East Slope Area:

The east slope of the Sierra Nevada is our neighborhood version of “Big Sky Country” on a more intimate and down-home friendly scale. Once you drop east off the Sierra Crest, the mountains rapidly become smaller, more gentle, the canyons smaller, the valleys larger. The pine trees are smaller, the sagebrush smaller yet; the locals larger than life.

Lounging comfortably on the lee side of the Sierra Crest, our East Slope Area rests its head in the Sierra Valley near Sierraville and its toes dangle just above the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Truckee is the hand-carved, shiny belt buckle and rests at the perfect location to scratch anyone’s needs. One elbow of our East Slope Area is propped up on the Sierra Crest on the west to drink the cool, clear waters tumbling into the valleys. The other arm points to the east as far as the eye can see into the Great Basin of Nevada. This is country to stretch out in -- or to stretch your imagination of all the recreational possibilities.

Fishing is big over here. So are many of the fish. Fly fishing intimate streams like Sage Hen or the Little Truckee River are classics. The bigger Truckee River is still small enough to be fun and large enough to attract the biggest fly fishing fans and still bigger fish. Reservoirs like Stampede grow bragging-sized Mackinaws as does Donner Lake -- just on a smaller scale. Prosser and Boca Reservoirs are friendly, family fishing lakes. Independence Lake and Martis Reservoir are renowned fisheries.

The East Slope has a western feel to it. Horses like the country as much as people do. The Little Lasier Meadows Horse Camp offers 4-star accommodations and setting for horses. The nearby Pacific Crest Trail is a 5-star ride. The Commemorative Emigrant Trail offers a loping-along kind of ride across the wide, rolling valley of the Little Truckee River basin. The trail follows a small part of the California Emigrant Trail. Riders can easily relate to the trials of the original pioneers that took their stock across the valley -- all the time warily looking up toward the snowy top of the Sierra Crest that lay ahead of them.

High-octane horse-power is big over here also. Motorized, off-highway vehicle (OHV) fans enjoy the many miles of designated routes that find their way through the relatively open country. The Bear Valley OHV Loop Trail is a great place to tune up your skills and your vehicle. The Prosser Hill Staging Area is the start of several routes into the Prosser Hill, Sagehen Hills, and Billy Hill areas. On the other side of the broad valley is the Verdi Range with several pleasant back-road adventures that are family-sized for a Sunday Drive.

Peddle-power is the growing attraction. The Sawtooth Ridge has become classic as it offers go-for-it connections to North Star and Squaw Valley ski areas that cater to mountain biking crowds in the summer. Lake Tahoe lies just over the gentle rim to the south. The rolling hills between the reservoirs north of Truckee offer all-out runs that take riders through the open pines and gentle hills all the way north to Sardine Peak.

Truckee is situated perfectly. It revels in the fun of playing the perfect host to the wide variety of outdoor enthusiasts. Hospitality is big in the little town of less than 10,000 -- seemingly right-sized to offer almost everything -- even an occasional traffic jam when the train comes through town at the same time Lake Tahoe visitors are heading home.

For the original pioneers and gold seekers from the eastern United States, the East Slope is where California began. Nor is it a bad place to end SierraOutdoorRecreations.com’s exploration to date of our little corner of the Sierra Nevada.