SNUG WINTER LODGES LINE THE ROADWAYS TO LAKE TAHOE

Alongside the roadways that bring winter visitors to the Lake Tahoe area are roadhouses that are a throwback to another era.

It was a grand era, when developers were induced not by money but by desire, and, as a result, built lodges to fit into the environmental scheme, instead of altering the environment to fit commercial plans.

For decades they have weathered the unpredictability of Sierra Nevada winters, becoming landmarks of unassumed dignity, where one can still find the affordable soft bed, home-cooked food, and warm fire that prime us for the beauty and winter waltz of the Tahoe Basin.

Rainbow Lodge
Cisco Grove, California
(Eight miles west of Donner Pass and close to four alpine areas
Donner Ski Ranch, Sugar Bowl, Boreal, and Soda Springs)

Rumors abound about the ghost that inhabits the third-story room of Rainbow Lodge, but this myopic, well-mannered ghost only tends to add charm to an Old World stone lodge located between Cisco Grove and Soda Springs off Interstate 80.

Rumors aside, the 30-room lodge of stone and rough timber is a charming combination of pioneer history and contemporary comforts. Overlooking a bend in the Yuba River, Rainbow Lodge is situated along a section of the historic Emigrant trail. In the 19th century, the lodge was a stage stop for those braving the treacherous crossing of Donner Pass. Legend has it that a young woman, Mary, was shot to death by her husband, after he found her in bed with another man.

Today's guests staying in the lodge's cozy rooms need not worry about stray bullets, but mysterious lights, tap water left on in rooms, and occasional sightings of a woman who quickly disappears can provide skiers with great stories to share around the lodge's glowing fireplace.

Purchased in 1986 by John Slouber, the lodge's Engadine Cafe is well-known in the region for serving full service gourmet breakfasts and lunches. Chef Alan McKenzie Davis offers a French Country cuisine nightly with such finesse items as wild mushroom Cordon Bleu, Veal Scalopini, Fondue, and Steak Diane. Slouber, founder and president of Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort, the largest Nordic area in the nation, has extended the trail system right to the back of Rainbow Lodge. The "Rainbow Interconnect" trail is a 22-kilometer, 1,200-vertical foot drop from the the resort's main Summit Station Lodge.

Rainbow offers midweek skier specials that include private room with full bath, breakfast, trail pass and group lesson and start at $168 per person.

For info, contact Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort, P.O. 1100, Soda Springs, Ca ; 95728; 530-426-3871, or visit www.royalgorge.com

Sorensen's
14255 HWY. 88
Hope Valley, California 96120
( 12 miles from Kirkwood)

The world bears too much resemblance to a haystack to go hunting through it for that special needle to fulfill us. Luckily, Sorensen's resort in Hope Valley's Woodford Canyon is one such needle whose discovery is far from pointedly painful.

Located off Highway 88 at Pickett's Junction, twenty minutes from the alpine slopes of Kirkwood, Sorensen's dates back to 1926 when Danish immigrant Martin Sorensen opened a service station, store, and dance floor at the site of a derelict turn of the century fishing lodge. Today, owners John and Patty Brissenden offer thirty-three cabins, a cafe, and a ski touring center all surrounded by graceful aspens a snowball's toss from the Carson River.

Although only a twenty minute drive to the glitz and lights of South Lake Tahoe, Sorensen's rests in the Sierra Crest's Alpine County, the least populated county in California. Off-track, cross country skiing doesn't get much better. Sorensen's offers over 100 kilometers of marked, ski packed trail encased by lovely wooded areas.

And when you've had enough of the outdoors there's plenty of attraction indoors.Sorensen's dining room is a set designer's vision of a bistro; intimate and pine-paneled where everyone talks to everyone else, and the service handled by peppery waiters. The breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus are islands of culinary modesty amid a wide selection of dishes. Lovers of copious, grandmotherly cooking enjoy the seafood pasta, quiche of the day, and especially the beef burgundy stew - a generous serving of sauteed beef, garlic, mushrooms, potato, onion, and celery simmered in rich Burgundy wine. Also popular is a dynamite homemade four-berry cobbler.

If the fresh air, solitude, and piles of white clouds over Hope Valley are not enough to hold the modern world at bay, Sorensen's cabins have even more pristine appeal. Cabins climb the hillside amid junipers and lead-gray aspens. Accommodations range from one-bedroom cedar cabins to a replica of a Norwegian farmhouse for six. Dormitory bunkhouses provide economy for groups and come equipped with all the basics.

Sorensen's also promotes more than 30 special programs each year, including such winter time traditions as pine bough Christmas decorating, dogsled tours, ice fishing, snowshoeing, and cross country ski treks commemorating Snowshoe Thompson's original mailbound routes.

