Eagle Lake: A Worthwhile Day Hike

My wife and I like to try hiking trails we’ve never used before. Fortunately for us, there are dozens of trails in the Reno and Lake Tahoe area. A couple of summers ago, we decided to try the somewhat popular, moderate-to-strenuous Eagle Lake Trail at Lake Tahoe.

To get there, one must drive to Emerald Bay. Just south of the parking area for the family-oriented Vikingsholm, on the mountain side of Hwy 89, is the entrance to the smaller parking lot for the trailhead. There are actually 2 or 3 trails accessed from the same trailhead; the lot fills up quickly, so it pays to get there early. We arrived around 8:30, and it was about 3/4 full. We filled out our day-use paper and dropped it in the box, and we were on our way.

The Eagle Lake trail takes a left turn a few yards up the hill. It’s a pretty easy walk up to Eagle Falls, with a picturesque viewpoint from a footbridge over Eagle Creek (where I apparently neglected to take any pictures). After crossing the bridge, the trail turns uphill and becomes a bit steeper for about a mile-and-a-half.

South Lake Tahoe

Rubicon Peak

At different points along the climb, the views of Lake Tahoe open up, and the Jewel of the Sierras reveals her true splendor. My photos do not do justice to the magnificent remains of the ice age. (If you look at the valley between Maggie’s Peak, where we were standing, and Rubicon Peak from the East Shore, you can see the tell-tale U-shape caused by glacial carving. The eastern part of the Tahoe Rim Trail is on our list, and I’ll try to remember to take photos of this when we do that, if we can see it.)

Emerald Bay, Vikingsholm, Tea House, & Tahoe

We emerged from the creek-side climb onto a large meadow just below Eagle Lake, then continued up about another 60 vertical feet, over about a half-mile, to the lake itself. We had a snack on the shore, and I took a couple of photos of a nearby unnamed peak and some of the local residents.

We then went on around the shore until the trail was lost in some boulders on the southeast side. We climbed in them a bit, then decided it was time to head back. By the time we got back to where we’d rested, there were quite a few other people there, evidencing the trail’s popularity.

When we left the parking lot at around noon, there were cars parked on the shoulder along Hwy 89–a common sight in the summer. It was just beginning to get really warm, which is another big advantage to starting early. Of course, “early” to me is not all that early. Those of you up before first light should be able to get primo parking spaces!