OLD! Historical Memento Photos of Tahoe Cedars (23 photos)
Tahoe Cedars was for sale in 2009 for a cool 15 million: www.cblaketahoe.com/realestate/listing/2900249
Tahoe Cedars Property Owners’ Association: www.tcpoa.org
Update August 2019 – after all the cabins were destroyed, a modern home was constructed on the lower reaches of the property – possibly still under construction. A few old stone buildings (the boat houses) remain standing – close to the water – as does the pier. Pier in fairly bad shape. Photos taken from close to shore from a kayak.
Update June 2017 – after so many years the beloved cabins of Tahoe Cedars have been demolished. We almost made it this past weekend driving up from Los Angeles – at some point we will revisit the site to stay posted on current developments. See notes at the far bottom of this page for latest updates from prior guests.
Update October 2016
The cabins are all in a bad state – some of the roofs have holes – steps down to the lake are mostly gone. Concrete steps to some of the cabins severely crumbling. Erosion control measures have been taken on the steep slope leading down from the cabins to the beach. A sign in front of the property indicates the cabins will all be torn down and replaced with 6 single family units. Signs hang from all the cabins indicating the water and sewage has been turned off to the property and to not use the bathrooms. We walked into Cabin B – it is a mess – upstairs as well. Still smells the same though as 20 years ago.
Here are our most updated photographs of the property – not necessarily how you want to remember Tahoe Cedars – but 15+ years of neglect has certainly taken its toll on the property. These may well be the last photographs taken before the cabins are torn down forever.
Update August 2013
Hasn’t changed much since last year. Hole in chain link fence off of the main highway – things looking run down nearby – hotel across street all boarded up, old real estate office next door, boarded up. The PDQ market is still there as is the Pizza place in the small shopping center on the other side of the highway. The roofs are holding up fine – anything wooden is starting to show age – paint fading etc. The entire property is still for sale. Interested???
These 5 photos were taken in August 2013 (staff photographer JMT):
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- Broken Fence
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- Old Real Estate Office
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- Norfolk
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- Entrance
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- For Sale
These 5 photos were taken in September 2013 (staff photographer, Elizabeth K.):
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- Cabins A & B
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- Ping Pong table still there
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- Cabin B
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- Beach
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- The old Pier
Update September 2012
Mostly looking the same. Swam in the water right in front of Tahoe Cedars. Nice to be back. The pier is painted black now and falling down a little bit at the end. Otherwise all the cabins the same, and the lawn dead. A lady was sunbathing on the pier and later walked up into the cabins. Didn’t chat with her though.
Update July 2011
The general condition of Tahoe Cedars continues to worsen in this, the 9th summer after closing. The place was in tatters, more than other years, everything is looking quite dilapidated. The doors to cabins are open with a mess inside – someone had obviously been having a party in the cabin closest to “The Lake”.
The “red” pier is a mess. The ladder at the end of the pier has collapsed, the paint is shot and the boards are all warped. Access until early July could be had from the property next door – but now that is all fenced off so you would have to check out things from a boat. We will try secure some recent photos at some point – if you are in the area and can take some photos, please email us 🙂
Leave Comments – if you stayed at Tahoe Cedars, please leave your comments and memories at the bottom of this post in the comments section. I will pass them on to Dorothy. Thanks!
Tahoe Cedars Lodge was one of those rare resorts where the price was affordable, the views were scenic, new friends were found and families vacationed here year after year. I spent 2-3 weeks here every summer from 1974-2001.
Tahoe Cedars Lodge was rated one star and consisted of approximately 11 historic rustic cabins on lakefront property. There were no phones or televisions in any of the cabins – that was part of the charm and appeal. This was a resort where you brought several good books and a willingness to embrace a slower pace of life.
Amenities
Some of the cabins had small freezers, refrigerators and cooking facilities. Dishes, silverware and all other cooking utensils were provided in these particular cabins.
There is a small private beach below the cabins. A painted red pier was also available from which you can fish or swim from. I spent many hours at the end of this pier watching the lake, fishing, or sun bathing. There are several buoys anchored several hundred feet from the end of the pier and a small row boat is available for use from shore.
If you were in the mood pick up a paddle you could play a game of table tennis. A laundry mat is still located across the street and the PDQ market is still open just down the road. The grounds were neatly landscaped and there were chairs and a few tables conveniently placed near the end of stairways or overlooking The Lake.