For further questions call Sorensen's at (800) 423-9949

River Ranch Resort and Restaurant
2285 River Road
Alpine Meadows, California 96146

If satisfying the appetites for nourishment and social chatter were the only goals, the River Ranch, located on Highway 89 at the entrance to the Alpine Meadows ski resort, would probably be just another roadside attraction. Instead, the roadhouse spawns a fun, liberating outpost, a wilderness showplace offering affordable accommodations, creative food, and the enveloping warmth of friendship. Late afternoon in the bar it's axiomatic to discover a wonderful collection of customers: ski bums, velocity cultists, and world class athletes, some who've been ripping turns since the days of Northland Skis and Jet-Stix, and who know the local terrain better than a cop knows his beat. This is a happy, busy place, where old friends celebrate and new friends are made. Grab a table near the windows that overlook the roaring Truckee River or snuggle up around the cozy stone fireplace with a "River Run Heater," an in-house hot buttered rum guaranteed to sooth. "Wild Winter Wednesdays," 4p.m.-7 p.m., offer discounted drinks and raffle prizes. Who knows which is more Rabelaisian - the cheerful rabble you find in the bar, or the vast portions of cooking based on humble ingredients in the dining room. Every qualm vanishes with the first magnificent mouthful of fresh elk loin roasted with a port wine and bing cherry sauce, the refreshing pan seared mountain rainbow trout, or the enormous house smoked baby back ribs. The River Ranch offers nineteen bedrooms each decoupaged by lodgepole pine furnishings. Many rooms have balconies overlooking the Truckee River. All rooms have private baths, cable television and modem-ready telephones. A complimentary continental breakfast is provided for guests as well as daily shuttle service to major North Shore resorts.

For more information phone (530) 583-4264, or visit www.riveranchlodge.com .

Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge
1850 West Lake Blvd.
Tahoe City, Ca 96145
(6 miles from Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley)

The West Shore Sunnyside resort has traditionally made its living by resting at water's edge.

Even if the siting weren't so propitious, this waterside haven, built at the turn of the century, has every feature required of a charmer. Once home to the Kendrick family, founders of the Schlage Lock Company, Sunnyside has evolved into a sophisticated full service resort that takes advantage of its location by offering water sports in the summer and snowsport recreation in winter. But there's more to Sunnyside's appeal than just sports. The resort has a sybaritic, almost luxurious side. Visitors avail themselves to 23 country style guests rooms, complete with lake views, river rock fireplaces, private decks, and complimentary continental breakfast.

The lodge is designed for serious apres-ski lounging and rejuvenation. Soft couches and easy chairs cram the main room that includes a mountain grill overlooking the lake. The adjacent pub-style lounge takes on the look and fevered pitch of a prohibition speakeasy. Patrons visiting the Sunnyside watering hole are greeted by a warming fireplace, delightful lake views, and other seductive trappings as warm and huge as the inside of a bearskin. A wildly eclectic crowd of old time locals, die-hard regulars, fledgling collegians, intrepid SoMa types, sprinkled with longhairs and some mega-babeosity, adds to the party. By dropping in for a drink, one can always discover the skinny: Where are the best unmarked ski trails, or the sweetest surf on the coast, or what yacht's skipper needs crew. The dining room, featuring hand-crafted model boats, authentic nautical flags, and rich mahogany accents retains a secluded, private air. Sunnyside's menu takes a simple, clean approach to food, emphasizing both texture and taste, setting a tone for down-scale mainstays that embodies food as fun. Chef Lee Kresy's dishes range from Chile Crusted Salmon and daily flame broiled fresh fish specials to Applewood Smoked Pork Ribs and spice rubbed lamb chops. Weekly events include Wednesday fish taco night and Friday live music.

For more information call (530) 583-7200, or visit www.sunnysideresort.com.

Strawberry Lodge
Hwy. 50,
Kyburz Ca. 95720
(10 minutes from Sierra-At-Tahoe)

Placerville native Fred Baumhoff had grand ambitions. A truck driver at the time of the depression, he became wealthy when he struck gold along the Salmon River near Boise, Idaho. It was with this money that he began building lodging facilities for a ski development that he claimed would "wipe Sun Valley off the map."

Strawberry Lodge opened for business over Memorial Weekend, 1940, but WWII and its gas and steel rationing brought an abrupt halt to Baumhoff's grand plans for a major ski resort.

Now owned by Richard Mitchell, what remains today is comfortable accommodations in 50 western rustic guest rooms, along with a solid bar and restaurant, all surrounded by what may be the prettiest scenery near Lake Tahoe.

Strawberry Lodge is 17 miles west of Lake Tahoe on Highway 50 in the shadow of Pyramid Peak and next to the 600-foot sheer granite face called Lover's Leap. A short drive to the alpine resort of Sierra-At-Tahoe, the roadhouse is also situated within Strawberry Canyon and 42 miles of sign posted nordic trail. Open weekends and holidays, the historic lodge, once a Pony Express stop in the 1800s, offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner specials, homemade soups, and an excellent wine list. The dining room is known for a breakfast that includes fresh biscuits and large omelets. The dinner menu changes daily and offers a hearty array of pasta, steak, and chicken dishes. Guests are served in front of a huge granite fireplace and from tables overlooking the American River.

The relaxed atmosphere of Strawberry's pub is dominated by a huge, rustic old bar, at least 60 feet worth. Petch, the bartender, serves up everything from home-made hot buttered rum to beers and shots. Knock back the Petch-concocted "Knuckle-Dragger," a drink guaranteed to help anyone through a fun evening. A lively jukebox adds to the festivities.

For information call (530) 659-7200, or visit strawberry-lodge.com.