Washoe Meadows State Park is great for scenic, flat mountain bike rides. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Washoe Meadows State Park has to be one of the most unassuming parks in California. No formal entrance; it has multiple entry points. No fee. No amenities.

Lots of fun can be had year-round in this 600-plus acre park on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. Hike, walk, ride a bike or a horse, snowshoe or cross country ski. Even enjoy the Upper Truckee River that meanders through part of it.

It’s the rare state park that allows dogs. While the four-leggeds are supposed to be on leash, this rule is seldom adhered to.

I never get tired of recreating here. It’s easy to get to without a car from so many neighborhoods in the South Lake Tahoe and Meyers areas.

Views are stunning. In many ways it’s like being in a basin within the Tahoe basin.

This fall State Parks hopes to begin improving 500 feet of trail north of Angora Creek Bridge near Mountain Trout Drive with $15,000 from the Tahoe Fund. A couple small bridge structures will be constructed along with laying turf stones like what was done several years ago in another location.

The flora in Washoe Meadows is constantly changing depending on the season. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

While some would like a concrete plan like a general plan for the state park, that  isn’t being talked about by those in charge. That is in part why Washoe Meadows’ improvements are piecemealed.

It doesn’t help that South Tahoe Public Utility District has right-of-way to many of the roads because sewer lines go through the property.

More than a decade ago California State Parks wanted to move several holes at Lake Tahoe Golf Course into adjacent Washoe Meadows State Park. In 2015, after a five-year legal battle, Washoe Meadows Community succeeded in keeping the links on Lake Valley State Recreation Area land.

The lawsuit challenged the reclassification of state land and whether the environmental impact report was consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act.

State Parks is restarting the environmental review process to address improving the flow of its 1.5 miles of river. With $450,000 from the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act (LTRA), ECORP Consulting in Sacramento will develop an EIR/EIS. Likely three alternatives will be studied, with one being no action. The public will have multiple opportunities to chime in; with a draft documents possibly released next summer.

This time State Parks said it has no plans to move golf holes into the park. A likely scenario is for hole 12 to be reconfigured away from the river, while holes 10 and 11 will be modified.

“The objective of the river restoration is to restore some of those meanders, to slow down some of the water, to capture sediment instead of producing sediment. There are places where golf course turf is next to the river bank,” Rich Adams, natural resources manager for the Sierra District, said.

Mountain and river views are common in Washoe Meadows. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

After the record snowfall in 2022-23, a major breach occurred that threatened a golf course bridge, necessitating 100 feet of bank to be stabilized last October with emergency funding from FEMA.

According to the Tahoe Regional Planning Association, a study done in 2003 found 1,380 metric tons of sediment reach Lake Tahoe from the entire Upper Truckee River. This river contributes 60 percent of the fine sediment into the lake.

The State Parks’ section produces the largest amount of sediment. It’s estimated the project will keep 18 metric tons, or the equivalent of 16 dump trucks, from reaching the lake, TRPA reports.

Straightening the river years ago created this problem. Banks cave in and water flow causes erosion; this sediment reaches Lake Tahoe, diminishing its clarity. Steep banks also mean the natural flood plain doesn’t exist.

Various reaches of the river have already been rehabbed.

This is more than a water quality project. Public access at Country Club Drive should be improved, with a shared bridge across the river at holes 6 and 7.

When actual work would begin is a big question mark. It could be a three-year project costing at least $9.5 million. What is secured is the $450,000 from LTRA for planning, $28,000 from Tahoe Fund, and $800,000 from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Outside of this project, State Parks intends to remove the concrete where the old Celio dairy barn was, as well as get rid of the zigzag lodgepole fence, and restore a bit of that meadow in Washoe Meadows. This will take about $65,000; which the agency doesn’t have.

Note: A version of this story first appeared in the Tahoe Mountain News.