Growing up on the West Shore, hiking in Lake Tahoe’s woods and spending afternoons wading in high altitude lakes were things I took for granted. In hindsight, I was one lucky kid to have the endless trails in Tahoe just out my back door and I realized it as soon as I moved away. (Which is why I moved back home to Tahoe immediately after college.) Tahoe offers a plethora of scenic trails in the woods for both the avid hiker and the young family. For this post, I thought I would outline a few of my favorite family hikes in Lake Tahoe from when I was a kid. These easy-to-moderate trails are great day hikes with excellent destinations. Some are more crowded than others. But they all offer spectacular views, and most a nice cool body of water to dip your feet — or for the kids, to splash in feet first.

Angora Lakes

Photo Credit: Ktpdancer/Flickr Creative Commons

A gradual two-mile-or-so hike takes you to the two Angora Lakes, which are located above Fallen Leaf Lake. Both lakes are beautiful, but it’s the upper lake that you should hike to. Nestled in a glacially carved basin surrounded by Echo Peak and Angora Peak, the upper Angora Lake features a sandy beach, cool waters, and rocks — even large cliffs for those more experienced — to jump off of. You probably won’t find complete solitude on this popular hike, but you will find fresh-squeezed lemonade and paddle boat rentals operated by Angora Lakes Resort, a string of rustic cabins that have hosted guests since the 1920s.

Directions to the trailhead are a bit confusing, and I can’t guarantee signs. But take Fallen Leaf Road off of Highway 89, turn left on Tahoe Mountain Road, and then right on Angora Ridge Road. Follow Angora Ridge Road until you reach the parking area where the trailhead is located.

Eagle Lake

If you just have an afternoon (preferably on a less-crowded weekday), Eagle Lake is a great place to take the family. Located on the edge of Desolation Wilderness, this lake is very popular, and rightfully so. It’s a quick hike that’s not too steep. And the setting is spectacular with views of Emerald Bay on the way up and plenty of beach next to the lake. Bring your dog and throw a stick in the water. And don’t forget your bathing suit. You’ll find the trailhead in Emerald Bay. This is also one of the biggest access points to Desolation if you’re feeling like a longer hike and bigger adventure.

Vikingsholm and the Rubicon Trail

Take a stroll down history lane on this trail. Start at the top of Emerald Bay and walk down a wide dirt road to the famous Vikingsholm Mansion, where the infamous Mrs. Knight spent her summers and entertained guests in the early 1900′s. This Victorian mansion looms over the beach of one of the most famous landmarks in Lake Tahoe. A few hundred feet off shore sits the island, where Mrs. Knight hosted afternoon tea. There are plenty of trails that weave around the mansion, and you can walk up to Eagle Falls from here. But for those with a full day and more energy, I would highly recommend the Rubicon Trail.

You’ll find the trail weaving its way north from Vikingsholm. It follows one of the most dramatic shorelines in the Basin between Emerald Bay and Bliss State Park. Hikers pass secret coves and azure waters, and meander above gigantic cliffs that jut down hundreds of feet below the surface of the water. This is a great trail to set up a shuttle and park a car at Bliss and Emerald Bay if you don’t want to hike back.

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At Tahoe Meadows trailhead, where I joined the official TRT after hiking up from my house in Incline Village.

Two weeks ago, our Adventure of the Week featured Jim Hammerel, who was about to set out on an epic 5-day thru-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail. Here he gives us the details of his trip, torn meniscus and all.

Coming into my 5-day Tahoe Rim Trail attempt, I knew one thing… it was going to be more a mental challenge than a physical one.  That was the only thing I got right.

On the first day, I knew I had to make my goal to hike from my home in Incline Village to the Kingsbury North trailhead in Stateline. That equated to around 42 miles, the longest segment I had planned for any of my five days. If I couldn’t hack it on the first day, I knew I wouldn’t have the mental fortitude to make it the remaining four. I’d be playing catch-up with no margin for error. Luckily, I made it to my goal that night. Despite the early onset of blistered feet, dry camping with no water and a horrible night’s sleep, I made it. I awoke on day two ready to tackle another 40-mile trek.

About halfway through the second day, somewhere below Star Lake, I crouched down to splash some water on my hot face from a stream that crossed the trail and couldn’t get back up. I felt the fabled burning, I felt the sharp pain radiating from my knee. I knew immediately something was wrong. I popped a couple anti-inflammatories to counteract the pain that was heading my way. My leg stiffened up like a board. I knew I had to get down to camp fast…

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This week’s Adventure of the Week is brought to you by the amazing Jim Hammerel, who’s about to attempt an epic Tahoe Rim Trail thru-hike on August 3. Tahoe Mountain Sports is supporting his endeavor, which benefits the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, by donating on CrowdRise. You should too!

The 15 lbs Jim's bringing on his thru-hike (not including water).

WHO: Jim Hammerel

WHAT: Thru-hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail

WHERE: Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada

WHEN: August 3 through 8

GEAR: Icebreaker GT150 Velocity Crew, Grand Trunk Nano-7 Ultralight Hammock, Spot GPS Beacon, Solar charger (see below for Jim’s full list)

I ran away from home when I was about six years old, armed with a little backpack filled with toys and a half-dozen slices of Kraft Singles. My rebellion lasted about three hours before I succumbed to boredom. Since then, I’ve always been fascinated with the conflict of man vs. nature, as well as man vs. himself.

