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Kids Korner |
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Snow Sledding
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South Lake Tahoe
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Lake Tahoe Hot Air Balloon Rides
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| Quick...Name the place where you can do tricks on water
in summer and on snow in winter. Lake Tahoe, of course,
where you will have a blast whether you are wakeboarding
in summer or snowboarding and skiing in winter or checking
out all there is to do indoors (arcade anybody?). This is
one place that no matter how long you stay, you won't
run out of things to do!
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Did You Know?
- Reno/Tahoe has the largest concentration of ski and snowboard resorts in the
Country; 18 world-class ski resorts and more than 22,000 acres of skiable terrain.
Check out www.visitrenotahoe.com/ski to link to all the different resorts where
you can ski or snowboard.
- North Lake Tahoe has been an adventure haven for skiers since the late 1800s
when the first winter carnivals were held in Truckee and the state's first ski
lift soon followed. The 1960 Winter Olympics were held at Squaw Valley—the
first televised Olympics. During the 1994-1995 season 832 inches (approx. 70 feet)
of snow kept lifts open through July 4 (www.squaw.com).
- You can visit a "living" ghost town near Reno, Nevada. Virginia City, located
approximately 25 miles southeast of Reno, is the country's largest designated
historic landmark. Walk down the wooden plank sidewalks and visit the Bucket of
Blood Saloon or the Fourth Ward School. Time Travel back to the days in the 19th
Century when more than 30,000 miners, ranchers and Chinese immigrants lived and
worked mining millions of dollars worth of gold and silver. Ghosts are said to
live at the Gold Hill Hotel. Check out the old-fashioned candy store!
(www.virginiacity-nv.org)
- Lake Tahoe is North America's biggest and highest alpine lake. That means it would
cover an entire flat area the size of California. It is 22 miles long and 12 miles
wide and contains 39 TRILLION gallons of water. The water is so clear you can see
down 75 feet! No wonder so many kids and parents come here. You can water ski or
wake board, kayak or wind surf, sail, fish or just swim (www.bluelaketahoe.com).
- YOU will visit two states when you visit the Lake Tahoe area. Lake Tahoe straddles
California's eastern and Nevada's western state line and is in the Sierra Nevada
mountain range. Visit www.travelnevada.com or www.visitcalifornia.com for more
information.
- You can ride a zip line in the snow at Heavenly Resort's new Sky Flyer Adventure
Peak. At 3,100 feet, it's the longest zip line in the lower 48 states
(www.skiheavenly.com).
- Besides practicing your tricks on skis and snowboards, you can dog sled, ice skate,
ice fish, tube, sled, snowmobile, cross country ski (did we mention have snowball
fights?) when you visit Lake Tahoe snow resorts in winter. Don't forget your helmet!
www.lidsonkids.org
- The sun shines 274 days each year around Lake Tahoe and the area gets an average of
400 inches of snow each year. That's a lot of powder!
- The word musher comes from the French word marcher which means to walk. The name
stuck to people who run sled dogs outside. In races, they can run 100 miles a day!
You can go dog sledding when you visit Lake Tahoe in the winter. Tours are available
all winter long, depending on weather, from Wilderness Adventures
(www.dogsledadventures.com) and Sierra Adventures in north Lake Tahoe
(www.wildsierra.com).
What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In Reno/Tahoe . . .
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Meet: Logan (age 5) and his brother, Colton (age 3) who live in the Reno/Tahoe area. They are the children of Southwest Airlines' Reno/Tahoe Training Supervisor, Nikki.
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They said, "Reno and Tahoe is lots of fun during the winter and the summer!"
Don't miss the arcade at Boomtown and the Wild Island Water Park.
Don't go home without playing on the beach at Sand Harbor in Lake Tahoe
during the summer months, or Ski School at Northstar Lake Tahoe in the winter months.
The places to eat are Coconut Bowl (for the pizza) and Red Robin (for the
hamburgers).
The best places to visit outside of Reno/Tahoe (but still within Nevada) are
Virginia City (for a train ride through an old mining town where you get robbed by
bandits on horse back) and Truckee (for riding the river in a raft) during the summer
months.
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Kids, Tell Your Parents . . .
Whether or not you want to ski or snowboard, there's lots to do around Lake Tahoe
in the winter and of course in the summer, Visit www.californiasnow.com and
www.gotahoenorth.com. Stay at a Green hotel—Cedar House Sport Hotel—
that welcomes kids and can organize adventures for your gang
(www.cedarhousesporthotel.com). Ask before booking at ski resorts for special
deals for kids. Squaw Valley, for example, offers $10 lift tickets for kids 12
and under (www.squaw.com) while every child 3-7 enrolled at the Diamond Peak Child
Ski Center will get a free penguin toy (www.diamondpeak.com). Kirkwood is opening
a new family facility (www.kirkwood.com), while Northstar-at-Tahoe has all sorts
of snow toys. (www.northstarattahoe.com)
On and off the slopes, you won't run out of things to do:
- Tour the mountainside on a horse-drawn sleigh with Borges Carriage Rides, based
in Lake Tahoe, snuggling under thick blankets and sipping hot chocolate while
sauntering past the snowy Sierra (www.sleighride.com).
- Race through the landscape on a snowmobile. Several vendors are located around
the lake including: Eagle Ridge Snowmobile Outfitters in Truckee, CA
(www.tahoesnowmobiling.com) and Lake Tahoe Snowmobile Tours near
Northstar-at-Tahoe in Truckee (www.laketahoesnowmobile.com), among others.
- Take the beginners to the small ski hill at the family-owned Granlibakken
Conference Center and Lodge outside Tahoe City. Great for cross-country skiing
and snowshoeing! All sizes of condos are available (www.granlibakken.com).
- Ice fishing is the latest trend reeling in locals and travelers alike. Mountain
Hardware in Truckee (530-587-4844) directs ice fisherman to nearby Boca, Stampede,
and Prosser Reservoirs, as well as Donner Lake and also assists with maps and
directions to the numerous smaller lakes in the area off Highway 89.
- The Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nevada (www.visitcarsoncity.com)
preserves the history of the V&T Railroad and allows guests to take a ride
around the museum in some of the original train cars that were once part of the
most famous short line railroad in the country. A $40 million reconstruction
project of this piece of American history is currently underway with completion
expected by 2009 (www.nsrm.org).
- The Nevada State Museum, located in downtown Carson City, houses the Carson City
Mint along with a treasured collection of Native American artifacts and historical
relics depicting the history of the Great Basin and the state
(http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/museums/cc/carson.htm).
- The Children's Museum of Northern Nevada in Carson City has more than 25
interactive exhibits (www.cmnn.org ).
- The Fleischmann Planetarium on the campus of the University of Nevada just a few
minutes north of downtown Reno, has a stargazers show and free telescope viewing on
Fridays (planetarium.unr.nevada.edu).
- The National Automobile Museum in downtown Reno has more than 220 antique, vintage,
and special-interest cars among period-themed streets from different decades. Check
out Elvis Presley's 1973 Cadillac at www.automobilemuseum.org.
- Check out the Game World Arcade inside the Horizon Casino Resort and Circus Circus
Hotel Casino. The Grand Sierra Resort and Casino has a Fun Quest Family Adventure
Center. Harrah's also touts an arcade. Check out the climbing wall and antique
Carousel at the Boomtown Hotel Casino. For parents and all those over 21, there are
14,000 slot machines and more at the Reno Casinos (www.visitrenotahoe.com or
www.tahoesbest.com).
See Past Editions of Kids Korner.
By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™
