Best Easy Day Hikes Lake Tahoe by Tracy Salcedo

Author:Tracy Salcedo [Salcedo, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Falcon Guides
Published: 2019-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

14 Page Meadows

A favorite hike of Tahoe locals and visitors alike, Page Meadows hosts one of the best wildflower blooms in the basin. It greens up after the snow melts, sprouts a rainbow palette of blossoms by late June, and remains a restful, scenic destination through the rest of the hiking season. A steady climb on the Tahoe Rim Trail leads to the meadows.

Start: Ward Creek Boulevard. The trail is across the road (on the north side) from the trailhead signboard and creek.

Distance: 3.3 miles out and back

Hiking time: 2–2.5 hours

Difficulty: Moderate due to length and 400-foot elevation gain

Trail surface: Singletrack, logging road

Best seasons: Late spring and early summer for the wildflower bloom

Other trail users: Mountain bikers, equestrians, off-road vehicles on adjacent trails

Trail amenities: None

Canine compatibility: Dogs permitted

Fees and permits: None

Schedule: Dawn to dusk daily

Maps: USGS Tahoe City CA; Tahoe Rim Trail map for the Barker Pass to Tahoe City section available at the trailhead and online; National Geographic 803 Lake Tahoe Basin Trail Map

Trail contact: US Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Forest Supervisor’s Office, 35 College Dr., South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150; (530) 543-2600; www.fs.usda.gov/ltbmu. Tahoe Rim Trail Association, 128 Market St., Ste. 3E/PO Box 3267, Stateline, NV 89449; (775) 298-4485; tahoerimtrail.org.

Finding the trailhead: From Tahoe City follow CA 89 south toward Homewood to Pineland Drive (with large “Pineland” signs). Turn right (west) onto Pineland Drive and go 0.3 mile to Twin Peaks Drive, where a sign points you toward “Ward Valley.” Go left (south) onto Twin Peaks, then quickly right (west) onto Ward Creek Boulevard. Follow Ward Creek Boulevard for 1.5 miles to the signed TRT trailhead. Park alongside Ward Creek Boulevard. GPS: N39 08.435' / W120 11.522'

The Hike

In a typical high-country wildflower display, clusters of blooms erupt in patches among verdant meadow grasses. The blossoms of Page Meadows, situated above Ward Valley at nearly 7,000 feet, are no exception. The brilliant mule ears, with their bright yellow sunflower-like heads, and the tall white umbrellas of cow parsnip border on flamboyance. But most of the meadow flowers are brushed onto the landscape with a light touch. Early in the season, red Indian paintbrush, purple shooting star and lupine, scarlet larkspur, pink pussy paws, and meadow penstemon, among others, brighten the meadow. Later in the season, as the grasses go gold and the aspen begin to turn, white yarrow and purple and yellow asters (among others) come to the forefront.

Page Meadows, a popular destination that, luckily, is expansive enough to accommodate all comers, is surrounded by a thick evergreen forest with borders of aspens that have been sculpted into low tangles by heavy winter snowpacks. A network of trails explores the interlocking meadows; the treadways are raised using cement landscaping tiles, which allow passage without damaging the ecosystem—and help keep boots dry as well.

The section of the Tahoe Rim Trail that leads from Ward Creek to the meadows begins steeply, with the splashing of Ward Creek a pleasant accompaniment. At about the 0.5-mile mark, the climb

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