It’s not often that I go out and do a 17 mile hike, but when I do, you know I’m excited about it! My first really big hike of 2022, this loop hitting 3 mountain summits would take me through some of Lake Tahoe’s absolute best high altitude terrain!
Starting with an easy jaunt to Galena Falls, this loop would then take me to the summits of Mt Rose, Mt Houghton, and Relay Peak! While each mountain on its own isn’t really anything all that special, a loop linking the 3 would mean hours in high alpine terrain, ridge walks, and an opportunity for a rare triple summit day! This one was tough, but it was worth it in the end!
Miles/Elevation:
17.5 miles
4,209 feet vertical gain
About Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest:
The largest national forest outside of Alaska, Humboldt-Toiyabe contains over 6 million acres of protected land across the state of Nevada, and small parts of eastern California. The lands of Humboldt-Toiyabe have been reorganized many times, and as a result the forest contains independent parcels scattered across the northern half of Nevada.
While most of the forest is spread across Nevada, the lands around Lake Tahoe are some of the most visited of Humboldt-Toiyabe. Also notable are the many wilderness areas such as the Ruby Mountains Wilderness and the Hoover Wilderness, along with seemingly endless land spread throughout 19 counties across two states!
Getting To The Trailhead:
Summit Mt Tallac, one of South Lake Tahoe’s most iconic peaks!
The trailhead to access this loop is the Mt Rose Trailhead at the Mt Rose Summit Parking Area. Located at the summit of the Mt Rose Highway, Nevada state highway 431, the parking area is a large paved lot just off the road.
From Reno, take I-580 heading south until you reach the exit for highway 431. Follow 431 up to the pass, and at the top, the parking area will be on your right. From anywhere near the south shore of Tahoe, follow highway 50 to the intersection with highway 28, then follow 28 north to Incline Village. There, get onto 431 and follow it to the summit. From anywhere on the north or east shore, follow highway 28 until reaching 431!
The Rose-Houghton-Relay Loop:
To Galena Falls:
Find the trail at the south end of the parking lot, and then begin the hike! You will gain about 200 vertical feet in the first half mile, and while that may not sound like a lot, it will be harder than you expect if you’re not acclimated. Remember, the trail begins at nearly 9,000 vertical feet!
The views overlooking Lake Tahoe are awesome at the beginning of the hike. Because of the high starting altitude, the views are expansive, especially to the south towards the lake from the beginning. Enjoy them at the start because before long, the trail turns north away from the lake and enters more forested terrain. You’ll have more views later though!
For an easy day up here, just hike to Galena Falls and back!
After the opening climb, the trail levels off for a nice walk through the woods. Very few stretches of the trail to the falls are totally flat, there is plenty of undulation, but there will be no more major climbs over the next couple of miles. The trail is also very nice so you should make quick progress!
While the northward turn does mean you won’t be able to see Lake Tahoe, it does mean you will have some nice views of Mt Rose. The forest is thin enough that you will often be able to look clearly through the trees towards the towering Rose.
At the 1.7 mile mark, you will begin descending towards Galena Falls. The falls are about 150 vertical feet below the high point of the early trail, so while it’s not a long or steep descent, there is some work to do.
After another ¾ of a mile of downward trending hiking, you’ll arrive at Galena Falls. Galena Falls is a 70 foot or so high cascade tumbling down a rough rocky face. Galena Falls isn’t super vertical, so it doesn’t have the same impressiveness as a truly vertical waterfall. However, for the adventurous, you could pretty easily climb up the rocky face to the top due to its non-vertical nature!
To Mt Rose:
Just below Galena Falls, take a right to head towards Mt Rose. The trail begins by passing near the edge of a large alpine meadow. Here the incline is still basically non-existent, so enjoy it, that will change soon!
An out and back hike Mt Rose is a great day in itself!
After an easy half a mile passing the meadows, the trail kicks up and begins the steep ascent towards the summit. The first part of the climb is up a very steep gully between Mt Rose and Mt Houghton, and while the trail is still pretty nice, it gets steep!
In just under a mile you’ll gain about 700 vertical feet as you hike up the valley, and while that number isn’t anything crazy, this is by far the steepest climb so far. It actually isn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things, but it is definitely a noticeable incline!
The hike to Lake Genevieve and Crag Lake is a long but gentle Tahoe area hike!
After just under a mile heading up the gulley, you’ll reach the saddle between Mt Rose and Mt Houghton at 9,700 feet. You can’t quite relax yet, you still have to actually reach the summit, but the first half of the climb is done! From this pass, you still have about 1,000 vertical feet to go!
