John Gottberg Anderson / For The BulletinLake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in the United States, dominates the view from the slopes of the Heavenly Mountain Resort, which rises above Tahoes south side. Twenty-two miles long and 12 miles wide, the lake has been measured at 1,645 feet deep, second in depth only to Crater Lake.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. —

I am a lifelong skier. I have no greater passion than pointing my skis into dry powder and carving turns down a mountain, throwing back a roostertail of icy white as I descend through an alpine paradise. But sometimes, especially early or late in a season, there is no wintry wonderland.

The blizzards that cloak the mountains in snow are late to arrive, or — worse yet — warm fronts bring rain that washes away what snow has fallen and leaves grass and rocks showing through. Snow-making operations can cover only so many slopes.

So what do you do on a ski vacation when downhill skiing is limited? Even if you’re a die-hard who will ski in any conditions, what choices are available to spouses or children when they tire of the mountain?

I had an opportunity to explore some options on a March trip to the Lake Tahoe area. While I did get out on the hill at the Heavenly, Squaw Valley and Northstar resorts, late-season warmth was beginning to take its toll on snow cover, even above 9,000 feet.

So I knocked off at lunchtime each day. I went hiking beside the lake, zip-lining on a treetop adventure course, even stand-up paddling on the nation’s largest mountain lake. I dropped a few coins into casino poker machines at Stateline, Nevada, dined at fine restaurants and went souvenir shopping among the quaint shops of Tahoe City.

And I took a portion of one day to drive from and to South Lake Tahoe on the winding, 72-mile scenic highway that wraps around this immense lake — 22 miles north-south, 12 miles east-west and 1,645 feet deep.{%TravTahoe-p01 122114%}

South-side activities

That water is cold, less than 40 degrees in March at this elevation of 6,250 feet. The simple thought of stand-up paddleboarding at this time of year made me shiver. But the reputation of Chris Brackett, founder and lead instructor at South Tahoe Standup Paddle, and the knowledge that I’d get wet only if I fell in, prompted me to don sweats and venture out on the lake at El Dorado Beach.

Brackett — along with his wife, Jennifer, and nine children between the ages of 3 and 22 — have made the sport of SUP synonymous with “family.” He tells visitors that in 2010 his son Joshua, then 8, paddled the length of the lake during the Tahoe Fall Classic. Although it took the boy seven hours, he became the youngest to accomplish the feat.

The Bracketts’ shop carries a colorful variety of boards and paddles, for everything from flat-water touring to racing in waves, along with clothing, illustrated magazines and good conversation. The vibe is such that you’ll find yourself getting centered even before you head out from the nearby beach, where being centered on the board is absolutely essential.

I’m sure I didn’t look graceful on my board, but I stayed dry — except for my bare feet as I started from and returned to the gravelly beach.

A few miles west, Camp Richardson encompasses a historic resort site that has been owned by the U.S. Forest Service since 1967. {%TravTahoe-p03 122114%}

As early as 1875, a sawmill and rail line at this site were providing timbers for beams in the silver mines of Virginia City, Nevada. One of the San Francisco entrepreneurs who got lucky in that boom, E.J. “Lucky” Baldwin, invested some of his stake in the exclusive Tallac Hotel.

From the 1890s to 1920s, Tallac gained fame as a world-class lakeside resort with a casino and dance hall, gardens, riding stable and fishing fleet. Its remnant is now a 74-acre national historic site that incorporates the Baldwin, Pope and Valhalla private estates — the latter home to the summerlong Valhalla Art, Music and Theatre Festival. {%TravTahoe-p04 122114%}

Toward the end of Tallac’s heyday, in the mid-1920s, merchant marine Captain Alonzo “Rich” Richardson purchased an adjacent marina and added guest cabins. His modest resort eventually eclipsed Tallac and by the 1950s had become a family destination in and of itself. Since the U.S. Forest Service assumed ownership, the resort and its marina continue to operate under special-use permits.

There was just enough snow on the ground during my visit that I could have chosen to go cross-country skiing on 7 miles of loop trails from Camp Richardson’s Mountain Sport Center to Fallen Leaf Lake, a gentle elevation gain of 250 feet. Instead, I took a lakeshore hike through the Tallac site, admiring the handsome log architecture of homes a century or more old. Deer peeked through a ponderosa woodland as I made my way back to lunch at The Beacon Bar & Grill, beside the resort’s marina and boathouse.

