The Dolder Nature Trail

The Dolder Nature Trail is a 2.1 mile loop trail located near Tahoma, California that features a lake. The trail is good for all skill levels and is primarily used for hiking, walking, and nature trips.

Length2.1 miElevation gain101 ftRoute typeLoop

Description

Waypoints (12)

A relaxing hike near the lake shore with a visit to the highest operating navigational lighthouse and a sandy beach The Dolder Nature Trail will take you through the Edwin L. Z'Berg Natural Preserve on a nice 2-mile loop near the lake with a stop at the highest (based on elevation) operating navigational lighthouse, and an entrance to a beautiful sandy beach. Edwin L. Z'Berg was an important California State assemblyman who fought hard to protect the environment of California, and especially Lake Tahoe. He helped to regulate timber harvesting and prevent water pollution while also providing important funding to help state and local parks grow. To protect Lake Tahoe, he wrote legislation to manage human impact on the area, and this preserve serves to honor his commitment and all that he accomplished.

Barn and Coach House

The barn and coach-house of the estate of the Hellman/Ehrman mansion. Here the wagons were housed on the lower floor, a hayloft up above, and in later years, when the family converted over to automobiles, the downstairs was a garage and the upstairs was quarters for the chauffeurs.

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Water Tower

When the Hellman estate was built in 1902, it was in the middle of nowhere and had to generate its own electricity and have its own water system. The lower part of this building housed a wood fired steam generator. From 7 in the morning until 10 or 11 at night employees chopped wood to generate electricity. If guests in the house needed light at night, they used a kerosene lantern. The Hellmans also had their own water system. About a mile up General Creek, still on the property, was a dam, and a flume and ditch water system carried the water to this location where it was pumped up into the water tower and then gravity-fed into the mansion. An interesting side note here is that Isaias Hellman had resided in Los Angeles for about 30 years and was friends with William Mulholland who was the president of the Los Angeles Water Company. Hellman asked Mulholland to design this water system for him.

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Nanny Cabin

This house is known as the Childrens' House. It was added to the estate in 1930. By then the family had grown and they were running out of bedrooms in the main house so they decided to house the children out here with their nanny. This is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath house with a very small kitchen. The nanny would prepare a light breakfast and lunch for the children but they made their once a day appearance over in the main mansion to be able to spend time with their parents and the guests. The tennis court was added at the same time as the children's house, around 1930. On your left there are two small buildings, the first one is the Butler's cabin. The butler was the head of the staff for the house and therefore had his own small residence. It's a two bedroom residence with a bathroom. And just beyond the Butler's Cabin there's a building that's the Maid's Cabin. It now today serves as a public restroom however in its day it housed four maids in four separate small rooms who shared one bathroom. The Hellmans--and then later the Ehrmans--brought their staff with them from San Francisco, they didn't hire separate staff up here in Lake Tahoe.

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Isaias Hellman and the Ehrman Mansion

Standing in front of the main mansion you can understand the beautiful architecture of this building that the family called the Pine Lodge. Isaias Hellman immigrated from Germany in 1842 as a 16 year old boy who didn't speak any english. He had a job in his cousin's dry goods store, and it turned out that he had a great knack for business and in a few short years was running his own stores. He lived in Los Angeles at this time and because he was such a successful business man people would come to him to borrow money, as there were no banks in Los Angeles then. Pretty soon Isaias decided that it made sense for him to open a bank and he opened the Farmers' and Merchants bank. Banking ended up being Isaias' calling and for the rest of his life that's what he dedicated himself to. After about thirty years in Los Angeles, Isaias and his family moved to San Francisco so that Isaias could take over the presidency of the Nevada National Bank. Eventually the Nevada National Bank merged with Wells Fargo Bank and became known as Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank, and was finally shortened to simply Wells Fargo Bank. Isaias was the president of Wells Fargo Bank at the time that he built this home. At the turn of the century, wealthy San Franciscans were starting to discover the beauty of Lake Tahoe where they could escape the fog. Isaias and his wife enjoyed summering here in some of the early hotels and eventually decided to build their own summer estate. He hired a prominent San Francisco architect, Walter Danforth Bliss, who designed this home, and he bought about 2000 acres of land to place it on. The home was completed in 1903 and the family moved in that July. It was a truly a summer home: it has no insulation and no heat. Life here in Lake Tahoe was very idyllic; the family came here for the entire summer. Isaias couldn't spend the whole summer himself, because he was a busy man, but guests would come for weeks at a time because getting here was quite an epic journey back in those days. Mrs. Hellman passed away only five years later in 1908 and then Isaias passed in 1920. At that time his youngest daughter, Florence Hellman Ehrman, inherited this house. She and her husband Sidney continued to summer here until 1964 which is when she passed away. Over those years the house slowly became known as the Ehrman mansion which is what you'll commonly hear it called today.

