Jared Manninen

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I’m an artist and writer who lives at Lake Tahoe. And like most artists, I’ve experimented with countless mediums and studied various subject matters in search of my voice. I’ve endured one short-lived career after another in pursuit of finding a purpose to my life. Despite all of my searching, however, the one theme in my life that’s remained constant has been my love of outdoor adventure. Simply put, playing outside fuels my creativity and inspires me to learn and live my life to the fullest. So, it was when I moved to Lake Tahoe (on a whim!) in 2005 and found myself living in a year-round, outdoor playground that I could feel the gears of fate beginning to gather momentum. Although it’s taken me many years to finally be able to call a place home and just as long for me to achieve creative alignment in my life, it’s been worth the ride.

The long and the short of it is that I love living at Lake Tahoe. I’m an avid hiker and cross-country skier, an amateur naturalist, and I also work in the outdoor recreation industry. As a result of this immersive experience my art, photography, and writing reflects my appreciation for Lake Tahoe and the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains, Tahoe’s local and natural history, and my overall love of outdoor adventure. Just in case you’re not reading between the lines at this point, let me clarify …

The purpose behind my art is not only to share my love of Lake Tahoe but, more importantly, to inspire you to go outside and have your own adventures.

I don’t care if your adventure consists of taking a 15-minute walk through your local park or by spending six months thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. There’s nothing more inspiring or enlightening than spending time outdoors exploring the natural world. And if you don’t make the effort to live life outside (at least on some level), you won’t have any incentive to preserve open space and wild land for future generations.

Although I still produce art in other genres and mediums, you can find my most inspired and comprehensive work at my outdoor-related blog Tahoe Trail Guide. Visit the Art & Design page to see portfolios of my past work, such landscape paintings and portraiture, the Color the Tahoe Rim Trail coloring book I self-published in 2017, or the illustrated memoir I self-published in 2011 titled MEGA ’99: Adventures of an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker. To order Tahoe Swag or, in other words, prints and merchandise of my art, photography, and design projects featuring Lake Tahoe and Sierra Nevada-related subjects, visit my RedBubble account.

Stay in touch with me by signing up for my monthly newsletters, following me on social media, posting comments on this website, or messaging me via the contact page.