West and north shores

There is no more scenic view in the Lake Tahoe area than that of Emerald Bay, 10 miles up the western shore from South Lake Tahoe. Under an overcast sky, this inlet might appear more aquamarine in color than emerald, but that does nothing to diminish its beauty. {%TravTahoe-p05 122114%}

A California state park since 1953, Emerald Bay was designated as a national natural landmark by the Department of the Interior in 1969. Its most notable features include rocky Fannette Island, the only island in Lake Tahoe, and a 38-room mansion called Vikingsholm. Built in 1929 under the direction of architect Leonard Palme, it is considered an outstanding example of Scandinavian architecture in the United States. {%TravTahoe-p06 122114%}

State Highway 89 winds 18 miles from Emerald Bay to Tahoe City, en route passing through D.L. Bliss and Sugar Pine Point state parks and the lakeside community of Homewood. There is a small but popular ski hill here, as well as the Tahoe Maritime Museum, displaying a collection of vessels that plied the waters of this inland sea more than a century ago.

The hill called Granlibakken, just outside of Tahoe City, is smaller, appealing largely to beginning skiers, families and sledders. It also accesses some great snowshoeing terrain in the lower Sierra Nevada range.

But its distinctive attraction is the Tahoe Treetop Adventure Park and Ropes Course. This creative venture challenged me not only to zip line from one giant ponderosa pine to another, but also to make my way up rope ladders and across swaying bridges, one of which required riding a snowboard 20 feet in the air. I imagine it’s great for team-building exercises. {%TravTahoe-p07 122114%}

Tahoe Treetop has five adult courses, and I tackled four of them in two hours. My favorite was the canopy course (“Twins”), which featured 500 feet of zip lines (four in all) and a 120-foot suspension bridge between cedars estimated at more than 500 years old.

With a population of 1,700, Tahoe City is the largest town on Lake Tahoe’s north or west shores. It is the junction for onward travel to the ski resorts of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadow and to the historic railroad town of Truckee on Interstate 80. It has its own winter sports park, which offers free sledding, skiing and snowshoeing; a variety of contemporary and vintage shops in places such as Cobblestone Center and the Boatworks Mall; and a year-round park at Commons Beach, where free weekly concerts are offered throughout the winter season.

I enjoyed a visit to the Museum of Sierra Ski History, a collection housed in the Boatworks Mall to honor the region’s ski heritage — highlighted by the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, hosted by nearby Squaw Valley.

State Highway 28 continues around the north shore of Lake Tahoe, through the villages of Carnelian Bay, Tahoe Vista and Kings Beach, to Crystal Bay, a Nevada border destination with several small casinos. Three miles farther (14 from Tahoe City) is Incline Village, an upscale resort community with its own local ski resort (Diamond Peak) and ready access to Mount Rose, at the summit of winding state Highway 431 to Reno, 35 miles distant.

The scenic 25 miles along Tahoe’s eastern shore to Stateline, Nevada, are as discreet as a national scenic byway can be. Viewpoints Sand Harbor (you may see surfers, even in winter), Cave Rock and Zephyr Point let you know you’re on the right road to return to your starting point.

Skiing times three

I didn’t forget the skiing on my Tahoe visit. Though it would have been impractical for me to experience the slopes at every Sierra resort on or near the lake — there are 15, including Boreal Mountain, Donner Ski Ranch, Soda Springs, Sugar Bowl, Tahoe Donner, Kirkwood and Sierra-at-Tahoe — I was able to spend a few hours on three of the best.

With a gondola that carries skiers to its midmountain Tamarack Lodge (9,130 feet), Heavenly succeeds when there is no snow at lake level. This rare ski resort extends across two states: From its 10,067-foot summit, 18 lifts access 4,800 acres in the Eldorado and Toiyabe national forests. I found the High Five run off the Sky Express lift and the Big Dipper on the Nevada side of the mountain especially to my liking. {%TravTahoe-p07 122114%}

Where Heavenly’s gondola rises heavenward, South Lake Tahoe shares the state line with Stateline, Nevada. A few steps from the base of the mountain, a visitor can stand in California and stare through the doors of Harrah’s casino in the next state. That doesn’t necessarily do anything to help one’s skiing, but it offers promise of an interesting nightlife.

Squaw Valley and Northstar have similar base elevations — 6,200 feet at Squaw, 6,330 at Northstar — but the latter resort has the advantage of a location nestled into mountains away from the lake. Although Squaw Valley is higher by 400 feet (its summit elevation is 9,050) and its expert runs more challenging, it doesn’t seem to hold its snow as long as Northstar.

I enjoy skiing both, but in recent years I’ve been more drawn to Northstar, located just off the main road between Truckee and Kings Beach. Its modern village, surrounding a central ice-skating rink, offers ski-in, ski-out access to all lodge guests, and it’s linked by a short gondola to the luxurious Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, the most chic resort hotel in the Tahoe region. Manzanita, the fine-dining restaurant at the Ritz, is a foodie destination worth saving for. {%TravTahoe-p12 122114%}

But I was similarly impressed by Jimmy’s, in South Lake Tahoe’s Landing Resort & Spa. Chef Maria Elia prepared a Greek-influenced spread of carrot and beet keftedes and rabbit spanakopita that still has me salivating.

— Reporter: janderson@bendbulletin.com.