Reservations
Depending on the time of the year many of the desirable cabins had to be reserved years in advance. However, the units right next to the road often were vacant and did not require lengthy reservations.
This lodge is located at 6980 West Lake Blvd and is easily noticed by the distinct dark blue roofs located on each cabin. Tahoe Cedars was open from May 1 to the end of October.
Author’s Note & Update
After over 65 years this one of a kind lakeside resort closed its doors to the public forever at the end of September 2001 when it was sold. The Tahoe Cedars property sold again, this time for 13 million in late 2003 to a CEO of a prominent Silicon valley firm.
All original structures remain standing as of late 2016. Thanks for the update emails from former guests 🙂
Visible damage from mid summer 2007 includes: the banister on the cabin next to the Ping Pong table has fallen down and the grounds are covered in pine needles, pine cones and broken branches. The insides of the cabins remain the same – you can still see the old drapes and tables. Its like looking into “history” but if you stayed here year after year, you were a part of this history and this history means something. Former customers have moved on – some have died, some stay at Donner, some have found other cabins near The Lake, some do not vacation at Tahoe anymore – but all who are still living remember the tons of memories with nostalgia and a lot of fondness.
The ping pong table is still standing – broken branches and an old pipe and a tank rest on top of the badly warping wood. The “lakefront cabin” 24 and 25 has two tall posts holding up part of the porch roof. The deck is in a bad need of a paint job and part of it may collapse if there is another heavy snow fall year. The many layers of red paint are peeling revealing the raw color of the wood beneath. The bench at the end of the deck where so many memories were made is almost completely warped, with several layers of wood coating peeling off. Bulbs are still growing on the property. The grass is still green and from a distance you cannot tell that no one lives here anymore.
The only access to the property is by boat as the main driveway entrances have tall fences blocking them. Property still looks decent as of July 2007. Fences are still up, blue roofs are in good shape.
If you need additional information regarding this resort, have specific questions or would like to share your memories, please email Dave
June 2005 Photos
Historical Photos
My family stayed there every summer for two week from about 1960 to 1965. John Smith basically ran the place for his mother. At the time he was going to college or just got out. He had a Higgins inboard boat named “Can’t Dance”. A great guy with a laugh I never forgot. We brought our boat and water skied every day. we played ping pong on the worlds oldest ping pong table. The coolest part of staying ther was that my parents spent their honeymoon there in about 1939 or 40. The same people came every year and I remember going to dances at Camp Meeker? And going to movies at Tahoe Tavern when bats were flying inside the theater. John, if you are still around, enjoy your part of what you sold it for. I stopped by a few times in the 90s and it brought back so may great memories. Steve Charlotte Marylou and Pete Peterson
Steve – thanks for posting this comment. Your one of the tahoe cedars old timers! That was a bit before my time – i started going to tc in 1974 or 1975. I’m not sure John is still around – I heard a rumor a while back he may have passed on. Dorothy is def still around – she is well into her 90’s and living in the san jose area. My mother see’s her at least once a year. She had a big birthday celebration a few years back. All good memories!
My wife gave me a bunch of papers to shred today, in which I found a Tahoe Cedars Lodge 3 fold color advertisement. brought back many memories. We found TCL in 1981 and actually had our honeymoon there. Really liked the lodge. Then a few years later, when our son was 5 years old went back there for a week’s vacation, to fish and relax. Dorothy put us up in her mother’s unit so we could have a kitchenette. For the next 5 years, we moved closer to the lake with each vacation, finally graduating to Cabin B in 1990. Made lots of friends each time we were there. after 1990 our daughter was born and we didn’t go back until 1998, which turned out to be our last visit. But on that last visit we had lots of fun and a little adventure. I guess it had been a drought year, as the lake was down and so were the black bears. I was laying down resting with the cabin door open, when I spotted a young black bear leaving the boat parking area. He was headed towards the center row, where my wife and kids were playing ping pong and having fun. I jumped off the bed, raced to the open window yelling to them that a bear was headed there way. They started to run back to our cabin, when my son made a U-turn and replace the ping pong paddle and ball on the table.
i’m glad to see that as of dave’s last response that Dorothy is still here and going strong.
John – thanks for sharing. I am passing any comments on this page through my mom to Dorothy. Dorothy loves reading these! (hint hint – so if any other visitors stayed at Tahoe Cedars, please also share your memories here!)
