transportation District’s East Shore Express and Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit, Hasty said.
With parking and bus service, a move to stop illegal parking along the shoulder of Highway 28 from Incline Village to Sand Harbor is also in the works, Ragonese said.
Sand Harbor
On calm summer days when Lake Tahoe is ideal for kayaking, Sand Harbor can have its parking spots filled by 8:30 a.m.
To get a spot, some arrive at dawn with their kayaks or standup paddleboards, and then paddle in pristine water as calm as a millpond and with a worldclass feel with every stroke. The water is crystal clear. You can look straight down and feel as though you could reach in and touch a boulder 40 feet deep.
With the new East Shore Trail, you can start the trip where you rent a bike in Incline Village; one of the rental services, Village Ski Loft, has cruisers that start at $30 per day. Then make the 3mile ride on the new trail to Sand Harbor. Take your time, bring your camera and soak in the views. At Sand Harbor, work your way down to the cove with Sand Harbor Rentals. Next to the boat ramp, look for the tent. You can rent kayaks, standup paddleboards, sailboats and sign up for guided trips. Reservations are advised online through www.sandharbor rentals.com; $25 for a single kayak or SUP for one hour, $50 for three hours, a tandem for $40 and $80, respectively.
All you need is a calm morning and away you go: bike the 3mile trip on the new Tahoe East Shore Trail — then rent a kayak for the surreal paddle in Sand Harbor Cove. Do this once, and you will never look at the world quite the same.
Tom Stienstra is The Chronicle’s outdoors writer. Email: tstienstra@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom Facebook: www.facebook.com/ tomstienstraoutdoors
Morning
Start the day at Yaks Mt. Shasta Koffee and Eatery in the center of town on Mount Shasta Boulevard. Yaks offers strong coffee, cheap and filling breakfasts of wraps, bowls, and burritos, and a chance to peoplewatch on what locals simply refer to as “the Boulevard” through the shop’s big windows.
Once fed and caffeinated, get a bird’seye tour of the area with a trip up to Castle Lake, 10 miles south of (and 2,000 feet above) the center of town. If you’re traveling by bicycle, follow Old Stage Road to W.A. Barr Road and then Castle Lake Road to the lake. This route is a dream: lush forest broken up with occasional panoramic views, little traffic and gentle grades. The ascent is rewarding even by car, however, and either way, you’ll want to stop to take in the stunning views of Shasta, with its smaller companion, Shastina, to the north, and the otherworldly spires of Castle Crags State Park to the south.
Along the way to Castle Lake, you’ll follow the Sacramento River, which this far north is little more than a mountain stream, and skirt Lake Siskiyou, a small reservoir with its own forestshaded trails. At the end of the road you’ll find Castle Lake, a small, cold jewel in a cleft in the mountains. If you’re in the mood for yet more altitude, follow the signed hiking trails that extend around and above the lake (the Pacific Crest Trail is only a few miles to the south), or just take a rest among the pines by the shore.
Midday
After descending back to town, you’ll want some lunch. Poncho & Lefkowitz, on the Boulevard at the south edge of downtown, serves Mexican staples like burritos and tacos and a wide array of “gourmet hot dogs” takeoutstyle out of a tiny wooden shack festooned with old license plates. Although not officially on the menu, the chicken bowl, chunks of grilled chicken piled with grilled vegetables and housemade salsa, is an especially satisfying option available on request. Queue up with a mix of locals and ravenous hikers just down from the mountains and enjoy your meal at the picnic tables set up along the sidewalk.
After lunch, head a few blocks north and turn east on Castle Street for a postlunch stroll at Sisson Meadow. Named for the city’s pre1925 moniker, the lea was spared from possible development in 2003 by local conservation group Siskiyou Land Trust. The park feels far wilder than its 7.5acre size suggests. The trails, some stilted over small streams and bogs, follow a loop that can be walked in 30 minutes at a leisurely pace, but the cattails are tall enough to block out the view of town, and birdsong soon replaces the sound of cars on the Boulevard. Butterflies and migratory waterbirds abound, and Mount Shasta feels close enough to touch.
Afternoon
A defining moment in the city’s history came in 1899, when Frederick Spencer Oliver published a manuscript titled “A Dweller on Two Planets,” a wild hash of esoterica involving Atlantis, the lost continent of Lemuria and Venusians that he claimed to have written under the influence of visions and spirit dictation. The book identified Mount Shasta as a Lemurian refuge and attributed mystical powers to the mountain.
Occultminded visitors streamed in and added their own legends and theories, and today Mount Shasta is an entrepot for all things New Age. On a recent visit, signs downtown advertised “Didgeridoo Sound Healing” and “Quantum Biofeedback Sessions / Crystal Light Bed from John of God.”
Looking up at the symmetrical, towering white cone of Mount Shasta, it’s not hard to see why Oliver and others have insisted the spot holds a special power, and hardened skeptics and true believers alike should spend some time getting to know this side of the peak.
For your own mystic adventure, start downtown at Crystal Wings Bookstore, which offers a huge selection of crystals and New Age art and literature. Head over to Silk Road Chai Shop (whose chais refreshingly favor aromatic spices over cloying sweetness) just off the Boulevard on Alma Street for a reading ($1$2 per minute) from a rotating group of local seers. If you’re in town on a Monday, round out the afternoon with a visit to the Mt. Shasta Farmers’ Market on the Boulevard from 3:30 to 6 p.m. for local produce and prepared snacks and drinks.
Evening
Return to Earth with an early dinner at Bistro 107 at the corner of Chestnut Street and Mount Shasta Boulevard. Claim a table on the patio to enjoy the long golden hours of evening: July sunset here isn’t until 8:45 p.m.
Choose a beer from the rotating list of local brews. The standout options here are classics with decadent twists: “Billy’s Best” burger is adorned with a huge onion ring, and a wild sockeye salmon sandwich is served on a buttery brioche bun.
After dinner, stroll a few blocks off the Boulevard to Handsome John’s Speakeasy on Chestnut Street. As befits a speakeasy, Handsome John’s is a bit hard to find, tucked behind a storefront. Look for the small sign for “Cold Beer” pointing the way in from the street. In addition to a solid lineup of affordable beer and liquor, the bar offers barbecue and sushi, an outdoor patio, board games, walls covered in detailed murals, and periodic live music.
Eventually, even a Mount Shasta summer evening comes to an end. Head out into the crisp mountain air and look for the last light still glinting off the snow on the peak.