Chapter XXXVIII: Lake Tahoe as a Summer Residence

One of the most marked differences that the traveler observes between the noted lakes of Europe and Lake Tahoe is the comparative dearth of homes, summer villas, bungalows, residences, on the latter. This is natural. California and Nevada are new countries. They have scarcely had time to "find themselves" fully as yet. It took a thousand years to people the shores of the European lakes as we find them to-day, and in due time Tahoe will assuredly come to its own in this regard. Indeed as John LeConte well wrote a number of years ago:

The shores of Lake Tahoe afford the most beautiful sites for
summer residences. When the states of California and Nevada
become more populous, the delicious summer climate of this
elevated region, the exquisite beauty of the surrounding
scenery, and the admirable facilities afforded for fishing
and other aquatic sports, will dot the shores of this mountain
Lake with the cottages of those who are able to combine health
with pleasure. But it must be remembered that the prolonged
severity of the winter climate, and especially the great
depth of snowfall, render these elevated situations unfit for
permanent residences. According to the observations of Dr.
G.M. Bourne, during the winter of 1873-74, the aggregate
snowfall near the shores of the Lake amounted to more than
thirty-four feet. In fact, frequently there are not more than
four months in the year in which the ground of the margin of
the Lake is entirely free from snow. And the vast gorges which
furrow the sides of the surrounding amphitheater of lofty
mountain
peaks are perpetually snow-clad. Hence, it is unreasonable to
assume that many persons besides the wealthy will be able
to enjoy the luxury of private residences here, which can
be occupied only during the summer months of the year.
Nevertheless, when the refinement and taste incident to the
development of an older civilization shall have permeated the
minds of the wealthy classes of citizens, this charming lake
region will not only continue to be the favorite resort of
tourists and artists, but will become, during the summer
season, the abode of families whose abundant means enable them
to enjoy the healthful climate, the gorgeous scenery, and the
invigorating sports which lend an inexpressive charm to the
sojourn on its shores.

Amidst the magnificent nature that surrounds this region,
there should be an inspiration corresponding more or less
with the grandeur of the aspect of the material world. The
modifications impressed upon the moral and intellectual
character of man by the physical aspects of nature, is a
theme more properly belonging to those who have cultivated the
aesthetic side of humanity. The poet and the artist can alone
appreciate, in the fullness of their humanizing influence,
the potent effects of these aesthetic inspirations. The lake
districts in all Alpine countries seem to impress peculiar
characteristics upon their inhabitants.

When quietly floating upon the placid surface of Lake Tahoe,
the largest of the "Gems of the Sierra"--nestled, as it is,
amidst a huge amphitheater of mountain peaks--it is difficult
to say whether we are more powerfully impressed with the
genuine childlike awe and wonder inspired by the contemplation
of the noble grandeur of nature, or with the calmer and more
gentle sense of the beautiful produced by the less imposing
aspects of the surrounding scenery. On the one hand crag and
beetling cliff sweeping in rugged and colossal massiveness
above dark waves of pine and fir, far into the keen and clear
blue air; the huge mantle of snow, so cumulus-like in its
brightness, thrown in many a solid fold over ice-sculptured
crest and shoulders; the dark cathedral-like spires and
splintered pinnacles, half snow, half stone, rising into the
sky like the very pillars of heaven. On the other hand the
waving verdure of the valleys below, the dash of waterfalls,
the plenteous gush of springs,
the laugh and dance of brook and rivulet as they hurry down
the plains. Add to this picture the deep repose of the azure
water, in which are mirrored snow-clad peaks, as well as
marginal fringes of waving forests and green meadows, and it
is difficult to decide whether the sense of grandeur or of
beauty has obtained the mastery of the soul.