I haven’t been up there in a few years (although I was recently invited on a trip in September which I might make). Last I heard, the cabins are still standing. In 30+ years I never saw a bear on the property or for that matter anywhere at the lake. I was also “late” – there was always a bear sighting right before I got somewhere, or I saw evidence of them but never saw one in person. Its too bad that ping pong table wasn’t “rescued” – I was there a few years ago and it was leaned over against one of the cabins. I’ll bet its still up there but at this point could certainly use some major restoration.
Yea we had friends we met every year who stayed in both Cabin B and Cabin A – the Williams and the Engelkes from Orange County. We caught so many crayfish off that dock – spent so many hours sunning at the end on top of the red paint or lying on the always peeling wooden bench. Eddie from Fresno, Paul the boatman from somewhere in the southern San Joaquin Valley – the Helms – Cash and her husband – many more over the years. Some of whom showed up at Dorothy’s 90th a few years back in San Jose area.
The welcome smell of the inside of the cabins on our annual visit is something that I remember well – especially the cedar smell. The old 50’s style chairs with the metal rockers – scraping across the chartreuse floor in the kitchen. The old beds – the tall beds – throwing a sleeping bag on the dark green floor near the window because there weren’t enough beds in our cabin – listing to I think it was KRCW out of Reno at the times.
SF area columnist Adair Lara used to vacation there with her husband – she’s included mention of Tahoe Cedars in a book and some of her columns – here’s an old one: http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/ADAIR-LARA-Trees-Are-on-Fire-But-the-Forest-2826103.php
we spent many good times tcl. we visited every summer for 15 yrs and gradually moved into the double cabins in front..We would make our ‘reservation for the next year before we left. Dorothy always was so welcoming when we arrived it was like returning home. We have visited the area many times and all the good memories return. thank you Dorothy for the memories.
hi dave,
I was wondering if you would like a scanned copy of the brouchure for Tahoe cedars lodge??
John – thanks again for emailing those old brochures – I clearly remember them sitting in Dorothy’s office. I’ve posted them above for others to view.
Hi Dave. I wrote to you some years back, probably right after TCL closed forever in 2000. So happy to read these updates and even the newest one just over a week old by the late John Smith’s wife. We were yearly visitors for a week each summer from 1975-2000. “Same time next year” was our own story with friends we loved to see each year to reconnect and share those growing years. It was a lucky find for us and our 3 children… who arrived in 1976, 1977, and 1981. Our youngest, David, somehow won Dorothy’s heart that last year when his college essay was his tender hearted tale of TCL. So happy to know that Dorothy is about to celebrate another birthday… I think it will be her 94th. Although we still drive up from Southern California to Tahoe Tavern each summer, nothing can compare to those golden years at “The Lodge.” It was home.
My family loved Tahoe Ceders dearly. We spent every summer there for 35 summers. We stayed 2-3 days in the early years to a month in the latter years as my career and personal recourses allowed. Our first stay was in cabin #1, on the street and seemingly in the front door of the Golden Spike Saloon and then as our priority and status with Mrs. Smith improved we stayed in every cabin the the road down to the lake and ended up the last few years in Cabin A. John Smith and I went fishing many times, when our paths crossed. We thought the world of Mrs.Smith and Dorothy. The first few years we would rent a Lido 14 from Obexer’s and I would put my old 5hr. Johnson on it. Then I brought up our Lido 14 (sail boat). finally I brought up our 24 ft. twin screw Bayliner which was great for fishing and water skiing ,until is was to slow for the kids. You could not ask for more than Tahoe Cedars pier and bouys for boating. All you needed for the “cold” water was a good wet suit. We have 35 years of stories, adventures, and hundreds of 35mm slides. I would be happy to share any and all if you would like.
Thornton Garrett
Hi. I check your site occasionally to see what is going on with Tahoe Cedars. We only had 10 or 12 years there before Dorothy retired but our children grew up each summer with wonderful summer memories. We started in the middle duplex and ended in Cabin A across from the Smiths of Stockton. I remember when we “made” Dorothy’s Christmas card list! We were so excited! I often think of her and hope she is doing well. Please tell her hello from the Gordons of Carson City. One of the many memories I have is walking out of Cabin A to hang our beach towels on the wall by the little table & chairs, I came around the tree where the phone is and there was a bear! I yelled “bear” I think & everyone on the beach heard and ran out onto the pier while I ran in! Please let me know how I could send a card to Dorothy? Thanks!
Ruth – I will certainly pass on your comments to Dorothy via my mother who is in close contact with her. We will definitely say hello to her for you 🙂
Thanks for sharing the bear story. Of all the years we vacationed there, I never saw a bear once on the property although heard several stories like the one you mentioned.
