USFS sites opening sooner than usual

The weather is allowing the U.S. Forest Service to open recreation facilities sooner than normal in the greater Lake Tahoe area. Some sites in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and Eldorado National Forest will open April 1.

Until sites officially open, there is no parking, trash removal or restroom facilities available.

Eagle Falls parking area, Inspiration Point, Kiva Picnic area, Tallac Point day-use area, Big Meadows Trailhead, Logan Shoals and Secret Harbor open April 1.

Baldwin and Nevada beaches open May 1.

The McKinney Rubicon Off-Highway Vehicle area, Sawmill Pond, the Sandpit OHV area, Nevada Beach Campground and Chimney Beach open May 8.

William Kent, Kaspian, Meeks Bay, Bayview and Fallen Leaf beaches and campgrounds open May 15. The Taylor Creek Visitor Center parking area, grounds and restrooms open the same day.

The visitor center and Baldwin Museum at the Tallac Historic Site will be staffed beginning May 23 for Memorial Day weekend.

Luther Pass Campground and Pope Beach open May 22.

Blackwood Canyon and Watson Lake campgrounds open June 1.

Roads in Eldorado open April 1. The roads in the King Fire Closure area will remain closed. These roads are under review for possible reopening in the near future.

The Mormon Emigrant Trail, a route that connects Highway 50 with Highway 88, also remains closed to through traffic due to snow on the eastern end.