Tahoe hiking guides
Four ways to find nice trails near
Lake Tahoe at rei.com.
I’ve done a bunch of road trips up to Lake Tahoe but I’ve never gotten on any of the trails, so I’m looking for suggestions.
Tahoe strikes me as a great location for adding a hike to an all day road trip: you just dash up I-80 from the Bay Area, hit the hills near Tahoe for about a half-dozen miles and head back. Granted, it’d be a long day but it wouldn’t be near the challenge of trying the same thing at Yosemite, where it’s five hours to the High Country trails.
Most of you have done this a few times, I suspect. Add your thoughts in the comments.
I love the Rubicon Trail from DL Bliss State Park to Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay. I believe its about 5 miles or so one way. The trail hugs the lake and provides excellent scenery and photographic opportunities.
Just my two cents!
Rubicon rocks, no doubt about that….Tom, you’ve just got to do this hike. Easy access, moderate to strenuous activity, wonderful scenery, water, mountains, big and old trees! Read about it my post:
http://gambolinman.blogspot.com/2007/08/lake-tahoe-area-hiking-and-scrambling.html
It’s a great time to go Tom. There’s still snow (but not enough that you need snowshoes) and the streams and waterfalls are still in full-flow.
This week we did Pyramid Creek/Horsetail Falls for the first time and it really surprised us. The trailhead is just off 50, which is one of the reasons we’ve put off this hike, but trust me – it’s worth it. Also, the falls are really gushing right now. I’m still working on the photos/article for it (maybe some going up on Flickr tonight), so I’ve included an advance link to the Google Map trail ..
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=115843864750153997891.00046b91aeafac24b8ce9&z=15
(5 stars, 3 miles)
Also south of Tahoe there’s Round Top (nr. Kirkwood) which has some spectacular alpine lakes as well as a great views from the summit of the mountain ..
http://www.trailspotting.com/2008/06/round-top-winnemucca-lake.html
(4 stars, 6½ miles)
If you’re coming in on the 80, I’d recommend Mt. Judah off US40 which overlooks Donner Lake. There should still be some snow up there, which makes the trail even more fun ..
http://www.trailspotting.com/2008/01/mount-judah.html
(5 stars, 5½ miles)
Oh .. and remember to take the bug spray if you’re heading to Tahoe this weekend.
IMO The easiest most spectacular hike is from emerald bay to eagle lake….I always like the N’rn portions of the lake around Mt Rose Wilderness….Mt Tallac has a great view, I am going up there to photograph the fireworks…..you can take a water taxi across echo lake and reach Lake Aloha within a couple of miles…..if you head up 50 I hear horsetail falls is pretty spectacular around this time of year…there is shirley lake in the squaw valley area and I always enjoy hiking up to five lakes from Alpine meadows.
> Oh .. and remember to take the bug spray if you’re heading to Tahoe this weekend.
Um, maybe not this weekend.
It’s ~37 degrees out and I’ve not seen a single mosquito all week.
(And its pretty much rained/sleeted every day this week)
@fedak
I have the bug bites to prove it after spending a weekend up in Desolation Wilderness. Then again, those bitey buggers seem to have a thing for my English blood …
Oh, they’ll be out in force soon enough (and probably have been out earlier)-
But this cold snap seems to have killed everything off for the moment.
And, FWIW, I wouldn’t go *anywhere* in the Sierras before August without bringing a headnet and DEET.
You never know when/where they’ll hit peak, but you don’t want to be there unprotected when they do.
I was pretty shocked to see so many mosquitos out this early as well we ran into numerous swarms typical of what you expect in mid July
Zero skeeters all day in Tuloumne today until I got back to the car around 4 when there were mobs.
The sub zero nights seem to be killing them, but it looks like they’ll be back with a vengance once it warms up. All the recent rain should give us a bumper crop too 🙁
I did four hikes over Labor Day weekend last year in Lake Tahoe. I agree with those who favor the Emerald Bay hike but I also really enjoyed the Loch Leven Lakes hike. http://www.hikingheels.com/tag/lake-tahoe/
My faves in/near Tahoe are:
– Mt. Rose (10mi, not steep, great flowers & views)
– Mt. Tallac from Fallenleaf Lake (7mi, steep, wonderful views)
– Sagehen Creek (super easy/flat, family & dog friendly, one of the best wildflower hikes I’ve done – I do it every year for the past 7 years now)
If you’re around the area on Independence Day, climb Fourth of July Peak, just west of Round Top near Kirkwood
I’ve avoided the Rubicon & Emerald Bay areas so far because they’re so crowded – one of these days….
i’m looking for the perfect scenic spot to propose in july. heavenly gondola? is there a place more private/ less commercial? we’re not going to be prepared to do any serious hike but we’re certainly able to around. any advice would be awesome. thanks.
::brian
Since you’re only going up for a day, you won’t be acclimatized, so I wouldn’t recommend anything *too* strenuous. So that probably rules out Mt. Tallac or Mt. Rose (which are great hikes).
If you want something right off I-80, I’d recommend Andesite Peak (4.0 miles, 1090 feet of climbing) or Castle Peak (more strenuous, 6.5 miles, 1995 feet). But I’ve only done those in winter, not sure what they’re like in summer.
If you’re willing to drive just a *little* further, Five Lakes near Alpine Meadows would be a nice choice (5.0 miles, 1205 feet), though it can get crowded.
Personally I never go up for just one day, but if I had to, I’d probably be more likely to choose the Kirkwood area, since it’s a slightly shorter drive and you have a few more options in the Mokelumne Wilderness.
http://kevingong.com/Hiking/LakeTahoeHikes.html