Hi! I’m Shelby the daughter of john smith. So Mrs smith is my grandma and Dorothy is my aunt. Just went yesterday to spend the day at Meeks and of course had to go to the pizza place which doesn’t just serve pizza cause my daughter got a quesadilla. Little more pricey but enjoy memories. Did take a quick peek at the lodge but didn’t ask Aimee to go down cause I would have been disappointed. One cabin was open I thing 16 and 17 and it had spider webs and bugs and everything taken out of the cabins. There was a couch but that’s it. Do enjoy the pics! Your website is cool. I’m so glad I was able to spend a lot of my summers there. Met so many wonderful people. I didn’t get to be there when it closed cause I was finishing dental hygiene school. So still working as that and living in sparks. If I find pics I’ll post
My daughter, Valerie, forwarded this website last weekend.
What great memories were resurrected as I looked at all the photos.
Our family, husband, Max and daughters, Valerie, Debbie and Monica, went to TCL from 1971 through @1988 or ’89. A leisurely two week stay from late July through mid August was a highlight of our summers. The girls got ‘so excited’ when they could view the blue rooflines on our approach to TCL. After stopping at the Northshore for provisions, our first meal was always, ‘Texas Tacos’. A specialty dessert commanded mudpie from across the street . And ‘going out’ for a fancy meal each week, made us feel ‘celebratory’. But our main delight was just ‘fishing for crawdads, (Monica, age 3), playing table tennis and hide n seek, (Valerie & Debbie, with Clay (the Robinsons) and all the other 9, 10 to 12 year olds there each year. Even, summer budding boy-girl attractions were fostered.The parents just enjoyed the leisure time reading, and reconnecting each year. Not much swimming; the water was toooo cold.
My girls even enjoyed being ‘helpful’ on Saturdays, when housekeeping chores for ‘new arrivals’ were plentiful. Dorothy was so accommodating, and of course, Mrs. Smith was ‘wonderfully charming’, as we, too, stated, at the end of our stay, “Same time, same place, next year.”
The pictures of the pier would be nice to have, if available. So sorry to see its’ present condition. Affordable accommodations for young families like ours then, are not too likely in this day and age.
Happy Birthday, Dorothy
Fondly,
Mary Villa
I have many fond memories of vacationing at Tahoe Cedars Lodge with my mom, Audrey Graham (passed 6/2008). We always stayed at one of the cabins on the side with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with the kitchen in between. I think we went up there for at least 15 years, until around 1993 or so. We also booked for the next summer at the end of each stay. Dorothy was always so pleasant and kind to us and my mom always looked forward to seeing her each summer. We loved the beauty the property offered and I enjoyed sunbathing down by the lake. I will always remember Tahoe Cedars as the most wonderful vacation experience I’ve ever had. I only wish it was still open for vacationing.
Sincerely,
Cindy Gildea
Forty years ago, I took my bride to Lake Tahoe for the first time and we stayed at Tahoe Cedars. What a magical little place. We stayed in a cabin partway down the hill to the beach. I have pictures of us sitting out on a porch. I have seen it many times from behind the fence along the highway. I miss it. But I am grateful that I got to spend time in my younger years saying at some of the nicest Tahoe hotels…The Tahoe Tavern, Brockway Hot Springs..before they went away. I shall always hold a special place for Tahoe Cedars and the time my new wife and I spent several days there.
So glad to have found this site. I stayed at the Tahoe Cedars Lodge for many years with my family, up until it closed. We were heartbroken and all treasure such wonderful memories of our times there. We worked our way down from the road to Cabin A. We would sit and gaze at the lake from our chairs. There was a little table for games and snacks. We would arrive after a long drive, put the boat in the water and the vacation would begin. No driving, no phones, no t.v….. Just time to relax and be together, surrounded by such beauty. I have never found a replacement. Any ideas?
So wonderful seeing these pictures. I use to stay in the lower cabin (we called it the duplex) with my daughter when she was young. Have so great pictures of her playing in the lake. A good friend that had moved to the other side of the Sierra use to meet me there with her young daughter. Sometimes she would bring her grandma, sometimes I would bring my mom. Always family around and always a wonderful time. I recall Mrs. Smith walking the grounds everyday and stopping to talk to guests. Once you stayed at the place you always made sure to make your reservations for the the next stay before you left. It was such a simple and slower pace and such a relaxing vacation.
