Glen Hampton, a Forest Service employee and avid backcountry hiker, envisioned an environmentally sensitive trail encircling Lake Tahoe along the ridgetops, offering a challenging hike with sweeping views of mountaintops, lakes, and forests. He began designing the trail as a graduate student and later as a guest instructor at the University of Nevada-Reno, and after developing a proposal, The Tahoe Rim Trail – a Hiking Adventure, and marketing materials with his students, the project moved toward reality. Nevada State Parks, the USDA Forest Service, the local community, and outdoor groups supported the effort. In 1982, the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund board of directors held its first meeting, and by September 2001 the 165-mile trail was completed. Today, the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, working with Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park and the US Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, maintains the trail, oversees its use, and works to protect it. The Tahoe Rim Trail recently received national status as a National Recreation Trail. Although the initial work is complete, the trail requires constant maintenance and occasional rerouting. The Tahoe Rim Trail offers opportunities from jogging to horseback riding, with mountain biking allowed on various sections, though the segment from Tunnel Creek north to Tahoe Meadow is open to bikes on even days only and the segment from this trailhead north to Hobart Road is closed to bikes because of environmental concerns. Dogs are welcome, but the trail passes through sensitive wildlife habitats, so they should be kept within sight and under voice command at all times.