Alpine organization sues to open trail to Pleasant Valley
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – A lawsuit challenging private landowners’ barring of access to Alpine County’s Pleasant Valley has been filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of the Friends of Hope Valley.
Claiming that the valley south of Grover Hot Springs was a public access point before landowners gated it in 1999, attorneys for the group have filed to have the trail reopened.
“This case represents a clear violation of the public’s right to have access to trails where there is a long history of use by the public,” said attorney Matthew Zinn of the San Francisco law firm of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. The law firm of Kerr & Wagstaffe has also been engaged by the Friends of Hope Valley.
The group is seeking past trail users to appear as witnesses in the case.
The Friends of Hope Valley said they worked to persuade the Dressler family to voluntarily reopen access to the Pleasant Valley trails for public use, but despite years of attempts to find a resolution, this gateway to public lands remains closed.
According to Zinn, any land in California that was open to public access for five continuous years before 1972, can’t be closed to the public.
“The public’s right to access public trails, even where they pass through otherwise private land, is firmly established in California state law,” he said. “There is ample evidence demonstrating many decades of public use of the trails, according to the Friends of Hope Valley.”
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond make the Tahoe Tribune's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.
User Legend: Moderator
Trusted User
Incline grad carries weights around Tahoe for veterans
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Instead of sitting at home doing nothing during the pandemic, one Incline Village man decided to get out and be active for a good cause.