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The West of Lake Tahoe Area is one of the prime regions for trails in the immediate vicinity of Lake Tahoe. This area stretches along the west side of the lake, astride the winding, picturesque Route 89. Along this route you'll come across such well known scenic landmarks as Emerald Bay, Carnelian Bay, and Mt. Tallac. From the junction with Highway 50 on the south end at South Lake Tahoe to the intersection with Highway 267 north of Tahoe City heading towards Truckee, the trails west of Lake Tahoe will welcome you with abundant high peaks and pristine lakes.

Most of the trails near the lake start from elevations near the lakeshore, and climb the peaks to the west of the lake. These trails offer increasingly broad views of Lake Tahoe as they wind along upward. Another set of trails in the West of Tahoe area start further west in the Desolation Wilderness, accessed from Highway 50 west of Lake Tahoe, and climb upwards to dozens of small granite rimmed lakes set in among classic California forest and ridge terrain.

Most of these trails start within a short drive from the popular resort destinations near South Lake Tahoe, Squaw Valley, and Tahoe City. Summer crowds can be hectic, on both the access roads and the trails themselves. But for those willing to wander further inland along the trails, the crowds may thin and the scenery will reward.

Location

Many of the trails in this area west of Lake Tahoe are easily accessible directly off Highway 89 and side roads that branch off from Highway 89. A few require access partly via some lesser gravel roads, but these are generally not too rough. The maps below give an overview of these trails' general location.

West of Lake Tahoe TrailPhotos Area California Location of Terrain Map

The yellow arrow on the Terrain Map above shows the approximate location and viewing direction of the photograph displayed near the top of this web page. The blue rectangle on the terrain map outlines the West of Lake Tahoe TrailPhotos area.

West of Lake Tahoe Area TrailPhoto Guides and TrailPhoto Scenes locations (Red arrow shows approximate location and viewing direction of view of the photo above).

TrailPhoto Guides and TrailPhoto Scenes Descriptions

The TrailPhotos.com website currently has descriptions of twelve West of Lake Tahoe Area trails. Descriptions of these TrailPhoto Guides and TrailPhoto Scenes are available with purchase information at this Photos: All Lake Tahoe TrailPhoto Guide Trails link for the trails listed below.

The approximate location of these trails is shown on the detailed area map above, matched to the corresponding numbers displayed below.

West of Lake Tahoe Area:

13) Squaw Valley 19) Mt. Tallac

14) Alpine Valley / 5 Lakes 20) Heather/Susie/Aloha Lakes

15) Meeks Creek to Crag Lake 21) Grass Lake

16) Rubicon Trail 22) Gertrude / Tyler Lakes

17) Eagle Lake 23) Island / Twin Lakes

18) Velma Lakes 24) Smith Lakes

Related Links

The National Forest Service maintains websites with extensive information and park maps. These provide a useful complement to the detailed TrailPhoto Guides and maps on this website, and an official source of this information. The applicable National Forests for the West of Lake Tahoe Area are (these links will open in a new browser window):

Eldorado National Forest - Located to the south and southwest of Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe National Forest - Located to the north and west of Lake Tahoe.

Other sources of Tahoe area information (will open in a new browser window):

Lake Tahoe Area Visitors Information - Tahoe area attractions.

State of California Visitors Information- Includes general information for the West Tahoe area.

TrailPhotos Index Site Map for all TrailPhotos areas and maps.

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