July 24, 2024 • 12 mins
Explore one of the most beautiful hiking destinations in the world, the Tahoe Rim Trail and Van Sickle Bi-State Park. These trails at Van Sickle Bi-State Park may feel a world away from civilization but are actually within walking distance of the Stateline, Nevada Resorts and Casinos. Join Darley Newman and local guide Morgan Steel from the Tahoe Rim Trail Association out on the trails and hear expert tips on how to hike responsibly and enjoy the breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe and Desolation Wilderness.
Whether you're an avid hiker or a casual nature enthusiast, this episode shares the various trail options, from easy day hikes to challenging multi-day treks. Get valuable advice on Leave No Trace and Responsible Recreation principles to help preserve the beauty of these trails for future generations. Take a deep breath, lace up your hiking boots, and get ready to explore the stunning landscapes of Lake Tahoe with us.
Learn more about visiting Lake Tahoe and check out their Rules to Lake By with ways to practice responsible tourism at visitlaketahoe.com
Whether you're an avid hiker or a casual nature enthusiast, this episode shares the various trail options, from easy day hikes to challenging multi-day treks. Get valuable advice on Leave No Trace and Responsible Recreation principles to help preserve the beauty of these trails for future generations. Take a deep breath, lace up your hiking boots, and get ready to explore the stunning landscapes of Lake Tahoe with us.
Learn more about visiting Lake Tahoe and check out their Rules to Lake By with ways to practice responsible tourism at visitlaketahoe.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
One of the most beautiful places I've ever hiked is featured in this podcast.
(00:05):
I've hiked all over the world. All desolation wilderness out here just...
This is one of the prettiest places I've been. Honestly.
It's the Tahoe Rim Trail and Van Sickle Bi-State Park.
And these trails share views of Lake Tahoe and stunning forests and mountains.
Now whether you like to hike or just want an easy trail where you can quickly get to drop dead gorgeous views,
(00:29):
we've got you covered here with this podcast. I've enlisted a local guide who's going to take us along the trails
and share her tips for getting out in nature in a responsible way.
So you came out here for vacation and then you just didn't leave.
Didn't leave. I just really love this area and once you kind of spend a season here,
roots grow quickly. So take a deep breath and get ready to hike around Lake Tahoe.
(00:54):
We're hiking one of the most accessible parks in the Tahoe Basin, Van Sickle Bi-State Park.
The entrance to these trails is located within a short walking distance of the Stateline Nevada Resorts and Casinos.
For those who want a moderately easy hike with awesome views and even a few boulders you can choose to scramble up,
(01:19):
we've got you covered. This hike also connects the famous Tahoe Rim Trail,
which offers miles of trails and truly stunning views of Lake and surrounding mountains.
We're venturing out with Morgan Steel of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association.
Volunteers from this association will lead you on guided hikes of the Tahoe Rim Trail,
(01:40):
whether you want to dip your hiking shoes on the trail or totally dive right in.
From here you go 3.3 miles to the top where you hit the Rim Trail.
The Tahoe Rim Trail is close to 200 miles of full system and then from there you can even connect with the Pacific Crest Trail
and go all the way to Mexico if you wanted or Canada, depending on what you're feeling like.
(02:01):
Feeling like a margarita or feeling like poutine? You have your choice of destinations.
You also have your choice of hikes. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association offers options to help you take on the trail on guided tours.
You can take a guided day hike, a multi-day backpack trip,
or if you're planning on being in the Lake Tahoe area for a few weeks during the summer,
(02:24):
you can complete the entire Tahoe Rim Trail over 165 miles in 11 day hikes.
There's also a 15 day guided trek.
It's neat that this trail is so accessible.
Yeah, absolutely. It's got great connection to public transit right next to the Casino Corridor,
so if you're staying in the Casinos you can just walk out your hotel room.
(02:47):
Margaritaville, the Golden Nugget, Bally's, Wolf by Vanderpump,
there are restaurants, resorts, boutique hotels, casinos,
and they're all within a short walk of this state park.
