Whatever you’re looking for, there’s a trail for you at Lake Tahoe. Top Trails: Lake Tahoe explores the best trails for hiking and biking in the Tahoe area. The guide features the best hikes including the north side's splendid backcountry, the lake's sedate western side, the picturesque and popular areas south of the lake, including Desolation Wilderness, and D. L. Bliss and Emerald Bay state parks and the relatively undeveloped eastern side. Several hikes follow sections of the Tahoe Rim Trail and Pacific Crest Trail. Veteran author Mike White has selected the 50 best trips in the area, ranging in length from a mile-long stroll through a lush, lodgepole-lined meadow to a 20-mile trek on the Tahoe Rim Trail with excellent lake views. Among other significant updates, the third edition includes the new Rim to Reno Trail, newly constructed by volunteers in the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. Mike White grew up in Portland, OR, from where he began adventuring in the Cascade Range. He has authored and contributed to numerous outdoor guides, as well as articles for magazines and newspapers. He lives in Reno, NV. Chapter 1: North Tahoe Trail 1: Mount Lola and White Rock Lake Trail Use: Hike, Run Bike, Horses, Dogs Allowed Length: 14.4 miles, 8 hours Vertical Feet: ±2,550 Difficulty: Level 4 Trail Type: Out-and-back Surface Type: Dirt Features: Canyon, Mountain, Summit, Stream, Shore, Wildflowers, Great Views, Photo Opportunity, Camping, Secluded Facilities: None A nearly forgotten trail north of Lake Tahoe takes hikers to a far-ranging view of the northern Sierra. Those with extra time and energy have the option of adding a 2-mile extension to picturesque White Rock Lake. Best Time The trail up the mountain is usually snow-free by mid-July, when wildflowers along Cold Stream are entering their peak. Finding the Trail Near the west end of Truckee, follow CA 89 north of I-80 for 14.5 miles to a left-hand turn onto Forest Route 07. Proceed on paved road for 1.5 miles, to a left-hand turn onto FR 07-10. Follow this gravel road to a bridge over the Little Truckee River and continue to an unsigned junction with Henness Pass Road, 0.6 mile from FR 07. Turn right and drive on Henness Pass Road for 3.1 miles to a spur road on the left, signed MT LOLA TRAIL. The trailhead parking area is a short distance up this road. Logistics Though the Mount Lola Trail is closed to all motor vehicles, a four-wheel-drive road closely parallels the trail through Cold Stream Valley. In addition, White Rock Lake is accessible to four-wheel-drive vehicles via a road on the west side of the lake. Trail Description [1] Singletrack trail leads away from the trailhead on a moderate climb through mixed forest of western white pines, lodgepole pines, and white firs. At 0.6 mile, hop across a small seasonal stream lined with a tangle of alders and young aspens and continue the climb toward the mouth of Cold Stream Canyon. Where the singletrack trail merges with an old roadbed, you head upstream high above the level of the creek. Gaps in the mixed forest allow enough sunlight for an understory of tobacco brush, pine-mat manzanita, and currant. Farther up the canyon the trail eventually draws closer to Cold Stream before intersecting a well-traveled road, 2.2 miles from the trailhead. Walk along the road to a substantial wood bridge that spans the stream, and soon encounter a fork in the road. Take the left-hand fork and head upstream a short way to the resumption of singletrack trail on the left, which is unsigned but marked by a series of metal diamonds. Within a stone’s throw of the road to the right and the creek to the left, you continue upstream on mildly graded trail beneath mixed forest until breaking out into the open at Cold Stream Meadows. Dotted with clumps of willow and carpeted with a variety of grasses and wildflowers, the meadow lends a pastoral feel to the surroundings. A spur road near the far end of the meadow leads to a campsite in a copse of trees that’s sure to lure overnighters. Just beyond the spur to the campsite, the route follows the main road briefly until singletrack trail resumes where the road bends sharply toward a crossing of Cold Stream. You proceed upstream for a while on mildly graded trail, hopping over a pair of tiny rivulets along the way. As the canyon narrows, the grade of the ascent increases and the trail draws nearer to the diminishing stream, crossing to the east bank at 3.8 miles from the trailhead. You climb more steeply up the canyon after the creek crossing, reaching a faint use trail after 0.25 mile that soon leads to a view of a short waterfall, where the braided stream courses through moss-covered channels and tumbles picturesquely down a slanted rock face. Beyond the fall, the trail angles away from Cold Creek and ascends into the realm of mountain hemlocks. After a prominent switchback, the trees part enough to allow a glimpse of the upper slopes of Mount Lola and, as