I am heartbroken to see these pictures and hear of the sad state of such a wonderful place. So many precious memories. Our family stayed in Cabin B every summer for many years. There will never be anything quite like it. Thanks for the update. And the pix….may have to venture up that way from Santa Barbara for one last look….
Linda – yes, the most powerful feelings of nostalgia and sadness swept over me during this latest visit in October 16. I’ve rarely felt something that strong. Lasted for several days afterwards 🙁
I stayed at Tahoe Cedars Lodge in the middle of June, 1979, when I travelled with my brother Richard back to Michigan, after I was Honorably Discharged from the United States Air Force at Vandenberg AFB, CA. We had just left Yosemite National Park after camping in Bridalveil Campground. I’ve recently decided to write my military memoirs down and have been taking a trip down memory lane. I found my brochure of the lodge in my military box and what wonderful memories came flooding back. I had to Google the lodge to see if it was still open. I remember coming over a mountain pass as we were driving to Lake Tahoe with snow still in the higher elevations. I thought it was the most beautiful place on earth. It has been so long ago, but I do remember the owners being so friendly to us. I remember asking if there was a boat we could rent to get out on the lake. They let us use a small rowboat which we throughly enjoyed. Thank you for the hospitality you showed us in our brief stay at the lodge. You were instrumental in making our trip home an enjoyable one. I lost my brother to cancer a few years ago, which makes those memories all the more memorable.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this weekend could very well be the last that Tahoe Cedars Lodge is left intact. May 1st is the official start of the build season in the Tahoe Basin, and from what I have heard, the developer who now owns the TCL property is ready to start demolition and construction of the six single family homes that have been in planning for a while. I have many fond memories of TCL from vacationing every year there with my family, starting at one year old in 1979 to closing, meeting up with the same friends there during those last two weeks of July and mostly staying in Cabin B. I go to the west shore often now with my wife and children to create our own new memories, but TCL will always be unique and special. Thank you Dave for keeping this page going, and of course to Dorothy for being such a wonderful host to me and my family!
Brian – just saw your note. Such a shame. Do you know if the lettering on the front cabin on the painted red separate piece of wood is still there like it was this past Fall still? If that is going to be placed in the dump with everything else, seems like that would be a good memento for someone with the permission from the builder.
Dave, I believe it was still there when I drove by last week. I don’t think the developer has touched anything yet from when you were there in October. There is still some snow on the ground from the heavy winter that also may slightly delay the start of demo. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.
Thanks Brian – I may try to get hold of them about keeping that sign. BTW my mom said she would call Dorothy and read your comments to her.
Hello to all TCL fans. I am new to the Tahoe Basin having bought a forest cabin in 2005 and have driven past the Tahoe Cedars Lodge and could just feel the magic that flowed from the land as we would drive by.
The past beauty of the place is obvious as one looks through windows and wanders through the rooms where the doors have been kicked open. I grew up in Carmel and have had to stand sadly by while the beautiful old homes of my home town have been torn down and had “quaintly designed” cottages erected. No more of the old character or feeling.
Now I see it happening with the once beautiful TCL. Sad. Why aren’t these places restored? The people who buy them have the money. Restoration would be so good for this area as it would be in Carmel. It’s all about the bottom line..
Thanks Dave, for all the info on the Tahoe Cedars Lodge. I think the red letters that spell out Tahoe Cedars should be in a museum.
Mike – could’t agree more. I talked to the developer about acquiring the sign last week – but apparently the cabins have now been torn down as of last weekend – and someone else already took the sign 🙁
I was just in Carmel earlier this month – hard to tell which homes are old and which homes are built to to look old there.
As coincidence would have it, my family and I arrived in Tahoma the afternoon of Monday, June 12 and drove past Tahoe Cedars just in time to see a man on a ladder removing the sign over the office. I was sure it was spoken for, but we roamed over the grounds, taking photos and picking up a few other souvenirs. No one chased us off, but a backhoe was in place ready to begin demolition the following day. Over the course of the week we were there the structures came down one by one, surprisingly quickly and easily considering the substantiality of the “rocks.” By the time we had to leave, almost all had been reduced to rubble but Cottages A and B. I couldn’t have borne to see those two icons go.
