highly adaptable coyote is often seen loping across the meadows and through the woodlands of Lake Tahoe. From backcountry campsites spread around the Tahoe Basin, backpackers frequently hear the coyote’s nighttime chorus of howls and yelps. Though many area residents are familiar with the coyote, they fail to realize that it is omnivorous, preferring a diet of small rodents but also dining on berries and plants when such prey is unavailable.
Other common, medium-sized mammals of Lake Tahoe include martens, marmots, raccoons, porcupines, red foxes, weasels, and badgers. Hikers frequently see Douglas squirrels, California ground squirrels, golden-mantled ground squirrels, western gray squirrels, western flying squirrels, and chipmunks. Smaller rodents include pikas, voles, shrews, mice, moles, and pocket gophers.
At dusk, backpackers camped around one of Tahoe’s backcountry lakes are almost guaranteed a visit from a handful of bats searching the skies for the evening’s first course of insects. Midsummer visitors will be comforted to know that large helpings of mosquitoes are on the bats’ menu.
The skies above the Lake Tahoe Basin are home to hundreds of bird species. While hiking around the shore of Lake Tahoe or the banks of rivers and creeks, keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles and ospreys, though they are not particularly common. Red-tailed hawks are the raptors more frequently seen patrolling the skies. Great horned owls are primarily nocturnal but may be seen napping on a tree limb during the day. A walk along Tahoe’s trails without seeing a Clark’s nutcracker, mountain chickadee, or Steller’s jay is hard to imagine. Numerous songbirds fly around the Tahoe Basin, but a fine treat would be the sighting of a mountain bluebird flitting about a subalpine meadow or perched on the branch of a young lodgepole pine near the edge.
Amphibians and reptiles are common residents of the area. The most frequently seen species include the Pacific tree frog, the western fence lizard, and the common garter snake. Though possible, encountering a western rattlesnake in the Lake Tahoe Basin is extremely unlikely.
Insects are abundant members of the Lake Tahoe community. Unfortunately, the mosquito gains the most attention. Thankfully, depending on elevation and the rate at which the previous winter’s snowpack melts, the peak of the mosquito season lasts for just a few weeks in the backcountry, usually through the last weeks of July into the first week of August.
The lakes and streams of the Tahoe Basin teem with fish, where anglers can ply their craft in search of brook, brown, cutthroat, and rainbow trout. Along with these trout, Lake Tahoe itself is home to a couple of introduced species: Mackinaw, also known as lake trout, and Kokanee salmon. Biologists theorize that Mackinaws in Lake Tahoe may reach a weight as high as 50 pounds, but the record catch so far is 37 pounds, 6 ounces. Landlocked cousins of the sockeye salmon, Kokanee salmon were introduced to Lake Tahoe in 1944. The Taylor Creek Stream Profile Chamber at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center (Trail 30) provides an excellent opportunity for viewing the annual spawning migration of the Kokanee each autumn, usually coinciding with the locally renowned Kokanee Festival, held the first week of October.
When to Go
Though Lake Tahoe is considered a year-round recreation destination, those wishing to hike snow-free trails will have to wait until the summer hiking season, when the previous winter’s snowpack has melted and the customarily pleasant weather has settled into the region. Trails begin to shed their winter mantle at lake level as early as mid- to late April, with the snow line progressively receding up the mountainside until the highest elevations are clear, usually no later than mid-July. The wildflower bloom generally begins in earnest a couple of weeks after snowmelt, which varies, depending on such factors as elevation, exposure, and temperature.
On par with many locations in the desert Southwest, the Lake Tahoe Basin has a 93% probability of sunshine for any day from June through August. However, unlike the desert Southwest, mild summer temperatures rarely exceed 80°F. With the moderating influences of both the lake’s 193-square-mile surface area and the dense forests surrounding the lake, nighttime temperatures stay mild during the summer months as well, with lows ranging from the high 30s in June to the low 40s in July and August. Precipitation during the summer is generally light at lake level, with averages of 0.69 inch for June, 0.26 inch for July, and 0.31 inch for August. Most of that falls during thunderstorms, which can be intense at higher elevations in the mountains. Unlike the Rocky Mountains, the Tahoe Sierra may experience summers of little or no thunderstorms, or a run of days when they’re fairly frequent. Hikers should always be prepared for an afternoon cloudburst and to beat a hasty retreat from higher elevations when lightning is threatening.
Warm, dry weather often lingers through the waning days of summer and occasionally through the end of September and into October. The Tahoe area is usually blessed during autumn, when temperatures are cooler but still pleasant enough for hiking. In October, when fall color adorns the meadows and stream canyons of the Tahoe Basin, the average high temperature is 57ºF and, though the average monthly precipitation climbs to 1.9 inches, there is still an 84% chance of having a sunny day. Usually in November a Pacific storm brings the first significant snowfall to the mountains, encouraging hikers to trade in their boots for skis or snowshoes.
Because Lake Tahoe is such a popular summer destination, many of the trails are heavily used during the height of the tourist season. Weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day can be particularly crowded, especially on the southwest side of the lake. When contemplating a trip for June, July, or August, plan on hiking during the week. If a weekday adventure is out of the question, try to arrive early on the weekends to secure a parking spot and to beat the hordes up the trail. Desolation Wilderness has long been one of the most visited wilderness areas in the United States, resulting in quotas and fees for overnight users. Though the number of day hikers is not limited, trailhead registration is required for entry into the wilderness. While Lake Tahoe can be a bit of a human zoo during the summer at some localities, a good percentage of the backcountry sees light to moderate use.
Fall provides some of the finest trail experiences of the year. After Labor Day weekend the Tahoe area sees a diminishing number of tourists, a trend that continues as the days progress, until ski season begins. With good weather the norm and fewer people competing for space on the trail, hikers can experience the grandeur of the Tahoe backcountry in uncrowded fashion.
Trail Selection
Several criteria were used to arrange this assortment of Tahoe’s 50 best trails. Only the premier hikes, runs, and rides were included, based on beautiful scenery, ease of access, quality of trail, and diversity of experience. Some of the trails selected are highly popular, while others may see infrequent use. Anyone fortunate enough to complete all the trips in this guide would have a comprehensive appreciation for the natural beauty of one of the West’s most scenic recreational havens.
About 70% of the trails included in this guide are classified as out-and-back trips, requiring you to retrace your steps back to a trailhead. The remaining percentage is roughly distributed between point-to-point, loop, and partial-loop trips.
Echo Lakes (Trail 34)
Key Features
Top Trails books contain information about features for each trail. Though primarily a mountainous region, the Lake Tahoe Basin has such outstanding diversity that it offers at least a little of each feature, including sandy beaches. Lakes, streams, and waterfalls occur in abundance, as do high summits with spectacular vistas and rugged canyons. A plethora of verdant meadows are graced with scenic wildflower displays, and numerous aspen groves provide plenty of autumn color. All these features combine to make Lake Tahoe and the surrounding topography a photographer’s paradise. About the only feature that suffers in the Lake
