Golf course provides tranquil cross country ski

The Upper Truckee River meanders through Lake Tahoe Golf Course. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

MEYERS – Golf courses offer some of most wonderful cross country skiing opportunities. They are flat, scenic and go on for miles.

And while golfers might think the trees are close together, winter recreationists find these plots of land to be wide-open.

Such is the case with Lake Tahoe Golf Course. This is an 18-hole course for much of the year. In winter a snowmobile concessionaire operates there. To the right of the clubhouse is the way to get away from the motorized fun. We started to the left of hole 10.

On the first Saturday of the year people were farther off to the right playing in the snow – building snowmen and just enjoying the white stuff.

Plenty of virgin snow to ski through.

The noise from the sleds dissipates quickly. The exhaust, though, is noticeable as we return. It clearly was stinking up the fresh mountain air.

One of the nice things about this trek is that it doesn’t take long to glide into a serene landscape. Plenty of people had been there before us. Snowshoe and cross country tracks crisscross each other.

Some of the tracks are so worn it’s as if they’ve been professionally laid. The slight slickness to them makes for easy gliding.

But the snow was perfect this particular day so breaking trail was no big deal, and in many ways was more fun. The give to it made it relatively easy to push through and a bit more of a workout than going where others had already gone.

Barriers across the bridges keep snowmobilers out. It means either having to gingerly step over them or taking off the skis. Some cross the Upper Truckee River, others Angora Creek.

The Angora burn area is visible just below Mount Tallac.

Many of the South Shore’s more recognizable peaks make themselves known as we go farther – Freel, Jobs, Mount Tallac and of course Twin Peaks is right there.

The golf course sits on state land – Lake Valley State Recreation Area. It abuts Washoe Meadows State Park. There are several access points to both. The golf course provides the most parking, especially on days when parking on a street could be problematic because of snow removal.

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Getting there:

From South Lake Tahoe, go west on Highway 50. The golf course is on the right before hitting the heart of Meyers.