From the pass, the trail begins by climbing up the ridge leading towards Rose. As you’re hiking this ridge is super obvious and easy to see, and I actually thought the trail would follow the ridge all the way to the summit. However, it actually pretty quickly leaves the ridge and climbs up the backside of the peak to climbers left.
Once you’re on the backside of the peak, the trail switchbacks its way up towards the summit. Around this point, you will leave the trees behind and truly enter the alpine. The Treeline around Tahoe is in the neighborhood of 10,400 feet, so once you’re completely above the trees, you’re probably nearing this elevation!
Check out the Martis Peak Trail for a moderate Tahoe summit hike!
The final few hundred feet to the summit follow a well defined and surprisingly nice trail. I say surprisingly nice because often as you approach a big summit like this you’ll have to scramble or at the least the trail will suck, but the hiking to Rose is almost always on a nice, though rocky, trail!
Before long, though it might feel like a long time, you’ll reach the summit of Mt Rose! The views from up here are seriously epic! To the north, the entire northern Sierra Nevada is visible, and on a clear day you’ll even be able to see the southern tip of the Cascades at Lassen Peak!
For the most iconic Tahoe hike, you have to check out the Rubicon Trail!
In all other directions the views are fantastic too! To the south, Lake Tahoe and the peaks beyond are the highlights, and to the west the Sierra Crest around Donner Pass can be seen. This is the highest mountain north of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada, so you can see everything around!
To Mt Houghton:
The steepest section of descending is from the summit down through the gulley to Galena Falls, and while this is a fairly steep section of hiking, it’s nothing too crazy. Watch your footing, but you should make it easily and in good time.
I should also mention that there appears to be a way to reach Mt Houghton off trail. I did not see the route, but I have heard of people ascend Houghton directly from the saddle between Houghton and Rose. There likely is a route there, but I believe it is off trail and should only be attempted by experienced hikers.
Just before reaching Galena Falls take a right to climb above the falls into the meadows above. The trail through this flat section above Galena Falls will vary between passing through the open meadows and forest, but it does mellow out a bit momentarily. You’ll be between Mt Houghton and nearby Tamarack Peak as well so there are some nice things to look at!
The High Meadows to Cold Creek hike is a great moderate option in Tahoe!
¾’s of a mile past Galena Falls you will reach an intersection. Turn right here, and immediately begin the climb up Houghton. This trail is actually a branch of the Tahoe Rim Trail, and it ascends towards the ridge between Houghton and Relay. From the pass on the ridge, you’ll then ascend up Houghtons summit ridge.
The climb is mostly a moderate incline. It begins by hiking directly up the not so steep slope, but once you encounter more vertical terrain the trail traverses across the face and switchbacks its way up. From the intersection below to the pass is about 750 vertical feet of climbing over the course of about a mile and a quarter, so really it’s not too steep, just a consistent gradient!
You could cut out Mt Rose and still have a great double summit day out!
Once at the pass, don’t feel too relieved because there is still the nearly 400 foot climb up the summit ridge! The incline maybe picks up a bit on the ridge, but it’s still pretty gentle for the most part. There is also a well defined trail even up here, so progress is pretty easy. Though I will admit, it’s easy to say that while typing this out on my couch!
Continue up the summit ridge following the sandy trail. The foliage up here is tough and hardy bushes and what technically passes for trees. You’re approaching the treeline, so there won’t be any big soaring pines!
It will be sudden, but without warning you will round a corner and find yourself above the tree line with nothing but rock in front of you! The moment you hit the treeline, you will also see the summit just feet in front of you! I honestly could hardly believe it. You never just round a corner and see the summit right there, but here, the treeline is almost perfectly aligned with the summit!
Check out the Stevens Trail in the foothills below Tahoe for great spring hiking!
The summit of Houghton is pretty uninteresting. The small, flat, rocky area atop the mountain has a couple of small rocks to sit on, but little for distinguishing features. The views are excellent though! Tahoe is clearly visible beyond Relay Peak to the south, and Mt Rose is the most obvious feature to the northeast! Enjoy the summit, and then head back down to continue to Relay Peak!
To Relay Peak:
From the summit of Mt Houghton, first retrace your steps back down the summit ridge. You will traverse the ridge connecting the two peaks, and that unfortunately means you will have to give back elevation!
