Restrictions easing at Lake Tahoe: Forest campgrounds reopen, boat inspections returning
Restrictions on the great outdoors around the Lake Tahoe basin are being eased even with the uptick in coronavirus cases in Sacramento and California. By the end of the month, boating restrictions are slated to be lifted on the lake itself.
Overnight camping restarted Friday in U.S. National Forests in Northern California as part of a phased reopening plan by federal officials.
Campgrounds throughout the Lake Tahoe region, including those at Eldorado, Tahoe, and Stanislaus national forests, as well as at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, the region immediately surrounding Lake Tahoe, reopened. The federal lands had remained closed to the public since March when the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service ordered all recreation sites closed due to statewide stay-at-home orders. Day use resumed on May 15.
But several forests have announced they will maintain a portion of their campsites closed. Within campgrounds, certain campsites and shared areas will remain closed to create a more conducive environment for social distancing.
Meanwhile, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is working to re-staff boat inspection stations for a late June reopening. An exact date has not been set, the newspaper reported.
“Boats will be coming from all over the western United States and we want to be ready for all those inspections,” an official told the newspaper.
Officials said that while some inspections, which look for aquatic species that could harm Tahoe’s ecosystem, have taken place by appointment for local residents, a full reopening requires more training to prevent spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.
Boaters with “Tahoe-only” stickers are still allowed to hit the water.
The six-county capital region – Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yuba – includes some of the earliest counties in the state to reopen stores, restaurants, malls and barbers, stoking some fears that the counties are moving too quickly and inviting a virus resurgence.
The most recent infections of coronavirus in El Dorado County are being found in the Tahoe region. On Friday, El Dorado health officials announced two new cases in the basin, and nearly half of all its county’s cases in total, 54 of 113, have happened there.
Placer County’s increase in coronavirus cases is actually surpassing the rates seen earlier in the pandemic, though most of the infections are not in the Tahoe area. So far, 358 people have been infected and nine have died — only 25 cases have been found in the eastern end of Placer County.
But officials emphasize that most of the new infections are happening from small gatherings, as more movement occurs between families in sometimes private settings, as well as an increase in testing. Coronavirus is easily spread among people who are in close contact for extended periods of time.
Forest officials, echoing the recommendations made by county and state officials, request that visitors continue to practice social distancing guidelines at campsites. This includes:
▪ Avoiding large groups
▪ Maintaining distances of 6 feet between other campers
▪ Packing one’s own trash and belongings upon leaving
▪ Communicating with others, particularly when sharing spaces like trails
More information on the status of campsites can be found on the websites of the Eldorado, Tahoe, Stanislaus, and Lake Tahoe Basin National Forests or using the the Forest Service’s recreation site status map.
This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Restrictions easing at Lake Tahoe: Forest campgrounds reopen, boat inspections returning."