Charlie Pankey 
TAHOE CITY, Calif. – Tahoe City Public Utility District (TCPUD) will temporarily close the Lake Forest Boat Ramp from November 1 through November 30, 2026, to complete permitted dredging operations. During the closure, winter boat ramp operations managed by the Tahoe Resource Conservation District will temporarily relocate to Obexer’s Marina in Homewood. Dredging is performed … Read more
The Reno/Sparks classic car celebration is scheduled for July 30-Aug. 8 Reno, NV – Hot August Nights, a not-for-profit celebration that brings classic cars, live music and cruising to northern Nevada, has opened vehicle registration for its 2027 main event, taking place July 30 through August 8. Downtown Reno, Virginia City, downtown Sparks and a … Read more
Tom and I pulled into The Brewing Lair around lunchtime on a Tuesday, fresh out of Truckee and at the beginning of a few days exploring Plumas County. I expected a quiet stop. Instead, families were heading into the woods to build forts, cyclists were finishing a ride, and about a dozen guests were enjoying … Read more
After years of exploring this quiet corner of Northern California, I gave myself four days to dig deeper. I came home realizing that the best way to experience Plumas County might be to leave enough room in the plan for the place—and the people you meet along the way—to change it. I thought I knew … Read more
By Sierra Rec Magazine | Built Outside There is something wonderfully simple about cooking an egg inside an orange over a campfire. Hollow out the orange, crack an egg inside, wrap it in foil, and let the heat of the coals do the work. It is the kind of backcountry trick that gets passed down … Read more
Rock Creek Road closes Oct 19–23 for maintenance — no vehicle access to Mosquito Flat Trailhead; hikers can still walk the trail alongside the road.
Many skiers choose a Lake Tahoe resort the same way they choose a restaurant: by name recognition. The one they’ve heard about, or the one a friend mentioned on a chairlift once. That approach isn’t wrong, exactly. It just gets expensive when you show up at the wrong mountain for your skill level and goals. … Read more
The wildland fire community gathers Friday in South Lake Tahoe to honor fallen pilot Christopher Andersen. The family invites the community to line the Highway 50 escort route at 11:30 a.m.
Lake Tahoe’s 2026–27 ski season is taking shape. Mt. Rose fired its snow guns after the season’s first snow and targets a Nov. 6 opening — here are the announced opening dates for Heavenly, Northstar, Palisades Tahoe, Kirkwood and more.
From historic ghost walks and steam trains to a Halloween Nevada Day Parade, October is one of the most memorable times to explore Nevada’s capital. CARSON CITY, NEVADA — October 13, 2026 When I first arrived in Nevada in 2007, some of the earliest community events I remember were tied to Halloween. Coffin races, ghost … Read more
Adventure, Community & the Story Behind SWOOP There is something about meeting people who have built their lives around the outdoors that I never get tired of. Their stories are rarely just about the mountains they have climbed or the trails they have traveled. More often, they are about the people they met along the … Read more
By Charlie Pankey Behind the construction dust of an old Northern Sierra hotel, one man’s vision is quietly creating something unexpected in Indian Valley. When Tom and I arrived at Crescent Mills Hotel & Store during our fall 2026 visit to Plumas County, the transformation wasn’t immediately obvious from the highway. You’d see an old … Read more
By Charlie Pankey At Bucks Lake Marina in Plumas County, a collection of historic logging cabins puts you close enough to the water to watch the lake wake up. And sometimes, that’s what makes a mountain stay memorable. I had driven this corner of Bucks Lake before, which is probably why I was confused when … Read more
What happens when a child steps into Yosemite National Park for the first time? For thousands of students each year, that first experience comes through NatureBridge, where Yosemite becomes something more than a national park they have seen in photographs or learned about in school. It becomes an outdoor classroom filled with granite walls, waterfalls, … Read more