My husband and I discovered the lodge in 1984 on a trip through Gold Country when we stayed overnight in one of the rocks. I stepped out of the car, glimpsed the lake through the buildings and trees and said, “I’m home.” We returned for the next twelve years, renting Cottage B for the first two weeks of June and the last two weeks of September. It was idyllic off season without the crowds. Bert died of a heart attack there in June of 2001, the year Dorothy sold. My daughter and I returned that September, going down in history as the last two guests at Tahoe Cedars.
In the ensuing years I went back to the West Shore (best shore) sporadically, trying to rekindle the magic but always failing, and watching the beloved property molder. In the meantime I became seriously disabled, and this year the family proposed one final pilgrimage. I went in the company of both daughters, my 9-year-old granddaughter, and my male companion. We were totally ignorant that the property had changed hands again and was scheduled for imminent development. The demolition plus a severe bout of altitude sickness brought me closure, finality, and a sense of destiny. The lake was as beautiful as I’ve ever seen it, a brimming bathtub encircled by a pristine porcelain rim of snow. The wildflowers splashed the cerulean waterscape at Sugar Pine Point with lively color. The lengthening days chased the last vestiges of winter from the landscape, and the hot sun on cedars coaxed fragrant incense from the woods. We were all so lucky to have known and loved Tahoe Cedars, the last affordable place to experience that unique intimacy with the lake, now reserved only for the wealthy.
Many of you will remember Tish Baumgartner from Corvallis, Or. who was a regular at the lodge from the time of Mrs. Smith. She occupied Cottage A during our sojourns in B. We became fast friends and regarded Tahoe Cedars as our spiritual home. I recognized her as a kindred spirit when, upon leaving the lake, she cranked up Smetana’s “Die Moldau” on her car stereo. It was our theme song for the lake. I cannot listen to it now without tears welling. Her death of cancer in January of this year was a great shock and personal loss.
Cay Horner
San Jose, Ca.
Cay – I was going to drive up this past weekend from Los Angeles as I knew the cabins had already been demolished (only made it to Mammoth Lakes) – thanks for this very timely update. Sorry to hear Tish has passed on, I met her a number of times when our vacations overlapped. Must have been a shock to have seen the cabins completely destroyed. I called about getting the sign a month or so ago, wonder who actually ended up getting it. I was going to restore it and donate it to the chamber or someone in the area who could have displayed it. Oh well now 🙁
I’ll make sure your note reaches Dorothy who is getting well up in years now.
~ Dave
Cay Horner back with TWO priceless bear stories. Both occurred in late spring of two different years and involved Tish Baumgartner. I wish she were here to read these posts.
For many years Tish used her time at the lake to work on a novel she was writing. In warm weather she brought her manuscript down to the beach near the pier and sunbathed while she wrote while reclining on a chaise longue. She was quietly absorbed one morning when two bear cubs raced past her chair up the beach. She reasoned that where there were cubs there was also a mama bear, and SHE WAS BETWEEN THEM! Sure enough, she heard rustling in the underbrush behind her and out popped the mama. Tish left her perch with alacrity and ran out on the pier. Mama bear approached the chaise and picked up the tube of cocoa butter she had dropped, attempting to eat it. With great bravado and a dash of adrenalin Tish yelled to the bear, “You put that down; it’s not good for you!” The startled bear did as ordered, rejoined her cubs, and they all disappeared up the beach. When the coast was clear, Tish collected her belongings and retreated to Cottage A, doing no more writing that day.
Towards evening of another spring day while I was desultorily working on one of my ubiquitous jigsaw puzzles in the living room of Cottage B, there was a stentorious knock on the door and a breathless Tish announced that a mother bear and her THREE tar baby cubs were climbing a tall pine tree on the property next door alongside the fence. I grabbed my camera and rushed out, not anticipating the lesson in maternal bear behavior I was about to get. Mama bear was obviously exhausted from riding herd on three lively cubs and needed a nap. She herded the cubs ahead of her up the tree, then draped herself over the lowest crotch of the tree and went to sleep. The tiny indefatigable babies quickly ascended to the tippy top of the branches and played tag for at least an hour while Mama slept. The beauty of it was that they could not leave the tree without waking the babysitter! Eventually they grew bored, climbed down and cuffed Mother awake while she grudgingly grunted and slapped back, and they all descended. Me? I stood at the foot of the tree on the Tahoe Cedars side of the fence snapping pictures, ready to bolt into the linen room in the basement of Cottage A if necessary. I was too exhilarated to realize that I could not hold the door closed against the charge of a protective mother bear. But the story is not over yet! Mama bear led those three cubs down to the beach where she sat down with her back to the big cedar tree by the turnaround and nursed her babies just like a human mother!