Super travelers who want to combine shopping, eating out, and entertainment with nature.
The South Shore of Lake Tahoe is a good location.
It's also a nice compliment for groups who have hikers, bikers, or nature enthusiasts in the family.
(03:13):
Mixed with those non-outdoor enthusiasts.
This system of trails is fairly recent.
The trail that we're on now, the Van Sickle Connector, was completed in 2013.
A really cool joint effort amongst all the different partners and agencies.
So right now we're on the California Tahoe Conservancy side of the park.
The other side is Nevada State Parks, and then up a little bit further is National Forest Land.
(03:38):
So everyone kind of came together and then the Tahoe Rim Trail Association
really brought in the volunteer force to build the actual trails.
The Tahoe Rim Trail Association, we maintain about 200 miles of trail
and we have work days once the snow melts pretty much three days a week.
Anyone can come out, we have real small little kids,
have 80-year-old crew leaders that are amazing, kind of runs the gamut.
(04:01):
The views, yeah, you're killing me Morgan!
It gets better!
Yeah, wow!
Let's get it already.
Got to scramble some rocks up here, but there's a nice flat one up here.
We're hiking along sandy footing, with views of a tall canopy of conifers and big granite rocks
and big blue skies above us.
It's late spring in Tahoe, and the trails here are free of snow.
(04:25):
But as we send up, we get pockets of views of the bright green lake
and snow cap mountains in the distance.
Morgan, why do you like coming out to hike here on the Tahoe area?
Yeah, there's just so much it has to offer.
You can do some really intense uphill climbs, you can get out to legs, you can go biking.
There's just a lot of different variety with the trail system in the Tahoe Basin,
(04:49):
which makes it kind of something for everyone.
What are some tips for people to come out here and practice leaf no trace?
Yeah, that's a great question, and one of the things that we really try to encourage trail users to do
is just do their prep work ahead of time.
This prep work may involve checking the local weather conditions before you set off on a hike
or checking for trail conditions due to wildfires and more.
(05:11):
The official websites and social media handles are good places to get information
before you take off in nature.
Many parks and destinations also now require reservations or permits,
so you want to make sure you have one before you head out.
In popular parks, you may need reservations months in advance,
so check when you think about planning a trip to see what's available.
(05:33):
The park or forest website can guide you to reservations.
And recreation.gov is a website that offers the ability to book at parks,
National Forests, Campgrounds and other sites.
Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority has also launched Rules to Live By,
which features five ways to practice responsible tourism,
specifically at Lake Tahoe, as a resource for travelers and locals who want to enjoy the lake.
(05:58):
The Tahoe Room Trail sees more than 440,000 people annually,
so if everyone leaves their garbage, we're going to have a garbage dump.
So leave no trace center for outdoor ethics, tons of information,
but really simple things, like things you'd get yelled at at home if you did by your mom,
like pick up after yourself and make sure that you leave things how you found them.
(06:19):
That's a big one for us out here too.
Like there's these incredible sugar pine cones,
and if we all took one, the next person wouldn't get a chance to see them.
Yeah, so get a picture with it and then leave it there.
Exactly, yeah, yeah.
And those pine cones are pretty cool,
and they rust along the ground just along the trails.
Some are the size of my head.
(06:40):
Our crew gets our photos and lays them back down for the next hiker to enjoy.
The other piece around here is really just being prepared.
A lot of folks don't really realize you're an elevation, you need a lot of water.
They don't really come with those sort of supplies, even on a short hike.
Bring those poop bags for your dog, clean up after them too.
That's a big one, making sure you're not leaving any of those things out in the woods.
(07:03):
But the big things are pretty self-explanatory,
and you should know those.
We pick up after ourselves and leave it as great as you found it as a really big one.
As you'll see, you know, it's pretty incredible out here and really well maintained.