This August 3, I plan to test myself physically and mentally, perhaps more than any other time in my life. I’m going to attempt to hike the Tahoe Rim Trail solo, unassisted and unsupported in just five days — from my house. This means no food drops (everything I’ll eat will leave my house with me), no buddy systems, no cheering crowd… just me, my backpack and myself…

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I decided to go on a hike in Desolation Wilderness to check out Velma Lakes on 11/12. It was clear and very cool, a perfect day for a fall hike. Here are a few scenics of fall in the Sierras.

Lower Velma Lake

Middle Velma Lake

Jake's Peak and Lake Tahoe

Note; This story takes place on Sat, June 28,2008. The storm described was part of the front that blew through California, igniting over 2000 wildfires in an afternoon.

            Saturday morning I rose with the sun. 5:30 saw me making coffee, doing dishes, feeding dogs and cats, listening to NPR, just straight up bustling. My reason of course, was the plan to climb 3 routes on Eagle Lake Buttress on this day of much sunshine. I had never been up there before and haven’t climbed much yet this year so I thought 3 routes would sufficiently knacker us.
Around the third cup of coffee, I heard Donna Appidoni telling me that there was a slight chance of thunderstorms in the Sierra. Well, what does KXJZ know down there in the valley? I’m always hearing chance of storms and how often does it actually play out that way? Well folks, I’m an idiot. More on that later.
Apparently, Amye was not on the same schedule as I was, a cup of coffee next to the bed at 7:30, along with a gentle admonishment did nothing. A breakfast burrito at 8:30, same result.
Ok, jump ahead to 10:30!! After much pacing the house on my part, we headed out. No more will be said of this for the sake of domestic harmony.

Emerald Bay, 10:45 am. We hit the trail and made pretty good time up to Eagle Lake, where I began to decide the best approach. On the way up I spied the buttress, but it just looked too darn far away to be our objective. However, it was the only chunck of rock that even slightly resembled the picture in the guide.

I chose the express route talus field without being able to see the buttress and hoped for the best.

On top of the talus gully we hit the ridge and there it was, just up ridge from us. We headed up to get a little closer, keeping an eye on the building clouds to the west.

Near the base, we decided to hang for a bit and see what developed with the weather since the clouds were getting darker and darker. I spotted a really neat wave shaped cloud.

It rained. We holed up under a boulder and relaxed for a bit, hoping that the squall would blow through.

Sure enough after 20 minutes or so the clouds broke and we were once again bathed in brilliant sunshine with the only clouds around being down near Echo/Carson passes.

We quickly gathered our stuff and headed up to the base of the east ridge, our chosen first route. Since it was nearing mid-afternoon, I thought it would be best to only climb the east ridge and then orange book, which looked like a lot of fun.
Racking up in the talus, we left the bag down low for easier retrieval and I headed up the first pitch.


I would recommend linking the first 2 pitches listed in the book, as long as you are comfortable climbing the broken section to the first belay with no gear. Rope drag would be a pain if you put gear in and then kept going up the ridge. I put a stopper in on that section so I brought Amye up to the ledge on the prow of the ridge.

The start of the second pitch climbs a pair of wide, curving cracks. Pretty fun stuff, but pretty short.

From there, a flat section to a pair of more narrow, but still curving cracks leads to third class scrambling and then the summit block.



I chose to belay below the summit as I wasn’t sure my 70 meter would have reached the top. Turns out it wouldn’t have, so no worries.

Around this point, I start to notice that while it is still all blue skies above, the sun has been obscured to the west by another round of storm clouds. Thunder rumbled in the distance and my pulse quickened a bit.
Amye reached me at the belay as the first fat drops fell on the slab I was sitting on. I knew it was time to get down and a short bit of 5.5 ish crack separated us from the summit. Amye clipped the anchor and I bolted for the summit.
Moving through a little chimney section to the jug on top, I sensed movement below me and saw that my sandal, previously clipped with it’s match to my harness, was bouncing down the slab to land in a crack. I calmly told Amye, that was my sandal, you’re going to grab it and bring it up to me. She agreed and I pulled through to the top.
Instantly, I was hit with high winds and could see that the weather was really about to get bad. I got in a depression with my feet in front of and above me and told Amye that she was on belay and to get up there like right now!
It was at that moment when all at once, hail the size of marbles came crashing down, accompanied with a persistent buzzing sound on my rack. I was scared. I felt a slight charge course through my body and got the rack to the other side of the summit block(read;threw it). Amye stopped to grab my sandal but no, it was way too deep into the crack to mess around trying to get it. I hauled Amye through the last section as if she were a rag doll and yelled at her so keep moving past me to the notch below.
The hail intensified and thunder rumbled all around us. Amye got to the notch, unroped and hunkered down as I grabbed the rack and scrambled to where she was.
All we knew was that the descent was a scramble down the west side of the buttress, so we headed down the wet slabs, water cascading off the granite all around us.
Within 10 minutes we were on easier ground, bushwacking down towards the ridge when the storm blew apart, finally allowing us to stop, breathe, and start laughing at both our stupidity and luck.


I went for the pack and met Amye on the ridge, wearing a chaco on my left foot and a climbing shoe on my right to begin the long walk back to the car.

A few falls on the descent owing to the unorthodox footwear and we were back to the cooler of delicious beer.