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We had made reservations for Sorensen's Resort in Hope Valley, hoping to see fall colors.
Unfortunately we couldn't get anything earlier than late October, and I had already read
online that most of the colors were already gone. So we were prepared to be disappointed with
the colors, but it would still be nice to visit the area.
We left the Bay Area around noon on a Friday, encountering little traffic on the way up.
We took Highway 88 east, stopping at the big Save Mart just before Jackson to get some
groceries (we'd brought a cooler). We continued along the road, passing by Caples Lake just
past Kirkwood. I did a double-take as I looked at the unexpected sight of the nearly completely
dry lake. Sure, it'd been a relatively dry two years, but the real reason it was so dry was
that it had been drained to repair the dam. Apparently, the lake had been drained down to
11 feet a month earlier. It now looked like a moonscape. What I found interesting was the
sight of hundreds of exposed tree trunks (normally hidden by the water),
probably remnants of trees cut down when the dam was built. What else is interesting is that
more than 26,000 fish were moved from Caples Lake to nearby Silver and Red Lakes.
Sorensen's
Aspens at Sorensen's
We arrived at Sorensen's a little after 4:30pm,
in time to see that the best colors in the area seemed to be at the resort itself. There
were still some yellowing aspens here, although many trees were already bare or had brown
leaves.
A bit of fall color at Sorensen's
Bear statues climbing aspens at Sorensen's
We had dinner at Sorensen's that night (reservations required). While the food was
decent, I would have to say it's expensive and not the quality you'd expect from such
prices. Also, the restaurant is quite small (about a half dozen tables), and not the
best place to bring kids. If you can, I'd recommend going to South Lake Tahoe instead
(about a half hour away),
although it is convenient to eat at Sorensen's if you're staying there, especially on
the first night.
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