Waterfalls brought me back to this corner of Northern California. A night in Dunsmuir, beside the young Upper Sacramento, gave me a reason to return. By Charlie Pankey | Sierra Rec Magazine I left Lassen Volcanic National Park with a long drive still ahead of me and a fairly simple idea for my final night … Read more
An injured knee and a hard turn in the weather changed our Cathedral Lakes backpacking trip. What remained was a quieter kind of Yosemite adventure—and a reminder that sometimes the mountains get to decide what the trip becomes. Packing for this trip felt unsettled from the beginning. I was driving from Mount Vernon, Washington, to … Read more
From canvas tent cabins inside national parks to a Conestoga wagon near Yosemite and a mountain cabin overlooking California’s Central Valley, one family discovered that you don’t need an RV—or even your own tent—to keep a national park road trip connected to the outdoors. By Natalie Vereen-Davis | Contributing Guest Writer The first morning of … Read more
More Than 500 Miles Later, This Is the Shoe I Keep Reaching For There are gear reviews you plan, and then there are pieces of gear that almost review themselves simply because you keep reaching for them. When the SCARPA Ribelle Cross 2 arrived earlier this year, I expected to test it as a lightweight … Read more
Getting kids outside doesn’t require a trip to Yosemite, expensive outdoor gear or an elaborate family adventure. Some of the best outdoor activities for kids may be hiding just a few minutes from home. Our Guest: Deanna Ratnikova Founder and CEO The Go Decks Deanna Ratnikova is the founder of GO Deck, a collection of … Read more
Camping with kids doesn’t require the perfect RV, expensive outdoor gear or a perfectly planned family adventure. Sometimes it starts with a borrowed tent, a pair of hand-me-down boots and simply deciding to get outside. Our Guest Natalie Vereen Davis Natalie Vereen-Davis is the creator of CampingKiddos, a family camping and outdoor travel resource helping … Read more
Courtney Rosiak-Quinto set out on her first solo thru-hike, following the 174-mile Tahoe Rim Trail around Lake Tahoe through high-elevation terrain, long water carries, unexpected challenges and the Sierra landscape that has helped make South Lake Tahoe feel like home. Taking on the Tahoe Rim Trail Alone The Tahoe Rim Trail—or TRT—travels through California and … Read more
Richard Campbell spent decades exploring the world by foot, bicycle, ski and boat before turning that life outside into 10Adventures, a global platform for guided and self-guided hiking, cycling and active travel. Richard joins Sierra Rec host Charlie Pankey to share how summers working on his grandparents’ farm, family camping trips in the Canadian Rockies … Read more
There are people who go outside to see something, and there are people who seem to spend their lives learning how to notice what is already there. For photographer and author Larry Laverty, that education started remarkably early—with birds, butterflies and an oak tree outside his childhood home. It continued in the mountains, including an … Read more
How Sawyer Became an Outdoor Essential | Founder Kurt AverySawyer Products is one of the most trusted names in backpacking water filtration—but that’s not where the company started. In the first story from Sierra Rec’s Built Outside series, host Charlie Pankey sits down with Sawyer founder Kurt Avery to explore the unlikely 42-year journey behind … Read more
After foot surgery kept author and Sierra explorer Lisa Michelle away from the trail for nearly three months, returning to Sierra Nevada backpacking gave her a new appreciation for every hike—and a new idea for helping other women experience the mountains. Lisa returns to the Sierra Rec Now Podcast to talk with Charlie Pankey about … Read more
I had never heard of Lems Shoes before meeting the brand at Outdoor Media Summit. What caught my attention was the combination of minimalist design, wide toe boxes and zero-drop construction. I have worn zero-drop shoes before and generally enjoyed the way they feel, but I do not necessarily begin every shoe search by looking … Read more
For years in the Sierra Nevada, a fleece this warm was a specialized piece of gear for me. I might have carried one while snowshoeing, camping in colder conditions or heading into the mountains when the forecast clearly called for another layer. It was not something I automatically placed in my pack for every spring … Read more
