By Michelle Portesi
Situated off the main road at the south end of Fallen Leaf Lake is the trail to the old Glen Alpine Springs Resort. A vacation destination of a bygone era, still standing today are several buildings designed by the famous San Francisco Architect Bernard Maybeck (1862-1957) designer of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Art. While some buildings are already boarded up for the winter and therefor more difficult to appreciate their beauty, what is unusual about these buildings is their great expanses of glass windows supported by metal frames and stone buttresses.
One of the buildings at Glen Alpine Springs. This one is boarded up for winter, but you can still take a peak inside.
Building without the snow covers.
I was hoping to get some shots of fantastic fall color as the drive in has massive stands of aspen, but as our drought has taken its toll on our fall color display this year, I’m hoping for that massive El Nino to show up to remedy the situation for next year. Still, the drive in was lovely as the one lane road meandered past gorgeous high country horse pastures and the shores of Fallen Leaf Lake. This is a seasonal lake, as the road isn’t plowed once the snow flies, and the intimate, limited development of the area reminded my friend and me of the movie ‘On Golden Pond’. In fact, so much so, we both said it simultaneously!
Boat docks at Fallen Leaf Lake
Once you near the south end of the lake, the road splits, and the sign to Glen Alpine Springs is clearly marked. A ways up you will find a parking lot and the beginning of the trail head. While not a long trail, much of it is on an incline and the ‘road’ such as it is, is very rocky. Be warned. This is no trail for flip-flops. Hiking boots are strongly suggested.
The trail does flatten out in areas through heavily forested glens, passing streams, and even a waterfall that still has water this late in the season, and it’s all worth it. Once you stumble onto the remains of Glen Alpine Springs Resort, you’ll have plenty to explore. The resort, once the site of supposedly health inducing natural soda springs, the gazebo still houses the terminus of the small, brackish, iron filled bubbly water. No, I don’t recommend drinking it!
Trail to Glen Alpine Springs
Dining Hall at Glen Alpine Springs.
Interior of the Dining Hall
From there, you can continue along the trail to many back country lakes. We didn’t realize it at the time, but there is another falls to the left of the parking area. Next time…
Hike it now, as the road around Fallen Leaf supposedly closes at the end of October.
If you are driving to your destination along the west shore, be sure to stop at PDQ Market in Tahoma along the way for some awesome sandwiches to take on your hike. My favorite is the pesto bread with roast beef and pepperchinis.
For more information and history about Glen Alpine Springs, go here:
www.sierranevadageotourism.org/content/glen-alpine-fallssprings-trail
laketahoe.com/content/glen-alpine-springs-resort
Dining Hall at Glen Alpine Springs
Fall colors at Glen Alpine Springs
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THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
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By Tim Hauserman
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It happens every year. We merrily skip along enjoying the joys of a warm October: Swimming in the brisk but still bearable crystal clear lakes. Bike riding across warm meadows needing just a pair of shorts and a jersey. Hiking into Desolation Wilderness at a time when the place really lives up to it’s name, and then: Boom, baby. The cold wind’s blow out of the east, the temperatures drop, and fall raises its chilly and wet head.
I was reminded of this quick change recently when I walked briskly from my house in Tahoe Park to the beach next to Sunnyside. There on the shore of the beach was a dejected family pondering what to do about their sunken boat which was being pounded by the fierce winds into the bottom of the lake. And of course, this being Tahoe, the boat owners were friends of mine and I helped them drag up the last load of their soggy possessions to the car.
Lesson learned. While we still have some wonderful warm days to experience the fun stuff we love to do in the summer, the heavy snows of winter are on their way, which means it’s about time to at least start thinking about getting ready:
If you haven’t already done so, it’s officially time to get your boat out of the water.
Service the heater.
Start organizing your yard to bring inside what you don’t want buried in the snow.
Plan for the potential of freezing temps. Watch the forecasts, shut the windows when you leave town for a few days, and think about preparing your plumbing for winter if you leave for several weeks.
Put up snow stakes along the driveway, so when it does snow you will actually have a clue where the edge of your driveway is.
Get your skis tuned and ready to go. Because we are surely due for a big winter.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
By Michelle Portesi
Photo screen capture from The Truckee Historical Haunted Tour
No matter how long you live here, you can always learn something new about the area you call home. On Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16, you can get your history with a side order of Old Town fun at the Annual Truckee’s Haunted Historic Tour.
This is a popular event with locals and tourists alike. You will be taken on a guided tour of many of Truckee’s vintage circa late 1800’s buildings and told colorful tales of her old west past by costumed characters, real and imagined. To quote one out of towner “I can’t choose a favorite. It was all a hoot!”
And who knows, one of Truckee’s reported spectral inhabitants might make an appearance as well.
Our 2014 Performers, photo by event sponsor Johnstone Studios. Photo from website.
If you’re from out of town, you can get the full effect of the evening by staying at one of Truckee’s original hotels, and be sure to grab a bite at one of it’s many restaurants in old town.
Tickets sell out quickly, so be sure to buy yours today!
Visit their website for more information on the tour, venues and where to stay: www.truckeehistorytour.org
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 