Dave, I was thrilled to hear from your mother! Thanks for putting us in touch. TCL has been closed for sixteen years and suddenly I’m making new friends and sharing old stories! It’s been a comfort to help compensate for the devastating loss of Tish Baumgartner and the delayed shock of watching the demolition, knowing that that beloved vista is finally lost to us forever.
While I’m on an animal story roll, let me tell a bird tale. During the 90s Bert and I were always the first to occupy Cottage B in spring. One year I was awakened at dawn the first morning by a resounding crash at the bedroom window, followed at a few second intervals by regular bashes and bangs. I investigated and found a bird (it was too dark to see what kind) attacking its reflection in the window pane. To my horror the glass was covered in blood spots! I closed the curtains, deployed a stuffed owl inside the window, and did everything I could think of to discourage the masochistic bird, but every morning it continued its destructive behavior, and I lost my sleep and feared that the window would shatter. Finally I told the caretaker (whose name I don’t remember), and he lopped off the branch from which the bird was launching its attacks. The strategy did not work. The bird merely chose another branch. This continued for our entire two-week vacation, and for once I was happy to leave the lake and go home. I didn’t want to watch him beating his little brains out. We returned for the last two weeks of September and asked Dorothy what had happened to the aggressive avian. She didn’t know, but that night there was a knock on the door. It was the caretaker with a gift for me. He had taken a length of the branch, stripped off the bark, sanded and varnished the wood that was decorated with the tunnels of fir bark beetles, and then wrapped the ends with cord and leather to make a handsome walking stick for me! He knew that we hiked five or more miles every day and wanted me to have a remembrance of him and our bizarre experience that year. Of course I treasure it to this day, and it is a tangible memento of Tahoe Cedars. We never did discover what happened to the hapless bird! Did he survive the nesting season or meet his demise jousting with that phantom windowpane rival?
Mike and Beth Gilmore of Pebble Beach, who occupied the duplex catercornered from Cottage B overlooking the lake for the same weeks in the fall that we were there, spent their afternoons feeding peanuts to the raucous and belligerent Stellar’s jays. Mike loved to toss the nearly empty bags on the ground and watch their antics. The jays hopped right inside and scrambled frantically for the last few nuts. It was hysterically funny to watch those bags come to life and bounce animatedly all over the driveway powered by the big, squawking invisible fowl! Of course Mike retrieved the empty bags and disposed of them properly!
That reminds me of the dumpsters along the south property line. If you took out your garbage after dark it was not unusual to run into opportunistic bears peering over the fence, hoping you’d leave the lid open. Looking out the kitchen window into the circle of light cast by the bulb at the top of the big tree over the parking lot, you’d often seen droll raccoon families melting like molasses out of the tree shadows and romping endearingly in their masked faces and ringed tails after being released from their daytime treetop incarceration, then dispersing in all directions until Mother rounded them up at dawn. All day long they could watch us from their high perches but we were oblivious to them.
Ah, the windows in Cottage B! Where else, for that kind of money, could you find a bathroom with a bird’s eye view of Lake Tahoe where at any given moment you could watch boat traffic floating through the trees! You had your choice. You could nip down to the dock and gaze at the uncut gem in its many moods — or — you could glance out your windows or sit outside on the brow of the hill and contemplate the jewel in its setting. The best of both worlds — and it was ours for a finite time.
Cay Horner
Demished! That’s so sadcto hear. I had been holding on, hoping that haybe it would be fixed up. I wpuld have loved to have taken my kids there like I had gone. Every summer in June we would stay for two weeks.
My family has been coming to Lake Tahoe since before I was born. I am 66 years old. My parents started going to Tahoe Cedars after Tahoma Lodge closed. My parents loved taking their boat over to Chambers Landing for a friendly drink. I know Dorothy will remember my parents, Don and Enid Parker because they had standing reservations at Tahoe Cedars Lodge every summer. I am here in Lake Tahoe right now with my own family, but we always stay at Brockway Springs. We love Lake Tahoe and are passing that love on to our children and grandchildren.
Nancy Parker Patterson.
My husband and I worked for Dorothy for the 1995 season at Tahoe Cedars. Loved that woman! And the place, my goodness! We lived above the garage in a little 2 room apartment, and cleaned rooms (we used to jokingly call my husband John “King John”), fixed problems and did Odd jobs for Dorothy as she needed them. We were newlyweds trying to leave the hustle and bustle of San Francisco, and boy, did we succeed by living at TCL for 6 months. 22 years later, and I still look at that time as one of the best of my life!