Once back to where the trail reaches the pass, continue straight to stay on the ridge. Unfortunately, the traverse across to Relay isn’t a true ridgewalk in the sense of having massive drop offs on either side of the trail at all times. There is actually a building up here, and in part due to that, the trail follows the western side of the ridge.
The hike to Fordyce Falls near Spaulding Lake is another good hike in the Sierra foothills!
There is some really cool exposed hiking up here, and some spots where a slip would mean a fall of hundreds if not thousands of feet! It’s definitely not all bad, but most of the ridge crossing is fairly uneventful. I personally like big drop offs, but maybe I’m crazy!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!
Upon reaching the structure about midway across, climb up onto the ridge itself, and then prepare yourself for the climb up to Relay’s summit. From the low point on the ridge, the climb is only about 300 feet, so nothing too crazy. There is generally a well defined trail to the summit of Relay as this is actually a part of the Tahoe Rim Trail, but when I hiked this trail the ridge was still covered in snow!
Tahoe is bear country so make sure you’re bear safe!
The ascent to Relay really isn’t anything much, though you may be struggling with the elevation or be tired from the climbing of the day! The biggest struggle for me was a combination of fatigue and deep snow! Before long though, you will arrive at the summit of Relay Peak!
Of the 3 peaks on this hike, Relay is definitely the least impressive. The smallest of the 3, Relay is actually just below tree line so there are some small but tough trees growing on the summit. These trees do actually limit the views a bit too, especially looking towards Lake Tahoe, but nonetheless the views are still awesome, especially looking back towards Houghton and Mt Rose!
Hiking Out:
To return to the trailhead, retrace your steps back down Relay Peak towards the building on the ridge towards Houghton. You may not have noticed it, but there is actually a gravel road going down which will be your return trip! If you really wanted to return via the ridge and then past Galena Falls you could, but it would add significant miles.
Take a right to get onto the gravel road, and then immediately begin descending down from the ridge. The road is totally sun exposed at first as you descend down the slopes of the mountain, and then cross some open meadows immediately below the peak, but it will eventually enter the forest.
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
This fire road takes you along a different path than the trail to Galena Falls. The trail to Galena Falls goes to the north of nearby Tamarack Peak, while this road stays to the south of Tamarack. While most of the time this doesn’t really matter because you’ll be hiking through dense forest, it does mean that when the forest breaks, the views looking south over Lake Tahoe are pretty awesome!
Continue on the gravel road for about three and a half miles, and then just a few tenths of a mile from the trailhead veer left to hop onto the Tamarack Lake Trail. While you can follow the fire road all the way to the highway, it will spit you out a quarter mile or so away from the parking lot, and that last quarter mile is all uphill!
Once on the Tamarack Lake Trail, it’s a quick and easy half a mile to the trailhead, and then you’re done, having summited three 10,000 foot peaks and covered 17 miles! Heck of a day!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
This is an excellent long hike that has great views throughout, good trail throughout, and a trio of mountain summits. There aren’t many hikes where you can summit 3 peaks in a day which makes this one even more special!
While it is excellent throughout, I honestly don’t think there is anything quite impressive enough to make this a 10/10. There just isn’t that wow moment that makes it super memorable. Is this a great hike? Yea, it is. Does this hike have the wow factor of a hike like Half Dome, Clouds Rest, or the Highline in Glacier? No it does not. One of the best hikes in the Tahoe area, but not world class.
Pros:
- Awesome views throughout
- Triple summit opportunity
- Consistently good trail
- Waterfall
Cons:
- Little exposure or drop offs
- No special or wow moments
Alternative Hikes:
Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, and Jobs Peak Loop
When To Hike The Rose-Houghton-Relay Loop:
While the Lake Tahoe area is a haven for athletes at all times of year, hiking is best done here in the warmer months. Tahoe is famous for its massive snowfall, so trails can be snowed in into the summer.
This hike is pretty high in elevation, so snow will linger up here later than the nearby lower elevation areas. Most years, expect to still be encountering snow into June, with conditions becoming reliably snow free in late June or early July, though you may be able to hike it without snow earlier. Snow is possible anytime during the year at high elevation, but conditions should be snow free until late September or October.
This hike can be done anytime there isn’t a ton of snow on the ground. However, I would personally recommend this hike between late June and September, and the broader Tahoe area anytime between June and October.
Links For Further Reading:
Mount Rose, Mount Houghton, and Relay Peak Route | Map, Guide – Nevada | AllTrails
Ascent of Mount Rose on 2020-07-04 – Peakbagger.com
My Rose Summit to Houghton Peak to Relay Peak to Tahoe Meadows Trail
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