To Tahoe's Woodsy
North Shore

By Lynn Ferrin

"Going up to the lake" is the quintessential American summer weekend, and for millions of Westerners that lake is Tahoe. At its northern rim, they'll find enough to keep them happy for years of summer weekends - gleaming lake, sandy beaches, alpine heights, abundant restaurants and lodgings, outdoor music and Shakespeare, and gaming casinos (but far fewer than at the south shore).

The multiplicity of ways you can explore the north shore includes foot, horse, hay wagon, golf cart, mountain bike, street bike, roller blades, ATV, 4WD, car, parasail, kayak, raft, sailboard, powerboat, jet ski, fishing boat, paddle wheeler, hot air balloon, hang-glider, seaplane, and bi-plane. And inner-tubing down the Truckee River.

Beaches are dotted all along the shore, ranging from big, busy Kings Beach to hidden gems like Speedboat (or Bucks) Beach near the state line.

This is biking country; the whole family can follow the gentle paved trails along the west shore and the Truckee River, and through Incline Village; bike and helmet rentals available. In summer mountain bikers can follow the downhill ski trails at Squaw Valley and Northstar - or plunge down the famous "Flume" above the east shore.

If you're a hiker, you can pick up trail descriptions, bird lists, and other details at the tiny U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center at William Kent Campground a few miles south of Tahoe City (open 10 to 2).

The Tahoe Rim Trail will eventually track 150 miles around the ridge tops of the Tahoe Basin. Above North Shore, a section runs 18.5 miles from Tahoe City (across from the Fairway Community Center) to Brockway Summit.

To explore the high meadow-and-rock-and-aspen country, you can drive up Nevada 431 and spend all day climbing 10,778-foot Mt. Rose. Or drive stunning Barker Pass Road up Blackwood Canyon from the west shore; at road's end a spur path connects with the Pacific Crest Trail - turn left for Mexico, right for Canada.

A nice half-hour hike is at Stateline Lookout above Crystal Bay, with interpretive signs on native plants along the path; one recalls how the Civil War destroyed the forests here. (The mountains were stripped of cedar and pine to shore up the mineshafts of the Comstock, which produced silver to help the Union pay off the Civil War debt.)

On a bright, calm day it's a lovely interstate workout to paddle a kayak from the North Tahoe Beach Center in Kings Beach around Brockway Point, and skim across Crystal Bay. Mergansers may be your only company. The waters over the boulder fields are positively Caribbean (in turquoise clarity, not in temperature). Lessons, tours and rentals available from Tahoe Paddle and Oar; phone (916) 581-3029.

At Tahoe City, the north shore's biggest town, the Truckee River pours out of the lake and charges for Reno and Pyramid Lake. South of Fanny Bridge - named for all the people leaning over the rails looking at trout - is the Gatekeeper's Museum. Inside are human and natural history exhibits and a bookshop; Indian baskets are displayed in a new building next door. A few steps away is a tiny green with picnic tables.

At day's end, the best place to be is somewhere with a view; it's that magical hour when the lake seems to smolder with the fires of sunset, and banners of geese are strung across the rising moon.

For information on the northeast corner of the lake, contact Incline Village/Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau at (800) 468-2463. Ask about the wildly popular "Shakespeare at Sand Harbor."