Page 160 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

SPECIAL
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EVENTS 2015
is a hiker’s paradise, from easy day walks in
the Desolation Wilderness to challenging,
multi-week journeys through Kings Canyon
and Sequoia national parks. Skiers have
their choice of world-class venues, from
beginner-friendly Granlibakken to the
double-diamond chutes of Squaw Valley
and Heavenly. In summer, many of the
resorts—particularly Northstar and Mam-
moth—convert their lifts and gondolas to
carry mountain bikes.
“LIGHTS ON THE LAKE,” held each Fourth of July at South Lake Tahoe, is the largest
synchronized fireworks show west of the Mississippi. July 4 tahoesouth.com
With past participants such as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Elway, South Lake
Tahoe’s AMERICAN CENTURY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP has been called the
“Super Bowl of Celebrity Sports.” July 14-19 tahoecelebritygolf.com
Yosemite’s BRACEBRIDGE DINNER, held in the landmark Ahwahnee Hotel, is a
3 ½-hour feast of “food and riches without measure, joining voices raised in festive sound.”
Scheduled for Dec. 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 and 25, but subject to change at any time.
bracebridgedinners.com
Heritage & Culture
Native Americans, pioneer emigrants and
gold miners all left their marks on the High
Sierra—often literally. At Grinding Rock
State Historic Park near the town of Twain
Harte, Miwok Indians once ground acorns
on an outcrop of marbleized limestone. The
1,185 mortar holes they left behind consti-
tute the largest such collection in North
America. In the Hope Valley, just south of
Lake Tahoe, you can still see ruts in the
rocks left by the covered wagons of settlers
on the Emigrant Trail. The shafts of thou-
sands of abandoned mines pockmark the
High Sierra. One of the best places to see one
is the Great Sierra Mine, a short but steep
hike from Tioga Pass in Yosemite. You’ll find
the remains of old miners’ cabins, but exer-
cise care around the shafts, several of which
remain open and unfenced.
Family Fun
If the kids aren’t yet ready for full-on
camping, Lake Tahoe has two old-timey
resorts with knotty-pine cabins scattered
in the trees near the lakeshore, bike and
paddleboat rentals and ice cream parlors.
Camp Richardson is on the west shore,
near Tahoe City; Zephyr Cove is on the
south shore, just over the border in Nevada.
camprichardson.com zephyrcove.com
A PANORAMIC REFLECTION of Mammoth Peak and
the Kuna Crest on Tioga Lake, Yosemite National Park.
158 2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
JEFFREY T. KREULEN/SHUTTERSTOCK