Hardly Strictly Lake Tahoe

I’ve been going to Lake Tahoe every year since I was six and pride myself on being something of a north shore “Tahoe-phile.” Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the Hellman-Ehrman Mansion at Sugar Pine Point State Park last weekend. How did I ever miss this historical treasure? The mansion, Pine Lodge, was built in 1903 by Isaias Hellman, a successful businessman and President of Wells Fargo Bank. The 20,000 square foot granite and timber lodge was designed by architect Walter Danforth Bliss, who also designed the original Tahoe Tavern. Pine Lodge was one of the grandest mansions in the high Sierra in its day, and we stepped back in time to experience its opulence and charm during Living History Day last Saturday.

If you traveled to Lake Tahoe from the Bay Area prior to 1900, your trip would go like this: board the Central Pacific Railroad in San Francisco and chug slowly over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Truckee. From there, hop aboard a stage coach and bump along the 14 dusty miles to Tahoe City where you would catch the mail steamer, “Tahoe,” that would take you to Sugar Pine Point on the west shore of the lake. The arduous trip became a little easier in 1900 with the completion of the narrow gauge Tahoe Railway that ran along the Truckee River and onto the Tahoe Tavern Pier in Tahoe City.

As a lucky guest in one of the eight rooms, you would enjoy boating, swimming, hiking, riding, picnics, and games like croquet and tennis. The Hellman family owned 2,000 acres of lakefront property, including two miles of pristine shoreline, and kept the lodge in the family until 1965 when it was turned over to the state. Visiting the mansion gives you a glimpse of what life was like at Lake Tahoe for California's wealthy elite around the turn of the century.

Our route to Pine Lodge was a tad more modern, but just as scenic. Four of us followed the bike path from Tahoe Tavern to Sugar Pine Point – a distance of about 10 miles. We passed Sunnyside Resort, Chambers Landing, Hurricane Bay, Homewood Ski Resort, Fleur du Lac, and Tahoma. The trail is mostly flat with one short section right on Highway 89. Our excursion had all the ingredients for a perfect day: exercise, fresh air, breathtaking scenery, history, music, and the best hand-dipped ice cream bars in the Tahoe basin.

For those of you wondering about the connection between the title of this blog and the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, ponder no more. Warren Hellman, the financier and mastermind behind Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, is the great grandson of Isaias Hellman, and, rumor has it, underwrote Living History Day and plucked his banjo on the gazebo stage. I can’t confirm this rumor, however, because I was too busy marveling at the vintage speed boats in the boathouse and the cabin of “General” William Phipps, the first homesteader on the west shore in 1860. Like the gem that it is, Lake Tahoe has many facets, and I enjoy discovering each and every one.

Learn more about the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition and help make Tahoe be more liveable and sustainable.