Shelby, if you read this post, we helped set up your wedding on the pier that summer! It was our only rain that summer!
I am so sorry to see that someone wasn’t able to buy the property and restore it. Tahoe Cedars, Dorothy, and all the families who stayed there that season will always occupy a special place in my heart.
This note is for Amy McKaig. In a previous post I told the tale of a self-destructive bird who attacked my bedroom window in Cottage B and of how the caretaker that year fashioned a walking stick for me out of the tree branch from which the bird launched his attacks. The year may well have been 1995. I do remember that the caretakers that year were a young couple and only stayed for one season. It was after the Meverdens and before Darlene and Jim. Amy, it may have been your husband who made me that walking stick! Wouldn’t that be a rare coincidence that we connected again after all these years. That’s the kind of magic Tahoe Cedars had and adds to its unforgettable lore. I hope you see this post (perhaps Dave can call your attention to it via email) and will ask your husband to confirm whether he was that thoughtful woodworker who spent his summer peeling, sanding and varnishing that cherished piece of memorabilia. If so, I’m forever in his debt! I’d love to hear from you. TCL lives posthumously in our hearts and minds!
Cay Horner
I want to recommend a movie filmed in Tahoma in 2000, the year before Tahoe Cedars was sold, called THE DEEP END, starring Tilda Swinton. It’s suspenseful, so I won’t reveal what it’s about. The familiar blue roofs cannot be seen, but the protagonist jogs along Highway 89 right in front of Tahoe Cedars. You will recognize her crossing Pine St. where it goes down to Water’s Edge condos, passing the El Dorado/Placer county line sign on the south side and the locksmith shop on the north corner adjacent to Tahoe Cedars. The film family, the Halls, lives at 7087 West Lake Blvd. just south of Sugar Pine Lakeside. You will recognize the garage located on the road (with a blue Corvette parked in front of it). Across the highway is the bike path to Sugar Pine Point. If you walked that as often as we did you will recognize several landmarks, including Sonoma Pines cottages and Cut-Rite Tree Service, if you look quickly or pause the DVD! It’s a good movie but has one graphic adult scene.
Hi all,
Tahoe Cedars Lodge was the most wonderful place ever! My first visit there was when I was 3 months old. I had the opportunity to stay there every summer for 48 years, what a gift. I continued my relationship with Dorothy Rayner even after TCL closed. I wanted to let you all know that Dorothy passed away yesterday 09/27/2019. She had all her wits about her until the end. She passed peacefully. We will carry all these wonderful memories of TCL forever!
Dave — thank you for the updates and for capturing the history and memories of TCL. Like everyone, my best girl friends and I have amazing memories of that place and of Dorothy and her enormous reservation books.
Kathleen — thank you for providing the sad update on Dorothy’s passing.
I just stumbled on this site while browsing…. what a great surprise! We used to stay at Tahoe Cedars in the mid to late 1980s…Some where I have a lot of pictures taken then..not to self… find and scan those pictures! I have at least one of my son sitting on the dock bench next to Mrs. Smith that must have been taken just before she passed.
Hi Dave. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. My husband (Wolf) and his family started annual trips to Tahoe Cedars in 1958. I joined them in 1965; my husband and I spent our honeymoon there in 1967, and we continued annual trips there for the next 5 years. Our last visit was in about 1983. Wolf and John Smith enjoyed teen- age summers there – water skiing and cruising the lake in John’s car.
I am hoping that someone reading this may have known Wolf and his family (probably remembered as the German family) and that someone may have an interior photo of one of the stone cottages. Hope some of the “ old timers are still around. My husband and I are in our later 70’s now. Such a happy place for all of us.
Wish I could share the many memories I have of Aunt Dorothy big smile, energy, and summer stays at her cabins in the 1970’s with my daughter. Looking at the pictures defiantly brings tears to my eyes. It really is too bad the place could not have stayed in the family. I will always remember staying with Dorothy, fishing from the dock, and spending hours on the beach.
I went to Aptos Junior High School with John Smith and he invited me to spend a week there in the early 1950’s.
We went water skiing and fishing everyday. This was a wonderful time and very special for me. We slept in a travel
trailer on the property as all the cabins were full. I never forgot this, it was a highlight for a young kid. If there is an
Email for John, I would send him a note of appreciation.