And we have a lot of volunteers and trail users that we have to thank for that.
And we just want to make sure it's like this for the next person who uses it.
Another big thing too is we have lots of different types of users.
(07:26):
So this trail, especially in the afternoon during the summer,
gets really busy with bikes coming down.
So just being friendly and making sure that people can get around each other.
Common courtesy, yeah, exactly.
Being prepared is pretty simple.
Once you think through what you may need for your hiking adventure.
Having a map, having water, sunscreen, extra layers,
(07:48):
letting somebody know when to expect you back, those sort of kind of standard things
that, you know, for folks who live up here, we're pretty used to.
But when you're new to trails, it's a good thing to plan ahead and kind of really think through.
If you're staying to camp, there are also considerations.
We're out in the west where it dries out a lot during the summer.
So we always try to make sure people understand campfire restrictions
(08:10):
and just fire in general out here because that's a huge issue for us.
So a popular spot for hikers and mountain bikers.
This park's views may just take your breath away.
Just do a bit of a leap.
Wow, you're making me work for it today.
We climb up a large series of boulders to check out the vista
(08:32):
over a line of treetops in the distance.
Jumping across a small crevice in the rocks.
But look what you worked for.
Oh my gosh, wow.
This is the top, small organ.
Yeah, this is pretty impressive.
Very impressive.
Yeah.
And then you've got all Desolation Wilderness out here just with all the snow still hanging in.
Pretty impressive.
(08:53):
Very impressive.
Yeah.
I guess I can see why so many people move out here.
Yeah, it's a hard place to leave when you move out here.
I moved out here to ski many years ago and I haven't left yet.
And I'm probably never going to.
This is one of the prettiest places I've been.
Honestly, it really is.
It's a really nice combination of lakes, mountains.
(09:15):
You've got beaches in the summer, incredible trails, mountain biking, hiking,
and then during the winter, all this world-class skiing.
So kind of something for everybody around here.
Yeah.
And then in the spring, you have quiet trails like we have today where just, you know,
your own little piece of paradise.
Yeah, our own little play.
(09:36):
I haven't seen that many people out.
It's like we have our own private forest to explore.
Yeah, I can't guarantee that during the middle of the summer.
So if you're looking for solitude, I would say maybe September,
or the early June, get a little busy.
Everyone wants to enjoy Tahoe in the middle of the summer when it's,
especially, you know, work so close to Sacramento and Sacramento can be 100 degrees.
(09:58):
So come up here where our really hot days are high 80s, 90s, really low 90s.
So beautiful.
A little bit of respite from the heat.
Took me many years, but I actually completed the entire Tahoe Rim Trail.
It's spent a lot of time building pieces of trail in one spot many, many times,
but hadn't made it all the way around.
(10:19):
But I recommend that as an option as well.
If you've got, you know, two weeks come out, back back the whole trail.
It's also a fun way to experience Tahoe.
Well, thanks to all your hard work and all the volunteers with your organization
because it makes it possible for people like me to come here on vacation
and enjoy some great hiking.
Yeah, our volunteers are really incredible.
And it's just really a community effort between all of the land managing partners out here.
(10:44):
Everyone kind of works together, especially when you're in a place that, you know,
we really want to protect Lake Tahoe.
It's really important and our community has really supported all of our trail building efforts.
Even just the land we're on now, you know, this is the Van Sickle Park.
It's all part of a donated piece of land from the Van Sickle family.
A really big community effort where they provided the land.
(11:06):
California Tahoe Conservancy purchased a piece to build the by-state park.
And then all of our community rallied to build the trails in here
and support the Rim Trail's efforts to, you know, get all the equipment
and the volunteers out to build this really neat trail system.
Taking you into stunning Lake Tahoe nature.
Lake Tahoe straddles the California and Nevada border.
(11:28):
If you're traveling to enjoy adventures around one of the world's largest, deepest and clearest mountain lakes,
you can fly into the Reno Tahoe Airport about an hour's drive from Lake Tahoe.
