Our story begins long before we broke ground on the Cedar House Sport Hotel in 2004.  It is rooted in who we are and how we have been challenged, grown and benefited from spending time in nature.  It is both that simple and complex.

Let’s begin with where we are today – It is our belief that the psyche connects to all things real.  The materials chosen for the Cedar House promote harmony between the structure and the natural world.  Aesthetically, we know hotels need to be warm and inviting, but they should also transcend the function of shelter into an experience.  Design plays a vital role in the underlying theme of the Cedar House – which is all about connections.  The Cedar House is an active lifestyle hotel complete with avant-garde restaurant, well-equipped event center, enriching yoga space and in-house adventure guiding company that connects people to the Sierra Nevada as well as magnificent natural places in the West.

While designing spaces and choosing materials, our interest and understanding of green building principles continued to expand and continues to be one of our passions. When we purchased the property in the 1980’s, there was a partially completed foundation.  At that time, there was also building moratorium, and the town wasn’t as nearly upscale as it is today.  We intended to create a hostel-like place where young people could congregate between skiing, hiking and playing in the great outdoors.  The moratorium ended at a time when Truckee began attracting a larger affluent clientele, and we made the decision to raise the caliber of the Cedar House as well as incorporate an event center and stellar restaurant.  We designed the Cedar House with architect Ken Meffan of Rough and Ready.  The hotel opened in 2006, the event center in 2007, Stella in 2008 and we purchased Tahoe Trips & Trails in 2011.

Nestled amongst towering pine trees in historic Truckee, CA, our award winning boutique inn was influenced by our experiences in family owned and operated chalets in the European Alps.  Often the front desk clerk, who also happened to be the owner’s son, took us skiing and then we’d see him or another family member serving dinner.  We’d receive recommendations on where to visit and where to eat based on experience gathered from generations.  The Cedar House is a reflection of our European experience.  As a family owned business, we offer something many large corporations cannot: Exceptional service with attention to personal details.  We make the effort to acknowledge specials occasions during our guests’ visits, we invite guests to explore our favorite trails and offer guided excursions on a regular basis.

Whether the focus is exclusively pleasure, business or a healthy combination of both, the Cedar House provides an organic setting where life is always an adventure.  Our stellar dining, truly comfortable accommodations, and enriching outdoor adventures are unsurpassed.  We invite guests from near and far to quench  their thirst for natural thrills, fulfill their craving for unique flavor and, at the end of the day, sink into the comfort of luxurious pillow top mattress under a down comforter.

Our Background

Patty grew up on Okinawa and began visiting Lake Tahoe and Truckee in her mid 20’s after living in Alaska for three years.  She thrives on big idea thinking yet also has a knack for perfecting the details.  Each guest experience and each event – whether it is a wedding weekend, backpacking adventure or week-long corporate gathering – receives her personal attention.  When she’s not creating the ultimate guest experience, she’s hiking, skiing, enjoying time with or diving into a Huffington Post article or new book.

Jeff’s childhood days were full of making discoveries along the winding trails in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  Fascinated by design and building from a young age, he parlayed his skills and interests into JB Construction and built custom homes as a general contractor based in Grass Valley before the Bairds made Truckee their primary home in 2004.

During the years Jeff and Patty lived in Nevada City they made frequent trips to the mountains and have had a home in Truckee since 1996.  Prior to designing and building homes with Jeff, Patty was a commercial lender as a Citibank account executive.  Patty and Jeff met over business and the rest, as they say, is history.  The Cedar House is so much more than the Baird’s business.  It is also their home.  Stella, their kitchen, and the great Sierra Nevada, their expansive backyard.

Green building and sustainability are not just catch phrases; it is the way our society – today and in the future – will need to operate in times of resource scarcity and economic necessity.

Sue Duerksen – President  |  Sierra Green Building Association  |  Case Study 2008

Building Construction Type:
Stick frame construction with fiberglass insulation.

Site Use and &Protection Measures Before & During Construction (LEED Cat I):
One year before construction owner completed grading, drainage and construction of a retention pond in front of the structure; so all of the run-off water was retained on-site

Outdoor & Indoor Water Efficiency Measures in Project (LEED Cat II):
Water draining off green roof goes through gutters down a hanging chain to the landscaping below. The landscaping is sloped so that the runoff water helps water the landscaping due to the outward facing slope.

