By Tim Hauserman

Tahoe locals are always surprised by summer. Perhaps it’s because school seems to let out later in Tahoe than other places, or that early June can still be a bit cold here in the mountains. Eventually near the end of June there comes a day when we look around scratching our heads in wonderment to discover that lots of people are here jumping off piers, the lake is packed with motor boats and kayakers, and the Sunnyside deck is abuzz with the quiet clamor of several hundred people on the deck eating, drinking and enjoying the evening alpenglow.

I’ve lived here all my life, so summer shouldn’t come as a surprise, but still every early summer I arrive at one of my favorite hiking trailheads and wonder “Why are there all these people here?” Eventually, the dull realization finally reaches the depths of my noggin, and that is when I perk up and tell myself: It’s summer dude! Time to break out of the relaxing spring approach to life and carpe diem this summer thing, because it is awesome, but it goes by super quick.

Summer is the time for canoeing to Emerald Bay, hitting all the summer concerts on the beach, joining the crowds at Truckee Thursday, rafting down the Truckee River, meeting friends at farmers markets, early morning water skis, backpacking in Desolation Wilderness, hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail, mountain biking at Tahoe XC, strolling along the Commons Beach, sitting on the sand and watching Shakespeare at Sand Harbor, and joining the rest of the crowd eating fish tacos on the Sunnyside Deck. There is a heck of a lot of stuff that only happens in the summer, because it is warm and there are enough people in town to make those activities worthwhile.

So put off cleaning your house or all those other mundane projects you need to get done until after Labor Day. Now is the time to do summer. And there is no place better to do it than Lake Tahoe.