Many people also road trip from Los Angeles along Highway 395.
However you get here, keep in mind that if you want to hike these trails
in the Van Sickle by-state park, you can walk to them.
(11:52):
So consider making your Tahoe vacation a sustainable, car-free one.
And if you liked this podcast, listen to my previous podcast on kayaking Lake Tahoe.
In Clear Kayaks.
And stay tuned for another podcast on other ways to enjoy a Lake Tahoe vacation.
I'm Darley Newman and I enjoy traveling the world to share firsthand information
(12:13):
that I get from experiencing a place myself with locals as the guides.
Thanks for listening and if you like this podcast, please subscribe.
And please share it with your friends.
[Music]
[MUSIC]
One of the most beautiful places I've ever hiked is featured in this podcast.
(00:05):
I've hiked all over the world. All desolation wilderness out here just...
This is one of the prettiest places I've been. Honestly.
It's the Tahoe Rim Trail and Van Sickle Bi-State Park.
And these trails share views of Lake Tahoe and stunning forests and mountains.
Now whether you like to hike or just want an easy trail where you can quickly get to drop dead gorgeous views,
(00:29):
we've got you covered here with this podcast. I've enlisted a local guide who's going to take us along the trails
and share her tips for getting out in nature in a responsible way.
So you came out here for vacation and then you just didn't leave.
Didn't leave. I just really love this area and once you kind of spend a season here,
roots grow quickly. So take a deep breath and get ready to hike around Lake Tahoe.
(00:54):
We're hiking one of the most accessible parks in the Tahoe Basin, Van Sickle Bi-State Park.
The entrance to these trails is located within a short walking distance of the Stateline Nevada Resorts and Casinos.
For those who want a moderately easy hike with awesome views and even a few boulders you can choose to scramble up,
(01:19):
we've got you covered. This hike also connects the famous Tahoe Rim Trail,
which offers miles of trails and truly stunning views of Lake and surrounding mountains.
We're venturing out with Morgan Steel of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association.
Volunteers from this association will lead you on guided hikes of the Tahoe Rim Trail,
(01:40):
whether you want to dip your hiking shoes on the trail or totally dive right in.
From here you go 3.3 miles to the top where you hit the Rim Trail.
The Tahoe Rim Trail is close to 200 miles of full system and then from there you can even connect with the Pacific Crest Trail
and go all the way to Mexico if you wanted or Canada, depending on what you're feeling like.
(02:01):
Feeling like a margarita or feeling like poutine? You have your choice of destinations.
You also have your choice of hikes. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association offers options to help you take on the trail on guided tours.
You can take a guided day hike, a multi-day backpack trip,
or if you're planning on being in the Lake Tahoe area for a few weeks during the summer,
(02:24):
you can complete the entire Tahoe Rim Trail over 165 miles in 11 day hikes.
There's also a 15 day guided trek.
It's neat that this trail is so accessible.
Yeah, absolutely. It's got great connection to public transit right next to the Casino Corridor,
so if you're staying in the Casinos you can just walk out your hotel room.
(02:47):
Margaritaville, the Golden Nugget, Bally's, Wolf by Vanderpump,
there are restaurants, resorts, boutique hotels, casinos,
and they're all within a short walk of this state park.
Super travelers who want to combine shopping, eating out, and entertainment with nature.
The South Shore of Lake Tahoe is a good location.
It's also a nice compliment for groups who have hikers, bikers, or nature enthusiasts in the family.
(03:13):
Mixed with those non-outdoor enthusiasts.
This system of trails is fairly recent.
The trail that we're on now, the Van Sickle Connector, was completed in 2013.
A really cool joint effort amongst all the different partners and agencies.
So right now we're on the California Tahoe Conservancy side of the park.
The other side is Nevada State Parks, and then up a little bit further is National Forest Land.
(03:38):
So everyone kind of came together and then the Tahoe Rim Trail Association
really brought in the volunteer force to build the actual trails.
