SUMMER VACATIONS IN THE WEST
Planning your trip to Lake Tahoe
THE BEST WAY TO TAHOE:
From Los Angeles, it's a 444-mile drive to South Lake Tahoe by U.S. 395. The lake's north shore is 42 miles southwest of the Reno/Tahoe International Airport.
THE STATE BUDGET MESS
In a bid to ease California's budget crisis, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed closing 220 of the state's 279 parks. A list of threatened parks includes D.L. Bliss, Ed Z'berg-Sugar Pine Point and Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe -- home to severalof the sites described here.
But state parks information officer Sheryl Watson said that even if the Legislature agrees to the cuts, state officials plan to keep the parks open through Labor Day, drawing on existing funds to keep parks in operation and honor summer reservations.
If parks were to close, Watson added, the state would refund money to campers whose reservations are canceled.
WHERE TO STAY
Camp Richardson, 1900 Jameson Beach Road, South Lake Tahoe; (800) 544-1801, www.camprichardson.com. Year-round resort. About 40 cabins (summer rates $791 to $2,485 per week); seven motel rooms ($135 to $200 nightly in summer), marina-adjacent duplex ($2,485 per week per unit in summer); 26 hotel rooms ($95 to $180 in summer), one seven-bedroom house ($5,950 per week in summer), 200 campsites, 100 RV spots. No TVs or phones in hotel rooms. Wi-Fi $10 per night.
The Cottage Inn, 1690 W. Lake Blvd., 2 miles south of Tahoe City; (800) 581-4073 or (530) 581-4073, www.thecottageinn.com. Two-night minimum on weekends. Rates $158 to $340.
Rustic Cottage Resorts, 7449 N. Lake Blvd., Tahoe Vista; (888) 778-7842, www.rusticcottages.com. West of Kings Beach, near Tahoe Vista on the north shore. Across the street from the public Moon Dunes beach. Rates $74 to $229 for most cottages. Two three-bedroom houses go for $335 to $399 a night.
Sunnyside Steakhouse and Lodge 1850 W. Lake Blvd., Tahoe City; (800) 822-2754, www.sunnysideresort.com. On the west shore about 5 miles south of Tahoe City. Lodge includes 23 guest rooms and a pleasant upstairs area with free continental breakfast. Rooms $135 to $335, suites $210 to $380 per night.
WHERE TO EAT
Freshies, 3330 Lake Tahoe Blvd., No. 3, South Lake Tahoe; (530) 542-3630, no website. Best meal of my visit. Tasty, low-key, grown-up Hawaiian cuisine and setting, with organic emphasis. Open for lunch and dinner. Dinner entrees $12 to $25.
Evergreen, 475 N. Lake Blvd., Tahoe City; (530) 581-1401, www.evergreentahoe.com. Seasonal American cuisine. Lunch and dinner. Dinner entrees $12.50 to $21.
River Ranch Lodge, Highway 89 at Alpine Meadows Road; (530) 583- 4264, www.riverranchlodge.com. Lunch and dinner daily in summer. Menu is heavy on seafood and steak, dinner entrees typically $18 to $32. Besides the restaurant and patio, it has 19 lodge rooms (summer rates $100 to $185).
THE MANSIONS
Vikingsholm, part of Emerald Bay State Park; (530) 541-6498, www.vikingsholm.org. Open for guided tours from Memorial Day weekend through Sept. 30. Adults $5.
The Hellman-Ehrman Mansion at Sugar Pine Point State Park, (530) 525-7982, open for tours daily from Memorial Day weekend through Sept. 30. Adults $5.
Tallac Historic Site, U.S. Forest Service, on California Highway 89, 2 1/2 miles north of Highway 50; (530) 541-5227; www.fs.fed.us/r5/ ltbmu/recreation/tallac/. Open June 13 to Sept. 12. 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. Includes Baldwin Estate, Pope Estate and Heller Estate, and the free beach at Kiva Picnic Area. Tours $5 per adult.
Thunderbird Lodge, near Incline Village, (800) 468-2463, www.thunderbirdlodge.org. Tours cost $39 per adult (includes a shuttle bus ride from Incline Village), no children younger than 6 allowed. Or you can visit by wooden boat from the southern shore (lunch included) at $110 per adult.
TO LEARN MORE
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