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Pier and Lake Tahoe

From the end of the pier you have an absolutely stunning view of Lake Tahoe. If you turn around and look back toward the land you can see some of the other buildings on the estate. Facing the land on the far right is the North Boathouse, the Fips Cabin, and the caretaker's house. The caretaker lived on the estate year-round to look after things in the wintertime. On the far left is the bathhouse, where bathers changed into their bathing costumes, a little bit more modest that todays outfits. On the beach is the small pumphouse; once commercial electricity was available in 1927 the family pumped water from the lake rather than using the original Mulholland water system. And a little further down the shoreline in the distance you can see the South Boathouse. Now turn around and face back around to magnificent Lake Tahoe again. Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in North America, after Crater Lake in Oregon. It's known for its depth and its beautiful blue color and clarity. The depth of Lake Tahoe is over 1600 feet deep at the deepest point, and the average depth of the lake is over 1000 feet deep. It's 22 miles long by 12 miles wide and its clarity is down to about 70 feet. Lake Tahoe used to be a bit clearer than this, but because of development along its shoreline it has lost some of its clarity. Efforts are being made today to restore the clarity of Lake Tahoe and to "Keep Tahoe Blue".

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Caretaker Cabin

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Butler Cabin

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Trailhead

To start the hike, walk between the water tower and the caretaker's house (look for the blue sign with information about Edwin L. Z'Berg. Continue downhill on the paved path.

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Dirt Trail

There will be a small dirt path to your right, take the dirt trail to continue the hike.

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Beach Access

Here you will find access to the sandy beach. Across the lake slightly to your left you can see Heavenly Valley Ski Resort, just west of the Nevada State line. If you look carefully, you may also see casinos in Nevada.

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Lighthouse

Follow the path to the right for a short trip to the beach where you will see the world's highest operating navigational light (based on elevation, not height of the tower).

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Bench with a view

When you have almost completed your hike you will find a nice wooden bench with a perfect view of the lake below. Take your time as you enjoy the stunning view before getting back on the trail to finish the hike.

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Weather

UV Index

Daylight

Reviews (103)

Photos (136)

Activities (93)

Completed (182)

Cindy Price

April 17, 2021

Hiking

We hit a few patches of snow. It was a lovely hike. We had the entire trail to ourselves.

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Amanfs Fuentes

April 3, 2021

HikingFeeGreat!

Some patches of snow. Beautiful

Melissa Doiron

March 22, 2021

Hiking

We love this trail! We usually visit this trail after a particularly strenuous hike - provides a nice break! Always find sugar pine cones along the way. Beautiful!

Annie Schmidt

February 21, 2021

Hiking

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Corey Frickel

February 13, 2021

SnowshoeingGreat!

Jack Hopper

January 17, 2021

Hiking

Icy and at an angle in the beginning, snowshoes were a lifesaver.

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Priyanka Pandit

January 17, 2021

Hiking

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Jelly-N-Wack Thorpe

November 2, 2020

HikingGreat!

