September 9, 2014 |  Tim Hauserman

As August trickles to a close, many folks haul their sad children off the beaches and out of their Tahoe cabins and back home to Moraga, Santa Rosa and Greenbrae. Life around Tahoe begins to slow down, with the primary focus of Tahoe switching to splitting wood and digging up the winter clothes in preparation for snow….Ummm, not really. Actually, local’s like to think of September as our own private summer time. We are mountain biking at Tahoe Cross-Country and hiking into Desolation Wilderness. We are flying along the Truckee River on the nearly empty bike trail between Tahoe City and Squaw Valley. Or perhaps we are paddling along the placid shoreline with the only sound we hear being the call of osprey. In other words, September is a great time to be in Tahoe. Here is a sampling of what you will find:

The weather most of the time is a lot like August, with warm days and chilly evenings. You do, however, need to check the forecast as anything can happen in the Sierra…it did snow a few days last September.

With the summer crowds in school or at soccer games, there is plenty of room to roam on the trails, beaches, or in town.

And yet, even though the big crowds are not here, a ton of great athletic events are going on. You can watch or participate at Ironman Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Sierra Century Ride, Fat Tire Festival, Lederhosen 10K Run and the Lake Tahoe Marathon.

You can eat and drink to your hearts content at the Autumn Food and Wine festival, Farmers Markets and Farm to Table Dinners. All of our great local restaurants are looking forward to seeing you and finding a seat should not be a problem.

Want more? There are Fine Art Festivals, Ukulele Festivals, historical walking tours, and kayak tours. Check out the schedule at gotahoenorth.com.

Or you can do nothing at all except find your place to watch the alpenglow and remind yourself why you are at Lake Tahoe. See you soon.