The perfect beginning is about to conclude.
Somewhere in your wallet may well be a photo you can’t seem to let go of. It’s that first grade photo of the daughter who’s now a senior in high school. You blinked and she grew up. In a few months, she’s off to college. Then on with life. And in the meantime you shake your head, smile reflectively and mutter that cliché, “They grow up way too fast.” All while clutching that image that’s too precious to release.
We know the feeling.
Our well-worn memory is that of a couple visionaries climbing trees and imagining homes here, a golf course there, a ski lift up there, a Camp Lodge, a spa, and a Family Barn that would ring long into the night with the laughter of family. It was 2006 and they were gazing down on 2,177 acres of pine trees, aspen groves and wandering streams. By June, shovels hit dirt, hammers found nails and a place called Martis Camp was coming to life.
That was our first grade snapshot, taken in the midst of heady economic times. Fortunately, the dream of Martis Camp was far more solid than the reality of our economy. In 2008, while more estates were rising from the forest, our trail system was in place, Tom Fazio’s masterpiece was completed, the Lost Library was opened and the Dick Bailey Putting Park was entertaining kids and adults alike.
A year later, more homes were taking shape as the Family Barn was raised on a July afternoon. By year’s end, the Golf Starter Pavilion was built, the Sports Field was in place, and skiers were celebrating miles of cross-country trails and the arrival of the Martis Camp Express Chairlift. We were getting a little older. And a whole lot prettier.
In 2011, our Park Pavilion and Camp Lodge were opened. The following year we added Lookout Lodge and the Tennis Pavilion. All the while, more and more owners were opening the doors to their dreams. And this year, the Springs Park Pavilion, Aerial Adventure Park, and Beach Shack on Lake Tahoe all debuted.
And what’s happened in the midst of all this hustle and bustle? A little thing called life. Like the girl with the first grade smile, we grew up in the blink of an eye. The map that began with 671 homesites is now flush with “sold” pins and only 85 properties remain. Today, the “pioneer neighbors” of Martis Camp can reflect on the maturation of a dream while newcomers pose before their homes or their properties of forest and sky and relish in the peace of knowing that, while life sails by much too quickly, the picture of perfection — like that little girl in the depths of your wallet — only gets better with age.
ABOUT MARTIS CAMP:
Martis Camp is a private gated community located between Truckee and North Lake Tahoe in the Martis Valley. Situated on 2,177 acres with sweeping topography, the land itself embraces the true essence of High Sierra living. A year round community with 671 homesites, Martis Camp Club offers private ski access via the Lookout Lodge and Martis Camp Express Lift to Northstar California™ in winter and a Tom Fazio 18 hole golf course in the summer. Martis Camp Club members enjoy a vast array of amenities including the Family Barn complex with swimming, a bowling alley, art loft, movie theater, indoor basketball court, soda fountain and outdoor performance amphitheater; an 18-hole putting park; Sporting fields and pavilions; the Beach Shack on the shores of Lake Tahoe; Camp Lodge with dining venues, club spa and fitness center and vitality pools; Folk School; Lost Library; 26 miles of private trails for hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing and a private mountain clubhouse at the base of Lookout Mountain.
