Possibly the most famous trail in the Lake Tahoe area, the Rubicon Trail from D.L. Bliss State Park to Emerald Bay State Park has been on my list of must do hikes for years. The hiking in Lake Tahoe is almost always awesome, but this hike which traces the lake’s shore between two state parks is a real gem!
On Memorial Day Weekend, I decided to get up early, beat the crowds, and hike this epic trail. At over 13 miles, it was certainly a long day, but the views made it 100% worthwhile! This is definitely one of the best hikes in Tahoe!
Miles/Elevation:
13.6 miles
1,660 feet vertical gain
About Lake Tahoe:
If you’re from California, you’ve almost certainly heard of Lake Tahoe, or maybe just Tahoe. It’s basically a cult out here, and especially in the Bay Area, it’s a crazy popular getaway for people during all parts of the year. Skiing, hiking, boating, you name it and you can probably do it up in Tahoe!
The largest alpine lake in North America, Lake Tahoe itself is about 22 miles long and 12 miles wide, with a maximum depth of over 1,600 feet! This is a big lake in an otherwise dry state, and that is part of the attraction! While the brilliant blue waters stay cold pretty much all year, warm summer days make swimming attractive for thousands.
Situated in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the lake is obviously the centerpiece, but there are a number of cities and towns that surround the star attraction. South Lake Tahoe CA and neighboring Stateline NV make up the largest “urban” area, and a number of smaller towns are situated along the remaining shores of the lake. These smaller towns include Meeks Bay, Tahoma, Tahoe City, Dollar Point, Incline Village, and more.
D.L. Bliss State Park:
At 1,830 acres, D.L. Bliss isn’t the biggest park in California, but it certainly packs a punch for it’s small size! The main attraction is the popular Rubicon Trail, and beyond that, there really isn’t much else for hiking. You could probably hike every mile of trail here in a day!
D.L. Bliss also offers 150 campsites for you to stay at! They are pretty small, so only tents and small campers and RVs will fit. For day users, be sure to get here early; parking lots for day use will fill up in the morning, and then you’ll have to park somewhere on the highway! There is a $10 day use fee for parking.
Getting To The Rubicon Trail:
To access the Rubicon Trail, you will first need to get to Tahoe. If you are coming from within California or Nevada, driving is probably your best bet. If you are coming from farther away and need to fly, the closest somewhat major airport is Reno, a bit over an hour away. Bay Area airports may offer cheaper flights, but you will then have a four hour drive to deal with.
Once you have made it to the city of South Lake Tahoe, the trailhead is very easily accessible. The trailhead is called the RubiconTrailhead, and should show right up in Google Maps. From South Lake Tahoe, it is about 30 minutes away along highway 89 and Lester Beach Road in the park.
Rubicon Trail:
Lighthouse Trail:
While the goal of the day’s hiking is to complete the Rubicon Trail, that’s actually not where you are going to start out! From the Rubicon Trailhead, you will actually take the Lighthouse Trail north to Calawee Cove and Rubicon Point. This is the northern starting point for the hike! You could drive there if you want, but that’ll make your return trip a bit longer.
One weird thing to mention is that if you look at the Alltrails map for the Rubicon Trail, it will show you starting from the main highway. As long as you get to the park before mid-morning, you should not have to start this far out. There is parking right at the Rubicon Trailhead, so be sure to get up early and get there by 9, otherwise you’re looking at about an extra two miles of road walking, uphill!
Make sure you do the High Meadows to Cold Creek hike while in Tahoe!
The Lighthouse Trail immediately begins climbing from the parking lot, but soon enough you’ll be rewarded with your first great view of the lake. There’s a great viewpoint with an information plaque to stop at if you need to catch your breath!
An awesome hike in the foothills below Tahoe is the Stevens Trail. Check out our write up here!
After the viewpoint, turn left and head back into the woods, and continue hiking uphill. The first quarter to half mile of the hike is uphill, and you’ll gain about a few hundred feet in that time. After cresting the hill, you’ll have about ¾’s of a mile of descending down to Calawee Cove, and the waters edge!
I should mention that this is called the Lighthouse Trail, and there is in fact a lighthouse somewhere on it, but I totally missed it! Either I missed an obscured turn off, or it’s not a very impressive lighthouse! Either way, there is a lighthouse that I didn’t see, so you’ll have to find it for yourself and tell me where I went wrong!
To Emerald Bay:
From Calawee Cove and Rubicon Point, the Rubicon Trail proper begins. You’ll be heading generally south with the lake on your left all the way to Emerald Bay! Leaving Calawee Cove, the trail ascends about 300 feet over the course of a mile. It’s not super steep, but if you’re struggling with the elevation, just make sure to control your breathing!
After a mile, you will reach an intersection. Turning right at this intersection will actually take you right back to where you parked, you basically have done a loop at this point. The Rubicon Trail continues straight, which is where you should go for now. Later, you’ll use this little trail to get back to your car.
Continuing straight, the trail descends back down out of the forest to the waters edge over the course of another mile. Back down by the water, the views are great, and there are a bunch of little spots where you could sit by the water, or even get in if you’re brave!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
The views here are fantastic, and the hiking is flat and easy going! After another mile or so, you’ll cut inland, and when you reemerge at the water’s edge, you will be in Emerald Bay State Park!
