Preservation Of The Fittest: Lake Tahoe State Park
One Man's Quest For Privacy Is A Savior For Distinguished Nevada State Park
In classic Mark Twain wit, he says, “Three months of camp life on Lake Tahoe would restore an Egyptian mummy to his pristine vigor.” Mark Twain was very fond of the beautiful lake between Nevada and California, as are many others. The lake is 22 miles long by 16 miles wide. The California side is beautiful, though a lot of it is in private hands. Fortunately the Nevada side is mostly preserved for generations in public hands in the hands of National forest management and Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.
Lake Tahoe State Park has been around since the 1970s. Jay Howard, the park supervisor, says it is, “wild and scenic…with back country forests, rocky shoreline, and pristine beaches.” The state park has 4 management areas, all with unique characteristics. The most popular is Sand Harbor – a mix of, “rocky shoreline, beaches, boat ramp, and a theater for the popular Shakespeare Festival in the summer,” Howard says. There is also Spooner Lake management are, which is forested backcountry and a non-motorized 100 acre lake. Cave Rock Management Area is lakefront with a boat ramp. Last, there is Van Sickle, which is backcountry and is a by-state (CA and NV) management area that is set to become the “first by-state state park in the near future,” Howard says.
The lake itself, about 1/3 in Nevada and 2/3 in California, is exceptional. “It is unbelievably clear,” Howard says, “you used to be able to see about 100 feet down, now it is about 80 feet down.” Lake Tahoe was created with “fire and ice,” Howard explains, “it formed by plate tectonics, volcanoes, and glaciation.” The lake is the second deepest lake in the United States. At its deepest, it’s 1645 feet deep. “A neat fact about the lake is that its average depth is 1000 feet deep!” Howard says. 63 tributaries feed into the lake and there is only one way out for the water – the Truckee River. It is a popular lake for boating, kayaking, paddle boarding, scuba diving, fishing, and just admiring.
With a lake so beautiful and so close to California, it is surprising so much of it is preserved for public use on the Nevada side. Howard says that the “fascinated history of land use in the area” is the reason for it being preserved. Originally the area was used for its resources. “A lot of the development of California and the territory of Nevada was the result of the gold and silver in Virginia City,” Howard explains. The mines, along with deforestation from the mills, devastated the area environmentally in the late 1800s. However their operations eventually ceased and then a man named Captain Charles Whittell entered the area.
In the 1930s, people from California had a strong interest in purchasing private land around Lake Tahoe. Fortunately for the future, Mr. Whittell ended up purchasing over 40,000 acres – almost the entire Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. The Captain, “liked his privacy more than he liked his money,” Howard explains. He refused to sell any parcels out and planned to build casino resorts, however, according to a book Howard wrote, “Whittell built his summer lodge TheThunderbird Lodge and enjoyed valued privacy.” Whittell was an interesting man who had cars, boats, airplanes, and even exotic pets. “His best friend was Bill the lion,” Howard writes. He spent a lot of time at his lodge and had no desire to sell.
Eventually, though, the state of Nevada developed an idea to buy the land from Mr. Whittell and turn it into a state park. The state started with a lease of 9 acres of beach for public use. The reason why the Captain agreed is because people were trespassing on his property and he thought if he gave a small part, “that the trespassing would stop elsewhere,” Howard writes. The state wanted more, though. So much so that the governor himself went to visit Whittell at his estate in San Francisco. Whittell’s wife wouldn’t let him in past the kitchen to see him. Captain Whittell was so upset that the governor came to visit, he called the sheriff to have the Governor arrested. “The sheriff came to the estate, but refused to arrest the governor of Nevada,” Howard explains.
As a result of these interactions, the state decided to sue the Captain. It forced Whittell to sell the first of many parts of his land on Lake Tahoe to the state. Whittell died in 1969 and the state acquired more and more land to create the park. As Howard says, “history would later describe Whittell as an ‘accidental environmentalist’ for his unintended work in keeping thousands of valuable Tahoe acres together and undeveloped.”
Lake Tahoe State Park is a place of natural beauty, a place of which Mark Twain writes “I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.” Howard says that, “over 1,000,000 visitors” come each year to enjoy the variety of activities and nature that are on display to create a “unique and memorable recreation experience.”
Andrew Malo
A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Education, Andrew has taught for the past decade in Chicago, New Mexico, and Japan. He enjoys tinkering with trucks and motorcycles, woodworking, reading and computer programming.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Silver City RV Resort is one of Northern Nevada's premiere RV campground and are conveniently located in the beautiful Carson Valley between Minden and Carson City. Sunset cruises or a trip to South Lake Tahoe is not far away.