South Lake Tahoe: heavenly hike on the Tahoe Vista Trail - Sunset's Travel Guide

If the 8,250-foot elevation at the top of Heavenly Ski Resort's aerial tram doesn't make you dizzy, the wide-angle views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada certainly will. And there's no better way to take in this mountain scenery than on a hike along the Tahoe Vista Trail, which starts from the top of the tram and traverses a mile of ridgeline above South Lake Tahoe, California. On clear days, the view from the trail stretches 30 miles or more.

After a 6-minute ride aboard the Swiss-built tram, you can make the hike with a guide trained by the Forest Service or on your own. The guided hikes, free and offered twice daily, focus on the natural history of the Lake Tahoe Basin. From start to finish, they take about 1 1/2 hours. Hikers meet on the sundeck of the Monument Peak Restaurant at 11 A.M. or 1 P.M. for a 10-minute video presentation covering the climate, geology, and foliage of the Tahoe Basin. The guided hikes follow. A free guide to the mile-long trail with information about 10 signed stops en route is available at the trailhead kiosk, just below the restaurant.

The hike is moderately strenuous, gaining 1,000 feet over the course of the trail. You'll pass stands of old-growth red fir and ponderosa and Jeffrey pine on the way to three vista points, where you can pause to listen to chickadees chirp, sniff the butterscotch scent of Jeffrey pine, and rest on benches and chairs cut from fallen timber. Near Neumann Point, a downed log has been neatly sliced to show its hundreds of growth rings.

At the trail's end, you're rewarded with views of mighty Monument Peak and the Nevada desert peeking across Kingsbury Grade. Late-summer sunsets, glowing bright pink and orange, are especially spectacular from the trail.

Many hikers have lunch on the restaurant's sunny deck or relax on the grassy lawn just under the tram's top tower. Mondays through Saturdays, the restaurant serves lunch from 11 to 2:30 and dinner from 5 to 9. On Sundays from 10 to 2, you can have a buffet brunch for $9.95 adults, $6.95 children ages 12 and under; dinner is served from 5 to 9.

The guided hikes run daily through fall. No reservations are necessary, but you must buy a tram ticket ($10.50 adults, $6 ages 12 and under). The first tram leaves the base at 10 A.M.; the last returns long after nightfall. Trail hours are 10 to 7. Guides recommend that hikers bring plenty of water with them and wear sturdy hiking boots or sneakers and sunscreen. Because late-summer thunderstorms are common in the Lake Tahoe area, carrying a waterproof shell is also recommended.

From South Lake Tahoe, take Ski Run Boulevard about 2 1/2 miles to the tram.

COPYRIGHT 1994 Sunset Publishing Corp.
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