We need to use up a timeshare week and fortunately we found an accessible unit available in South Lake Tahoe.  We had many good memories of adventures in the area from the early years of our marriage. Our son Kristian was going to join us and we were looking forward to introducing him to the area.

   We picked Kristian up in Portland and enjoyed each others company on the long drive down to Tahoe.  It didn't take us long to find some good accessible trails.  We explored the paths that wound through the tall pines at Camp Richardson. We enjoyed the nice views of the lake and found the historical buildings there to be quite interesting.A bite to eat at the busy Beacons restaurant at the beach wrapped up a good day.  We also discovered the Lahm Watah trail, which is a pleasant path that wanders through the meadows and pines of the Burke Creek watershed  It is accessed off Kahle Drive on the east end of town. The 2 mile round trip packed dirt path led to the picnic area at  Nevada Beach, where we watched a beautiful sunset.

    The next day we discovered some nice accessible trails at Taylor Creek, which is 3 miles from town on Highway 89. The Rainbow trail follows the river for about 1/2 mile on  a paved  path and boardwalks.  The water was running high due to the spring runoff and we had to take off our shoes to push Debi across the flooded boardwalk.  The trail dipped down to an underwater viewing area, where we enjoyed a close up view of beautiful trout in their natural habitat.  The trail leads to a visitor center that provides a good look into the history of the area.  An accessible restroom is available. We also discovered the Sky trail, which headed out east from the visitor center toward the lake.  The level crushed rock path took us to Hope Beach,where the beautiful sand invited us to  bask in the sun . 

     One of the highlights of our vacation was a cruise on the Tahoe Queen, which was a replica of on old sternwheeler, typical of the boats that traveled the waters of the lake in the early days.  We had no problem getting down the ramp to the boat and the lower deck of the boat  had an accessible restroom.  We head out from the marina at South lake Tahoe  on a sunny day with a brisk breeze.  We listened to the well informed tour guide describe the history of the lake.  We were impressed by the rock formations and the deep blue waters of Zephyr Cove.

    Our last day in the area was spent at Heavenly Mountain.  The accessible tram lifted us to mid mountain, where we had lunch and wandered along a gravel road.  The view of the lake was stunning and we enjoyed reminiscing about some good days we had skiing there in our younger days.  The warm sunny day was in stark contrast to one trip that turned into an adventure, when an 8 foot snowfall left us stranded in the area for 3 days,while road crews cleared the pass.

     We were very pleased with the variety of accessible trails and accessible activities that were available in the Lake Tahoe area and were thankful that we were able to return to the area to enjoy its spectacular beauty.