By Jessie Marchesseau

The turnout for the trails workshop in Incline Village hosted by the Nevada Division of State Parks was underwhelming at best. Eight people showed up to voice their opinions.

“It’s kind of everybody’s backyard; I thought there would be more people there,” said Mark Kimbrough, recreation and trails consultant helping with the development of the new general management plan for Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.

Hosts nearly outnumbered the attendees, with representatives from the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Nevada State Parks, Incline Village General Improvement District and the Incline Village trails committee in attendance.

Nevada parks officials are trying to figure out the future of Spooner Lake and other Lake Tahoe entities. Photo/LTN file

NDSP organized the June 7 workshop in an effort to solicit feedback and encourage public input on the new trails map for Sand Harbor, Van Sickle Bi-State Park, and the Marlette Hobart and Spooner backcountry areas.

Initially, the workshop was going to include discussions on the possibility of opening some of the trails currently restricted to foot traffic up to mountain bikes. This has been a contentious topic among trail users and could have resulted in a crowd. But Kimbrough said that plan was recently dropped, something to which he attributes the low turnout.

Park planners were also hoping for some ideas on what people would like to see happen concerning the winter season operation of Spooner Lake. The concessionaire who has been running the cross country ski operation there for the last 27 years has decided not to renew his contract, leaving recreation for future winters at Spooner up in the air.

Jay Howard, park supervisor for Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park said the snow accumulation at Spooner is unpredictable, making a cross country ski area hard to maintain. He was hoping the workshop would spawn some ideas of what to do with the area in the future, however only three of the attendees had even visited the ski area and no one had any new ideas of what to do with it.

For now, it is likely the building will remain in place, but empty, leaving the option for a ski area or something to return in the future.

The new general plan is set to be in place before the end of the year, replacing the current plan developed more than 20 years ago. This was the second of three public workshops for residents to offer their input on the future of Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.

The third and final workshop will be within a next few months to present the chosen plan alternatives to the public.

Anyone who has ideas or comments concerning changes, additions, facilities or anything else related to the new general management plan is encouraged to send their input to ltnsp.gmpcomments@ascentenvironmental.com.