The Tahoe Rim Trail Association, we maintain about 200 miles of trail
and we have work days once the snow melts pretty much three days a week.
Anyone can come out, we have real small little kids,
have 80-year-old crew leaders that are amazing, kind of runs the gamut.
(04:01):
The views, yeah, you're killing me Morgan!
It gets better!
Yeah, wow!
Let's get it already.
Got to scramble some rocks up here, but there's a nice flat one up here.
We're hiking along sandy footing, with views of a tall canopy of conifers and big granite rocks
and big blue skies above us.
It's late spring in Tahoe, and the trails here are free of snow.
(04:25):
But as we send up, we get pockets of views of the bright green lake
and snow cap mountains in the distance.
Morgan, why do you like coming out to hike here on the Tahoe area?
Yeah, there's just so much it has to offer.
You can do some really intense uphill climbs, you can get out to legs, you can go biking.
There's just a lot of different variety with the trail system in the Tahoe Basin,
(04:49):
which makes it kind of something for everyone.
What are some tips for people to come out here and practice leaf no trace?
Yeah, that's a great question, and one of the things that we really try to encourage trail users to do
is just do their prep work ahead of time.
This prep work may involve checking the local weather conditions before you set off on a hike
or checking for trail conditions due to wildfires and more.
(05:11):
The official websites and social media handles are good places to get information
before you take off in nature.
Many parks and destinations also now require reservations or permits,
so you want to make sure you have one before you head out.
In popular parks, you may need reservations months in advance,
so check when you think about planning a trip to see what's available.
(05:33):
The park or forest website can guide you to reservations.
And recreation.gov is a website that offers the ability to book at parks,
National Forests, Campgrounds and other sites.
Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority has also launched Rules to Live By,
which features five ways to practice responsible tourism,
specifically at Lake Tahoe, as a resource for travelers and locals who want to enjoy the lake.
(05:58):
The Tahoe Room Trail sees more than 440,000 people annually,
so if everyone leaves their garbage, we're going to have a garbage dump.
So leave no trace center for outdoor ethics, tons of information,
but really simple things, like things you'd get yelled at at home if you did by your mom,
like pick up after yourself and make sure that you leave things how you found them.
(06:19):
That's a big one for us out here too.
Like there's these incredible sugar pine cones,
and if we all took one, the next person wouldn't get a chance to see them.
Yeah, so get a picture with it and then leave it there.
Exactly, yeah, yeah.
And those pine cones are pretty cool,
and they rust along the ground just along the trails.
Some are the size of my head.
(06:40):
Our crew gets our photos and lays them back down for the next hiker to enjoy.
The other piece around here is really just being prepared.
A lot of folks don't really realize you're an elevation, you need a lot of water.
They don't really come with those sort of supplies, even on a short hike.
Bring those poop bags for your dog, clean up after them too.
That's a big one, making sure you're not leaving any of those things out in the woods.
(07:03):
But the big things are pretty self-explanatory,
and you should know those.
We pick up after ourselves and leave it as great as you found it as a really big one.
As you'll see, you know, it's pretty incredible out here and really well maintained.
And we have a lot of volunteers and trail users that we have to thank for that.
And we just want to make sure it's like this for the next person who uses it.
Another big thing too is we have lots of different types of users.
(07:26):
So this trail, especially in the afternoon during the summer,
gets really busy with bikes coming down.
So just being friendly and making sure that people can get around each other.
Common courtesy, yeah, exactly.
Being prepared is pretty simple.
Once you think through what you may need for your hiking adventure.
Having a map, having water, sunscreen, extra layers,
(07:48):
letting somebody know when to expect you back, those sort of kind of standard things
that, you know, for folks who live up here, we're pretty used to.
But when you're new to trails, it's a good thing to plan ahead and kind of really think through.
If you're staying to camp, there are also considerations.
We're out in the west where it dries out a lot during the summer.