This is probably one of the best, gentle hikes (little elevation gain) around all of Lake Tahoe. Maybe tied with Spooner Lake trail. Nice! The giant trees are amazing. Their Sugar Pine cones are yuge!

Charissa Jessepe

September 14, 2020

Walking

Beautiful, peaceful trail. Our favorite portion was alongside the lake! But also has a serene portion in the woods; great combo. Good for all abilities.

Gina Subido

September 9, 2020

Hiking

Awesome view of the lake; great hike for all ages.

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Chris Butson

August 24, 2020

WalkingGreat!

It is a nice quiet trail with beautiful views. Loved our walk and the exploration. Learned the yellow tags on the trees help to keep you on the right path.

MATTHEW W BROTZE

August 7, 2020

HikingGreat!

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Yana Dugan

July 21, 2020

HikingFeeGreat!

Such a gorgeous piece of nature! It’s in a state park with $10 day fee and a huge parking lot. The beach is spectacular, sandy and not crowded (at least on the weekday that I was there). The forest part of the hike is where I saw black bears (I think it was a mom with two cubs). One of my favorite hikes that I did around Lake Tahoe. It’s rather short and is easy, but the combination of beach and forest made it really fun.

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Matt Krzywicki

July 19, 2020

Hiking

This was a bit of a surprise as to how nice it was. If you’re looking for a challenger this isn’t difficult at all. Very level, lots of views of the water to break off the trail with little private beaches. The Sugar Pine forest smells wonderful and it has a little bit of everything. Really enjoyed this walk.

Devon Marcille

July 12, 2020

Hiking

I got confused on the trail and decided to beach it. Sandy beautiful beach with lots of people swimming and boating.

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Kira Sparks

June 30, 2020

Hiking

Pretty trail, partially in the woods and partially along the lake. Great if you want to pair a hike with some time at the beach. It wasn’t crowded, so it’s good for social distancing. It’s not the most *exciting* trail but great for a nice, not strenuous, walk.

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Leslie Hall

June 18, 2020

Walking

Gorgeous dirt path that snakes through woods and by the lake. Being a nature trail I was hoping for some informational signs or a brochure, but did not see anything obvious once you passed the buildings.

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Jacob Stewart

February 11, 2020

HikingIcyOff trail

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DoctorofaCertainSize .

January 29, 2020

Hiking

Great walk in the winter with our dogs. Warm weather meant most of the snow was melted, so it made for a nice and mellow walk. We had the whole place to ourselves, a lovely bit of solitude.

Katie Dugan

January 25, 2020

HikingIcySnow

Went in January- snow shoes probably useful but not 100% necessary. Great lake views and nice easy hiking trail!

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Alex Barrera

October 21, 2019

Hiking

It was beautiful! But we saw a bear on the forest-side of the loop maybe ten minutes in. So we bailed, went back to enjoy the water some more before calling it a day. So just a heads up there’s at least one small bear who likes this trail too :)

Meghan Walsh

September 10, 2019

Hiking

Easy trail with beach access.

Flying for Fuel

August 24, 2019

Hiking

Super easy trail. If you are concerned about getting up to Tahoe and wanting something to get used to the altitude, perfect starter trail

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Ewa Hanczar

July 10, 2019

Hiking

a lovely trail for the whole family; we went clockwise and stopped at the beach on the way back.

K Walsh

July 10, 2019

Hiking

Beautiful walk in the woods near the lake. Watch for bears, we almost had to turn around, but he graciously gave us wide berth ambling away.

Veronika Savinova

May 14, 2019

Hiking

Recommend to everyone who wants friendly dogs trail. It took us like an hour. Very nice views all along the hike. hike starts on paved road and turn right on dirt road where bike rack is. Follow signs on trees or use “all trails map”. You’ll have phone service whole time.Very easy sweet and short 2 miles hike.

Showing results 1 - 26 of 103