Tahoe Colors

Tahoe Colors

This photo was taken on Aug 31st, 2008, from South Lake Tahoe Recreation Area, its looking primarily towards the east shore.

I took this photo in an attempt to capture the distinct colors of the lake. Its such an awesome view to see how the layered colors change from green, at the shore line, to deep (Tahoe) blue, at it’s deepest point.

As you drive on Lake Tahoe Blvd (HW-50) and reach the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Area you are presented with this beautiful image, I just had to stop and take a photo!

Fallen Leaf Lake

Fallen Leaf Lake

This photo was taken on August, 16th, 2008, from the small boat launch at Fallen Leaf Lake.

Fallen Leaf Lake is approximately aligned north-to-south and oval in shape, measuring approximately 2.9 miles (4.6 km) in length, and 0.9 miles (1.4 km) in width, as visible in this photo.

The lake was created by at least two glaciers which traveled northward down the Glen Alpine Valley. If the glacier had continued, Fallen Leaf Lake would be a bay similar to nearby Emerald Bay.

Due to its beauty, the lake is a favorite of Hollywood producers and it has been featured in both The Bodyguard and City of Angels. 

It’s a very peaceful and almost deserted place, accessible by a narrow, winding, and often, one-way road. It has a couple of small beaches, one public and one private, plus boating, canoeing, and fishing from the one and only rental hut. 

There is something about this place that reminds me of quaint fishing village that you might find somewhere on the English coast!

Nevada Beach Sunset

Nevada Beach Sunset

This photo was taken on August 11th, 2008 from Nevada Beach.

Nevada beach is on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, which seems totally obvious, about 3-miles north of the South Lake Tahoe State-line. It’s one of my kids favorite places to spend a day on the beach, as it’s one long pile of sand (.7 miles), and it is wider than any Tahoe beach, in some cases the sand is over 300 yards wide.

It’s also a fabulous place to watch the sunset over the mountains on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, and Emerald Bay, as this photo shows. This photo was cropped to emphasize the shore line and the warm yellow colors.

Hope Valley and Lower Blue Lake

Hope Valley

This photo was taken on August 10th, 2008, looking in to Hope Valley.

On Sunday afternoon my kids and I took a Wrangler jeep tour with Lake Tahoe Adventures. We started in Meyers, south of Lake Tahoe where we met our tour guide, Carl, a true born and bred Tahoe local.

The 2-hour round-trip adventure, took us up in to the south Lake Tahoe Sierra Nevada mountains, over some rough terrain, to a high point of around 11,000ft, where we had some excellent views of the valley.

Hope Valley, is a beautiful alpine valley, its probably one of the best kept secrets in south Tahoe although, as Carl pointed out, the word seems to have got out and there is a growing number of visitors in the summer and winter.

I must admit, Hope Valley is a place that I will definitely be visiting again.

Lower Blue Lake

This photo was also taken on the same day.

Further on our tour, we came acroos 2-lakes situated next to each other, Upper and Lower Blue Lake. This particular picture is of Lower Blue Lake which, in our opinion, is the more scenic of the two lakes.

There is a campground adjacent to the lakes and the road has been paved in the last ~4 years to make access easier.  Its a great place for a little fishing or just hanging out by the lake, a very tranquil location to do either.  

I highly recommend the Lake Tahoe Adventures experience, whether you do the jeep tour as we did, or the Hummer, ATV, or Sand Buggy options. In the winter I can imagine the snowmobile tours would also be a great excursion, something we might just be back to do ourselves. 

What continues to strike me is that there are so many beautiful places to visit in the Lake Tahoe area, I don’t think I have even scratched the surface yet.

Lot’s more photo opportunities are out there just waiting to be found.

Crystal Bay

Crystal Bay

This photo was taken on August 4th, 2008, looking down to Crystal Bay from HW28.

There are just so many magnificent views like this as you drive around Lake Tahoe. Crystal Bay is just across the Nevada side of the lake near to Incline Village.

As the road winds around this part of the lake you are presented with blue water, boats or all sizes, a green blanket of trees, and homes nestled in to the side of the lake. In addition, against the clear blue sky, you can see homes perched on top of the mountain, which must provide some awesome views of the lake.

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Squaw Valley, High Camp

Squaw Valley, High Camp

This photo was taken on August 1st, 2008, at the Squaw Valley, High Camp.

If you take the cable car from the Squaw Valley Olympic Village to the High Camp, 8200 ft, you will find a swimming lagoon and spa, plus skating, restaurants, bars, etc.

My kids love this place and it’s a great summer days outing, plus, it provides some awesome views of the area.

My daughter, Rachael, selected this particular picture for posting to the Blog.