My first real outing in the Marmot Trailway hiking pants began on a rainy spring morning near Bellingham, Washington. We headed to Blanchard State Forest for a seven-mile loop connecting Lily and Lizard lakes. It is a classic Pacific Northwest hike: a casual forest climb, two hidden lakes and trails that remain in good condition … Read more
A Trail Tested Gear Review by Sierra Rec Staff The Marmot Wraptor 30 promises to eliminate one of the most irritating parts of sleeping in a traditional mummy bag: the zipper. Instead of sealing you inside with a long side zipper, the Wraptor uses overlapping flaps, snaps and a low-profile magnetic closure to create a … Read more
Some places are almost impossible to explain until you’ve stood in them. Juan Veruete calls the Sierra Nevada his “million-word places”—landscapes where even the best photograph never quite captures the scale of what’s in front of you. In this conversation, Juan joins the Sierra Rec Now Podcast to talk about a backpacking life shaped by … Read more
By Charlie Pankey The Best Travel Backpack I’ve Ever Owned I’m 56 years old, and for most of my life my travel strategy could best be described as… a duffel bag. Throw everything inside, zip it shut, and hope I remembered socks. If you asked my wife to describe my packing style, she’d probably refer … Read more
Editor’s Note Some conversations begin with a question. Others begin with a moment that stays with you long after the weekend is over. Last weekend, my wife and I took our one-year-old grandson on his very first camping trip. Like most grandparents, we spent the weekend watching him discover things many of us stopped noticing … Read more
This long-weekend route combines an early morning in Yosemite Valley, swimming at Tenaya Lake, hiking near Pinecrest, exploring the Red Hills and a scenic drive over Sonora Pass. Tuolumne County is one of those Sierra regions that can be difficult to explain in a single sentence. It acks as a base camp region in the … Read more
Here’s What Visitors Need to Know—and Why Your Voice Matters. For more than 14 years, I’ve had the privilege of exploring and covering the Sierra Nevada. During that time, I’ve watched parking lots fill earlier each season, permit systems expand, and trailheads become busier than I ever imagined. I’ve also watched volunteers, rangers, nonprofit organizations … Read more
Why Planning Like a Local Changes Everything A few years ago I was invited to Mammoth Lakes for the opening weekend of trout season. The group was made up of friends from Los Angeles who had been making the trip together for years. Fishing was the reason everyone came to the Eastern Sierra, but it … Read more
Why a Lifelong Sierra Hiker Ended Up Falling in Love with a Gore-Tex Trail Shoe Quick Take Best For: Day hiking, technical trails, Pacific Northwest hiking, Sierra Nevada granite, creek crossings and hikers who value confidence over speed. Trail Tested: Four months of real-world hiking in Western Washington, including muddy trails, wet roots, creek crossings, … Read more
Why do so many of us leave the mountains… only to spend the rest of our lives finding our way back? Raised in Portola in California’s Sierra Valley, Rocci Twitchell grew up fishing alpine lakes, riding horses through Mohawk Valley, exploring the Sierra Buttes, and spending weekends around Yuba Pass, Packer Lake, Gold Lake, and … Read more
A compact camp companion that adds a clean, stable surface wherever you set up Not every piece of gear changes how you travel, but some quietly make camp life easier. The Crazy Creek Pack Table falls squarely into that category — a small but surprisingly useful addition that quickly earned a regular spot in our … Read more
Constellation Creek is the kind of place you slip away with your favorite person. Hang a hammock between the pines, slide a chair into the cool creek after a day on the trail, open a good book, and simply slow down for a while. But it’s also a perfect basecamp for one of our favorite … Read more
Search & Rescue Volunteers Need Your Help | How One Simple Donation Could Save a Life Episode Introduction Every hike begins with the hope of reaching the summit, discovering a hidden alpine lake, or simply enjoying another day in the mountains. But when an accident happens miles from the trailhead, a dedicated team of Search … Read more