The 3-mile trek to 8,740-foot Ellis Peak over North Lake Tahoe
Click on image to go to specific photo page. Then click on photo again to enlarge.
All images copyright 2011 by Tom Stienatra
- The trailhead sign is not visible from Barker Pass Road. But after you park and take 15 steps you’ll see it just to the right of the trailhead.
- The 3-mile trail up to Ellis Peak climbs right from the start. The first mile can be brutal for some.
- Just a mile up, from this knife-edge lookout, you can see what appears a small hole in the forest, parking along Barker Pass Road — which gives you a picture of how fast this trail climbs right off.
- The trail to Ellis Peak climbs this sub-ridge. It then drops about 400 feet into a forested mountain saddle, then climbs back up above tree line to the summit.
- Loon Lake in the Crystal Basin looms off to your right as you rise up on a sub-ridge.
- From Ellis Peak, you get a gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe. This is looking north, just above Homewood and beyond north toward Tahoe City and Carnelian Bay.
- Mike and Jill Schratz atop the false peak, a second summit, just below 8,740-foot Ellis Peak.
From my story in the San Francisco Chronicle:
Some people will walk a hundred miles in a week to get what is available in three miles and a few hours at 8,740-foot Ellis Peak.
It sits on the threshold of world-class greatness, yet I had the pinnacle all to myself last week for as long as I wanted.
Of the dozen or so landmark peaks that surround Lake Tahoe, Ellis Peak requires one of the shortest hikes, especially compared to the renowned Tallac, Freel and Pyramid.
On top of Ellis, it can be difficult to decide which way to face. On one side, you tower over North Lake Tahoe, and on the other, you look across a false summit and Desolation Wilderness. The Crystal Range and Loon Lake is below to the southwest, the Granite Chief Wilderness to the northwest. Everywhere you look, you take in miles of spectacular high Sierra grandeur.
The throngs will always miss out on this trip. Off Highway 89, the turnoff to the trailhead is not signed. But there’s a trick that makes finding it easy. South of Tahoe City, 4.3 miles, look for the sign on the right (west) for Kaspian Campground. The unsigned road immediately on the right leads seven miles to Barker Pass and the Ellis Peak Trailhead.
The round trip is six miles with a total elevation gain of roughly 1,500 feet.
The story of my trip is at http://www.sfgate.com/outdoors.
Feel great in the next 24 hours: Hike. Bike. Camp. Fish. Boat. Wildlife watch. Explore.
For the new edition of California Camping, go to http://74.220.215.219/~tomstien/books/california-camping/
[…] Climbing Tahoe's Ellis Peak The 3-mile trek to 8740-foot Ellis Peak over North Lake Tahoe Click on image to go to specific photo page. Then click on photo again to enlarge. All images copyright 2011 by Tom Stienatra From The trailhead sign is not visible from Barker Pass Road. But after you park and take 15 steps you'll see it just to the right of the trailhead. On top of Ellis, it can be difficult to decide which way to face On one side, you tower over North Lake Tahoe, and on the other, you look […]