So we always try to make sure people understand campfire restrictions
(08:10):
and just fire in general out here because that's a huge issue for us.
So a popular spot for hikers and mountain bikers.
This park's views may just take your breath away.
Just do a bit of a leap.
Wow, you're making me work for it today.
We climb up a large series of boulders to check out the vista
(08:32):
over a line of treetops in the distance.
Jumping across a small crevice in the rocks.
But look what you worked for.
Oh my gosh, wow.
This is the top, small organ.
Yeah, this is pretty impressive.
Very impressive.
Yeah.
And then you've got all Desolation Wilderness out here just with all the snow still hanging in.
Pretty impressive.
(08:53):
Very impressive.
Yeah.
I guess I can see why so many people move out here.
Yeah, it's a hard place to leave when you move out here.
I moved out here to ski many years ago and I haven't left yet.
And I'm probably never going to.
This is one of the prettiest places I've been.
Honestly, it really is.
It's a really nice combination of lakes, mountains.
(09:15):
You've got beaches in the summer, incredible trails, mountain biking, hiking,
and then during the winter, all this world-class skiing.
So kind of something for everybody around here.
Yeah.
And then in the spring, you have quiet trails like we have today where just, you know,
your own little piece of paradise.
Yeah, our own little play.
(09:36):
I haven't seen that many people out.
It's like we have our own private forest to explore.
Yeah, I can't guarantee that during the middle of the summer.
So if you're looking for solitude, I would say maybe September,
or the early June, get a little busy.
Everyone wants to enjoy Tahoe in the middle of the summer when it's,
especially, you know, work so close to Sacramento and Sacramento can be 100 degrees.
(09:58):
So come up here where our really hot days are high 80s, 90s, really low 90s.
So beautiful.
A little bit of respite from the heat.
Took me many years, but I actually completed the entire Tahoe Rim Trail.
It's spent a lot of time building pieces of trail in one spot many, many times,
but hadn't made it all the way around.
(10:19):
But I recommend that as an option as well.
If you've got, you know, two weeks come out, back back the whole trail.
It's also a fun way to experience Tahoe.
Well, thanks to all your hard work and all the volunteers with your organization
because it makes it possible for people like me to come here on vacation
and enjoy some great hiking.
Yeah, our volunteers are really incredible.
And it's just really a community effort between all of the land managing partners out here.
(10:44):
Everyone kind of works together, especially when you're in a place that, you know,
we really want to protect Lake Tahoe.
It's really important and our community has really supported all of our trail building efforts.
Even just the land we're on now, you know, this is the Van Sickle Park.
It's all part of a donated piece of land from the Van Sickle family.
A really big community effort where they provided the land.
(11:06):
California Tahoe Conservancy purchased a piece to build the by-state park.
And then all of our community rallied to build the trails in here
and support the Rim Trail's efforts to, you know, get all the equipment
and the volunteers out to build this really neat trail system.
Taking you into stunning Lake Tahoe nature.
Lake Tahoe straddles the California and Nevada border.
(11:28):
If you're traveling to enjoy adventures around one of the world's largest, deepest and clearest mountain lakes,
you can fly into the Reno Tahoe Airport about an hour's drive from Lake Tahoe.
Many people also road trip from Los Angeles along Highway 395.
However you get here, keep in mind that if you want to hike these trails
in the Van Sickle by-state park, you can walk to them.
(11:52):
So consider making your Tahoe vacation a sustainable, car-free one.
And if you liked this podcast, listen to my previous podcast on kayaking Lake Tahoe.
In Clear Kayaks.
And stay tuned for another podcast on other ways to enjoy a Lake Tahoe vacation.
I'm Darley Newman and I enjoy traveling the world to share firsthand information
(12:13):
that I get from experiencing a place myself with locals as the guides.
Thanks for listening and if you like this podcast, please subscribe.
And please share it with your friends.
[Music]
[MUSIC]
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