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Measures Used in Project (LEED Cat III):

• Wood–framed Low-E and solar tinted windows
• Every light fixture on the property is fluorescent or low voltage; no incandescent lights
• All lights have photo sensors and timers on them
• Cellulose insulation in the ceilings and blown-in fiberglass in the walls

Space & Water Heating Systems:
The buildings are designed so that everything happens from the center of each building. As a result there is no plumbing on exterior walls for saving energy and freeze protection.

The hotel uses a Rinnai tankless boiler system. Due to the design of the building there are very short footage runs from each hot water heater to each showerhead. Each building has 3 instantaneous hot water heaters for the potable water system and one Bideras instantaneous heater for the hydronic space heating system.

They were originally concerned when designing the system that the instantaneous hot water heaters may not keep up with customer hot water demand, especially due to the very cold water coming in from the street. So in order to help out the instantaneous domestic hot water heaters, the system was designed to come through a water jacket on the hydronic floor system holding tank before proceeding to the hot water heaters. This design allowed the temp of the incoming water to be heated up to a luke-warm temperature before entering the Rinnai instantaneous heaters, helping lessen the cold temperature extremes the heaters had to heat.

The Rinnai system allows each tankless water heater to “talk” to each other heater as the demand on them increases or decreases. This is an extremely energy efficient system which currently runs off natural gas, but at any time can be converted over to solar hydronic.

The hydronic in-floor heating system provides a minimum level of heating for both the hallways and each room. If a customer wants more heat in a room, a secondary ceiling mounted fan-powered hydronic system picks up the slack. Within moments of turning up the in-room thermostat, the secondary system has adjusted the room temperature to desired setting.

Green Materials & Green Measures Implemented in Project (LEED Cat IV):
Green Roof over reception/check-in area. All of the cedar exterior siding and logs came from a re-forestation project and was milled in Camptonville, CA by Moonshine Reforestation

Indoor Environmental Considerations Used in Project (LEED Cat V):
Everything used in all the interior spaces was installed and the doors of the building were left open for over a month to allow everything to outgas prior to occupation.

• Low VOC carpeting and draperies
• Richlite paper-based countertops
• Very nice plywood cabinets
• Wall mounted toilets and free floating cabinetry allow for quick and easy cleaning of the bathrooms without mold concerns.

Community Ties  |  The connection between the Cedar House Sport Hotel’s philanthropy and environment ethos is unmistakable.  The hotel’s primary beneficiaries do exceptional work in the region and possess a strong environmental stewardship ethos.

Adventure Risk Challenge
Adventure Risk Challenge seeks to improve literacy and life skills, expose youth to a range of wilderness experiences and inspire the confidence they need to envision and accomplish goals, succeed in high school and become engaged, empowered citizens.

Mountain Area Preservation Foundation
Active since 1987, MAPF is an advocate for smart-growth.  The foundation works to preserve, protect and enhance the region’s natural environment by ensuring new development is environmentally sensitive.

Pacific Crest Trail Association
The Pacific Crest Trail Association is a fraternity of trail lovers at its core, focusing on preserving, protecting and promoting the PCT.  From shore to shore, they champion the needs of the Pacific Crest Trail as a precious gift to future generations.

Sierra Business Council
Committed to pioneering innovative solutions throughout the Sierra Nevada, the Sierra Business Council fosters vibrant communities, fair and prosperous economies and thriving ecosystems.  Their motto is “When all three thrive, everyone wins.”

Tahoe Rim Trail Association
TRTA was started in 1981 to construct and maintain the Tahoe Rim Trail that loops around Lake Tahoe.  Did you know the 165-mile long, single-track Tahoe Rim Trail overlaps with fifty miles of the Pacific Crest Trail?

Truckee Donner Land Trust
The Land Trust works with diverse stakeholders to create win-win situations for private and public interests to preserve and protect areas with high natural resource value.

Truckee River Watershed Council
The Watershed council is committed to restoring , protecting and enhancing the Truckee River watershed.

Truckee Trails Foundation
Truckee Trails creates earthen and paved trails for walking, hiking, wheelchairs and bikes.  We are big advocates of the Foundation’s goal to connect people and places and the trail building and maintenance work they do.