Geotourism: A great new reason to visit Lake Tahoe

Quick: When you hear the phrase "Lake Tahoe," what's the first thing that comes to your mind? If you said "skiing" or "casinos," you'd respond as probably 99 percent of Bay Area residents do. If you said "geography," "sustainability" or "culture," you'd be among the minority, but you'd be onto a great new idea.

This time of year, the powdery snow is beautiful, crisp and refreshing on the Lake Tahoe slopes. Many thousands of Bay Area visitors make the mountainous Tahoe ski resorts their homes-away-from-home during the winter months. They add to the region's economy, but exhaust fumes from their personal cars degrade the environment. In summer, another enormous influx of visitors comes to literally play on the Lake. The summer crowd fills the hotels and casinos with business, but their motorboats downgrade the quality of Tahoe's pristine, clear water. With three million annual visitors clustered into two seasons, the Lake Tahoe region is struggling to maintain its environmental sustainability. But what about the off-season? Would it be worth a visit?

Go here for the full story that appeared in the Huffington Post.