Emerald Bay:
Named for the gleaming body of water cut off from the rest of the lake, Emerald Bay surrounds it’s namesake, and consists of beautiful forests, beaches, and of course water. The trail now follows the curve of the bay, and you can actually see the end point of your hike across the water!
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
Continue hiking along Emerald Bay. The crowds will almost certainly be getting thicker by now, as you will be encountering all of the foot traffic from Emerald Bay itself. You’ll hike through the boat camp, past beaches, and eventually you’ll stumble upon a huge, ancient looking house. This is Vikingsholm.
Vikingsholm unfortunately was not actually built by the vikings, but it was built by someone who travelled throughout Scandinavia to gather ideas for her norse inspired home! Construction began in the late 1920’s, and by 1930, Vikingsholm and the surrounding landscape was a wonderful summer getaway. If you look closely, you can actually see a small structure on Fannette Island in the bay built by the original owners!
Continue hiking past Vikingsholm, past the turn off for Lower Eagle Falls (though this would be a nice little detour if you haven’t seen it before), and eventually to the far side of the bay.
The final mile of trail climbs up the southern side of Emerald Bay to the campgrounds that occupy the high ground. Honestly, this isn’t really a must do part of the trail. You get the exact same view driving anyway, but I wanted to complete the entire Rubicon. If you’re like me, do it, otherwise I’d skip it!
There are one or two nice views from the south side of Emerald Bay, but eventually, you’ll turn around and hike back the way you came. Unless you have a car shuttle set up, you have a long hike back to D.L. Bliss before you can relax!
The Hike Back:
Head back past Lower Eagle Falls, past Vikingsholm, around Emerald Bay, and back north into D.L. Bliss. You will follow the exact same trail you took on the way out earlier, and unfortunately there isn’t really a way to turn this into a loop. The trail is either downhill or flat for most of the way, so it does make for easy walking.
While most of the hike back is flat, the final mile to get to the parking lot and trailhead is a nasty little climb! It’s really not a huge climb, but I had over 12 miles on my legs already, and hadn’t eaten quite enough! Safe to say I was pretty tired!
The climb isn’t very eventful, as you will just hike back into and through the forest. I was feeling pretty over it until I encountered a hiker heading downhill who mentioned that people had been seeing a bear cub running around near the trail.
Bear(s?)!:
Now, I’m generally not really afraid of bears, especially black bears, but a cub means a mom, and a mom with a cub means a fully grown overly protective bear. I was on high alert as I hiked the final few hundred yards, as I definitely did not want to get between the mother and the cub!
I thought I had missed them, and was actually within sight of my car, when I noticed on a nearby hillside a bear walking through the trees! It was the cub, and he was kinda just wandering around. I grabbed my camera, and within seemingly seconds there were a dozen people gathered around taking pictures!
He was definitely young, not much bigger than a large golden retriever, and maybe weighing 100 pounds, but nobody knew where the mom was! Maybe he had just left her, but if so she couldn’t have been gone for long!
You’re in bear country, so be sure to always be bear safe!
This bear did not have a fear of humans! He ran around, walked towards us, walked down the road, and overall put on a bit of a show! After watching for 10 minutes or so, I headed to my car to change shoes and head out. While sitting on my trunk, I heard something behind me, turned around, and saw this bear sniffing the front of my car!
I immediately got up and started making noise! He paused, stood up, and actually put his front paws on my front left fender. I grabbed my trekking poles and retreated across the road where a few more people were standing. He sniffed around my car for a minute (I was really hoping he wouldn’t go after my backpack which had food in it!) and then something spooked him and he jumped into a tree right in front of my car!
At this point, I got some great pictures, and he eventually ran off. I decided to change shoes in a hurry and head out before he decided he wanted to investigate my backpack more closely! As I drove off, he was still wandering around the parking area putting on a show for the visitors! By this point, a ranger was on scene and was monitoring the situation! All in all, it was a pretty good way to end the hike!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
This is definitely an amazing trail that you need to check out if you are hiking in the area. It has constant awesome views, is not overly difficult, and has the flexibility to offer full day, half day, or short hikes! While it is very busy, and you never get into the backcountry, this is a must see trail for anyone spending time in Tahoe. It’s especially great early and late in the season as it’s elevation is lower than the surrounding wilderness, and will be snow free longer each year!
Pros:
- Incredible views
- Easily accessible
- Very nice trail
- Multiple entry points/ways to shorten trip
Cons:
- Super busy
- Never gets into the backcountry
Alternative Hikes:
Rubicon Point Lighthouse Trail
When to Hike the Rubicon Trail:
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 isn’t super high up, so it should be accessible reliably by May, and most years likely by April. While snow is always a possibility in the mountains, major snowfall generally does not happen until late in the autumn, often November or later.
This hike can be done anytime there isn’t a ton of snow on the ground, and even then could make for a nice snowshoe hike or cross country ski outing! I would personally recommend this hike as well as the broader Tahoe area anytime between May and October.
Links for Further Reading:
DL Bliss State Park: Beaches, Lighthouses, Hiking & Campgrounds
CJ
February 13, 2024The Rubicon Trail offers breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe and is perfect for hikers of all levels. Don’t miss out on this amazing adventure! 🏞️🥾