Best Trails in Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

A large portion of this is paved road. It was good exercise walking around the lake but that's about it.

Awesome no le, be prepares though...its pretty difficult at times. Made to 10,000 feet. So proud.

Definitely a thigh burner, but well worth the climb.

hiked with my dog june 21 18. weather was perfect, lake was beautiful.

several patches of snow, but pretty well marked out
started at 1am to get there for 5:35am sunrise, it took almost 4 hours to get to the summit

Go trail hilly sandy if you wanted to take a few hard climbs with your rig you can but you better have larger tires. Cool view of the airport at the top. Stock Toyota Tacoma did well

This hike was a ball buster but totally worth it. It was very steep and easy to loose the trail the closer you get to the top. But keep going and climb to the top it’s 100% worth it. It took us about 4 hours to complete the hike.

Beautiful trail and great views! The trail was pretty easy to follow until we got to the last few miles. Part of the trail was still covered in snow, so we had to freehand up for a little bit. The trail is a moderate incline until you reach cathedral lake, then it picks up and becomes a very steep incline.
Well worth it!

man we had a blast.in a almost stock JK no problem I just wish it was longer 6/18/18

great views at the top. Simple hike with a few steeper parts, but overall manageable. It was pretty dusty, but well worth the hike. takes 30-35 mins to get to the top

Beautiful hike in late May above the shore of Lower and Upper Echo Lakes. It offers a spectacular view looking back. We hiked to Tamarack Lake, but left too late to make it to Lake Aloha. If you want to do that, leave early, around 7, to get a parking spot and a good start. The water taxi offers shortcuts, but it’s $14 each way. On the trail and around Tamarack Lake, we logged 11 miles. We plan to return to hike to Lake Aloha.

My wife and I did this hike for my birthday on May 29. It was a spectacular hike on a strikingly beautiful day. We managed to make it all the way to the peak, but we had to trudge through snow and got off trail a few times. We also wandered a couple of ridges and the so-called false summit.
Panoramic views open up to Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake to the Desolation Wilderness. If you’re up to it, it is worthwhile to venture to the summit. There are a couple smaller lakes and creeks along the first half of the hike. After that, the trail is exposed and steep. All in, we logged 12 miles in about nine hours.

great trail for those with little ones! we did the trail with a 5 and a 2 year old. fun for everyone. also liked easy access to Port a potty.

I just hiked this trail yesterday, and oh my goodness, it is the most beautiful trail I've hiked! This is coming from someone who hasn't spent a whole lot of time in the Sierras, but still, this was truly amazing!

It was really cool to start out on a portion of the Tahoe Rim Trail. I didn't know about that through-hike until I found this on All Trails, but it's cool to imagine people hiking all the way around Tahoe Lake. We were content with Dardanelles though. The parking lot was pretty big and had restrooms, but no running water. We arrived around 10:30am and we were able to find a parking spot in the lot. It was pretty full, though. If you want to be sure that parking won't be an issue, you may want to come an hour earlier if you're summer hiking on a Saturday.

The trail itself was sensational! I couldn't believe the beauty! At the very beginning, you do have to run across highway 89, but once that's over it is wilderness all around! there's a steep-ish incline with rocks and roots. It was adventurous! The trail evens out once you get to the big meadow, and that's where you get your first glimpse of the snow-capped mountains. The meadow is so serene and peaceful. After that is forest with many beautiful wildflowers. Some flowers were so cool looking! The stream crossings were easy. There were conveniently placed rocks to step on while crossing. Only one was a little tricky. But wow, was the river gorgeous!

As we got closer to the lake, we reached a patch of huge granite stones with bright pink flowers growing on them! The rocks were so cool-looking! They weren't steep, so we climbed up on them for a gorgeous view. It was a great spot to take a small break. Very safe.

We finally reached Dardanelles Lake and it just took my breath away. I couldn't take my eyes off of the scene: dark blue waters against a big mountain of granite, with snow-capped Sierras in the background. It was remarkable. There were 1-2 other small groups of people, but the lake was big enough to give us a very secluded spot along the shore. Even though it was breezy and the water was cold, I still couldn't resist jumping in! The water felt great after the sunny hike! There are leeches though! A little one attached itself to my sister's leg. It was really easy to pull off, though.

It was so hard to leave the lake, and eventually we did. Walking back in the late afternoon was lovely, because the lighting was just right against the trees and the leaves.

Throughout the hike, we ran into friendly hikers and their cute dogs, but it wasn't crowded. We were alone for the majority of the trail.I whole-heartedly recommend this hike! I was the happiest I'd been in a long time on this trail.

I started on the trail at 5:30 am, Saturday June 16th 2018. I really recommend to follow the All Trails trail map to the summit. I lost the trail many times and it was valuable to have the offline trail map to find the trail again. There is still snow on the trail in 3 to 4 spots. The view from the top is amazing. Get here early to get a good parking spot because it fills up fast and otherwise you’ll park on the side of the road and walk longer. Compared to Pyramid Peak and Freel Peak in the Tahoe area, Mount Tallac is less remote and easier. Overalls great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Gorgeous!! The wildflowers are blooming! The views, tress, fresh air, and lake is amazing! Love this trail!

The views were beautiful! The walk to the beach isn’t all that bad. My family and I stayed at the beach for a few hours before we turned back. This trail could be either an early morning walk to get you ready for the day or an all day excursion.

It was beautiful and easy with kids.

One of the best short hikes I’ve ever done. Very steep in certain places and had snow up to my knees but it was worth every second of it. I highly recommended this trail for anyone looking to get their heart rate up and get some incredible views.

On reaching the summit you would have earned some of the best views of Lake Tahoe ever. Went today and although small patches of snow are still present it's still manageable with regular trail shoes. Frequent patches of rough rocks too - so right kind of shoes definitely recommend. The hike though is totally worth all the efforts.

Closer to 11.5 miles in and out. Trekked through a few small snow banks in June, made it more interesting and fun. The wildflowers are icing in the cake during this difficult hike.

Fantastic. Hard slog up the fire road, but worth every inch once you get up to the alpine meadow.

The foliage was nice...trail into the meadow muddy.

We hiked Mt. Tallac yesterday. Some patches of snow on the trail but easy to navigate and poles helped with stability. We lost the trail a few times near the summit but it was not a big deal to find it if you keep hiking and pick a good line. This hike has the most beautiful views of Lake Tahoe, Emerald bay, Fallen Leaf Lake and Lake Aloha (amongst many more) from the backside. Breathtaking! Round trip 5 hours and a celebratory beer at the car!

question! I will be doing this hike in August. So no snow... how important is hiking shoes vs. nikes? thanks!

A beautiful hike along the shore. There was some small climbing but definitely doable. A good mix of sun and shade. I believe what makes this a moderate hike is the distance. At the end there are some benches along the shore and a water taxi to bring you back to the start if needed. Also, the trail gets busy as the day goes on so I would start early.

We took the fireroad up. Nothing to see there. Elevation was big, but not to tough. After 4,5km you reach the meadow.
Walk back next to the creek was amazing! Well worth de hike up! Couple of crosses with the water. Loved it!

There is no trail between Dardanelles and Round. You will need GPS. We ended heading around to the back side of Round and connecting to the Pacific Rim Trail. Beautiful but challenging.

Super fun trail (a bit steep and rocky, but short and well worth it!) you get a full panorama of Tahoe. A bit of a busier trail though.