This is a fun family hike we take every year up to the waterfall. There are great views of the lake. I agree with others to skip the Vista Point & look at the lake from the trail farther up.
We hiked to the waterfall; beautiful views of the lake through the trees.
Very well kept trail. Signaling is great, and the paths are very well marked. The views are not as great as Maggie’s Peaks or other in Desolation Wilderness though. The end, where it connects to TRT I had nothing special. The best views are midway to the top looking back at the South border of Lake Tahoe
It was pretty all the way up with a great view of the lake and the south lake mountains. However, the last 1.5 miles there wasn’t much to see. In comparison to other moderate hikes in the area (such as Maggie’s Peaks), this one was definitely on the easier side of moderate. The trail was very well maintained and there was no snow!
We took the Van Sickle connector as far as the falls. On our way back we went the Cal-Neva loop. Nice and shady. Not near as rocky. We then split off at the Barn Trail to finish our hike. Overall this was a very pleasant adventure. We did see a few Stellar Jays along the way. Quite impressive birds.
This was a great trail. The steepest part was towards the end of the trail- but even that wasn’t too difficult. The views are spectacular and we saw a few small patches of snow as we got up to around 7200 ft. Not too many flowers in bloom yet, but we did see plenty of chipmunks. We did see the poison oak that another reviewer warned about. It was a little more crowded coming down when we got closer to the waterfall- most people were just going as far as the bridge over the falls and then turning around. It is worth it to hike the full trail- the views just keep getting better. Also most of the way out is downhill so it was much easier coming back.
Nice hike with views. There is a fair amount of what very much resembles poison oak along the trail. 3 leafed, glossy, rippled leaves with non-thorny grayish stems. I would error on the side of caution and be careful what you touch along the way.
The first 2/3 of this trail is great but the last 1/3 is primarily just intended to join up with the Tahoe Rim Trail. I wouldn’t consider the end of this trail as a destination spot, so unless you are trying to continue on hiking onto the Tahoe Rim Trail, I recommend turning back around 2 miles in. The best views of Lake Tahoe are on the first half.
Great trail...very good climb for the kids and Easy to follow.
Booo
Great trail, easy to follow, not too steep. Fantastic views.
Beautiful views and easy access with markers throughout. Last 0.5 mile or so was covered in ice and snow so we turned around and made the trip back. A couple of small waterfalls are found along the path. We are avid hikers so we found this more easy than moderate. The trail is very open and wide the first mile or two then becomes a single track trail along the backside of the mountain.
I liked this trail a lot! It gives great views of the lake and western shore peaks. Hiked it today and it took me 3 hours to go to the end and back. As a primarily Appalachian hiker from TN I thought the trail was a good moderate level trail with little trail issues i.e. downed tree or erosion. One problem I encountered was right after the trailhead split with the Cali/Nevada line trail approx 1.5 miles in I lost the trail and spent 20 minutes in the brush trying to get back to trail. Otherwise great hike for a trail within walking distance from my South Tahoe hotel.
Great views of the lake
Great views and rewarding uphill climb. I hiked it mid -November and the weather was ideal.
Hiked this trail in mid September and the weather was a bit on the warm side (though a dip in Lake Tahoe afterward solved that!). The views of the lake are beautiful and I liked that you only have to go 1/3 up the trail to see them. There are several trails marked by color here so you don't have to take the same path up and down.
J V. on Van Sickle Rim Trail Connector
Nice trail system. The waterfall is flowing strongly. The vista point provides good views of Lake Tahoe. thanks
Great hike with incredible views. The waterfall is still flowing strong and the fall colors are beautiful.
Fall colors were gorgeous! Lots of off leash dogs and high traffic on the way back.
nice hike with great overviews. the hiling has the gondolas overhead but it does not take away from the trail much. lots of ootion from mutiple parming lots and some nice overviews. The hike was not crowdws at all and had ample parking.
started at sunrise and didn't see a single person for most of our hike. took the rim trail to the left for a bit to a nice lookout point. this trail is very well marked.
great views, nice little falls. beware of bikers careening down the trail.
Second time doing the hike. The lake was hard to see with the haze. But I liked the hike..
Nice hike with expansive views. Do be aware that most of the hiking is fully exposed so you might want to avoid the mid day hike.
Compared to Emerald Bay area hikes, this was a disappointment. The view includes the lake but you have to look over the ugly casino hotels and many of the trees on the mountain are dead.
Saw a black bear!
Average elev gain per mile is about 400' which is perfect for me. Trail was well maintained, not overgrown, and safe. Overall elev gain is more like 1300' and rt distance is more like 7 miles, not 6.6.
Great hike! Left at 7am and back at trailhead at 10am. Shade, rolling switchbacks, nice waterfalls, and good views of the lake. The only thing that could've been better is the final destination… There was a summit but not much of a view. Kind of unclimactic. But all in all a great hike!
Great day hike close to South Lake Tahoe. We ranged in age from 8 to 68 and all enjoyed it. Beautiful panoramic views of the lake and a few water features along the way.
Amazing views