Baby You Can Light My Fire

Want to go on a date that will really get your heart pumping? Strap on your snowshoes and hoof it to Angora Ridge Fire Lookout. You’ll climb for nearly 2 miles in this workout that’s a guaranteed calorie-burner. In summer, you can drive to the lookout’s high perch, but in winter, Angora Ridge Road is snow-blanketed and gated—the exclusive domain of snowshoers and skiers. Savor a mellow warm-up as the road cruises past an aspen-lined meadow. Soon enough, the grade changes from level to steep as you ascend through a pine and fir forest dotted with granite boulders. Enjoy the quadriceps pump and glimpses of mighty Mount Tallac, the South Shore’s highest peak. Keep climbing until the road tops out at Angora Ridge, elevation 7,260 feet, home of the 1920s fire lookout. Snowshoe around the buildings to enjoy a stunning bird’s-eye vista of Fallen Leaf Lake, 1,000 feet below.

From Hwy. 50 and Emerald Bay Road (the “Y”) in South Lake Tahoe, head west on Lake Tahoe Blvd. for 2.4 miles to Tahoe Mountain Rd., then turn right. Drive 1 mile, turn right on Glenmore Way, then left on Dundee Cir. (follow signs for Fallen Leaf Lake and Angora Ridge). Park near the gated road/trail. Dog-friendly!