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38 INTERVAL WORLD Summer 2016 IntervalWorld.com
I’m not a hardcore outdoors person, but
after arriving and getting that first full scent of
September, I knew what he meant, and felt an
inner twitch to lace up my hiking boots. There are a
staggering variety of trails around Lake Tahoe that
range from 30-minute, lunch-by-noon walks to all-day,
pack-food-and-water treks — and everything in between. We
took on the short (a mere 2 miles round-trip) Eagle Falls Trail, which
didn’t wear us out, but did deliver on scenery thanks to the name-
sake cascading waterfall.
Before that walk — and, actually, our entire anniversary visit —
I would have sworn that the Tahoe sky couldn’t get any bluer than
it does during the height of summer. Autumn proved me wrong.
And paired with the color-changing aspen and cottonwood trees
shimmering in shades of red, orange, and gold, the season upped
the region’s beauty quotient tenfold.
A good hike puts you in the midst of the trees. A fall-foliage
drive, however, allows you to see the entire forest. The Mount Rose
Highway was recommended to us, and after
witnessing all the golden, reddish panoramas
adjacent to the lake, I’m happy to pay the
recommendation forward. If you’re looking for
even loftier views, Lake Tahoe Balloons offers rides
through mid-October, and launches right from the water
off the upper deck of the catamaran-style Tahoe Flyer.
ON THE WATER
As a kid, I always felt confident jumping from my grandparents’ dock
and swimming out to a buoy 50 feet offshore. That is until an irra-
tional deep-end-of-the-pool fear kicked in one summer after I asked
Poppy how deep the water was.
“Immeasurable,” he said, fanning a lifelong rumor in my family
that this inland sea’s real depth had yet to be discovered. I gulped.
I’d later learn that Lake Tahoe is, in fact, the second-deepest
lake in the U.S., with the deepest part measured at 1,645 feet. As
an adult, it’s not the depth that bothers me, it’s the temperature, and
Deposit Photos/Glow Images; MERVYN REES/Alamy Stock Photo
Drink in the scenery from high above on
a hot-air balloon ride.
Fall for
Lake Tahoe
or buy a
at IntervalWorld.com.
Getaways start at $259.
The Getaway price is valid
October 1 through December 31, 2016.