With a name like Pyramid Peak, a mountain better look the part, and this one definitely does! Located in the Desolation Wilderness just a few miles from Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Peak is one of the most visually impressive and prominent peaks in the entire Lake Tahoe area.
While the summit elevation is just a touch under 10,000 feet, the starting elevation of the hike to the summit is only at about 6,000! The 4,000 foot ascent to the summit is done in less than 4 miles, and makes for a crazy steep climb! With an awesome class 2 summit block and huge views and huger drop offs, the payoff is great, but you’ll have to work to get there!
Miles/Elevation:
7.7 miles
4,045 feet vertical gain
About Desolation Wilderness:
At 63,960 acres, Desolation Wilderness is a relatively small designated wilderness area that contains alpine forests, lakes, peaks, and granite formations to the west of Lake Tahoe. Containing part of the Sierra Crest, the mountains of the wilderness create some of the most stunning panoramas in all of California.
Desolation is one of the most popular wilderness areas in California. Overnight usage is heavily regulated, and permits are required for all overnight use. For day use, hikers should complete free day use permits available at the many trailheads located around the wilderness.
Getting To The Trailhead:
The Pyramid Peak Trailhead is located on highway 50. From the Tahoe area including South Lake Tahoe, follow highway 50 over Echo Summit and down the western side. From Echo Summit, follow the road for just under 8 miles, not quite to Strawberry. The trailhead is totally unmarked, but there is a pullout near a powerline. Park here.
From the west, including the Bay Area, Sacramento, and most of the rest of California, follow highway 50 into the mountains. Continue until you reach Strawberry. From Strawberry, the trailhead is another mile on the left, but the small parking area is on the right.
The Pyramid Peak Trail:
Through the Burn Scar:
From the small pullout alongside highway 50, walk west along the highway until you notice the use trails heading up the bank into the woods. There is not an official trail here, but it is a well known hike. There are a couple of different places you can climb into the forest from the road, so just take whichever you spot first. A GPS map is helpful here to locate the trail. Once in the woods, finding the actual trail is quite easy.
The hike to Lake Genevieve and Crag Lake is a long but gentle Tahoe area hike!
Once you’re on the trail, the first thing you’ll probably notice is how insanely steep this hike is! In the first mile, you’ll gain nearly 1,500 vertical feet! If you were scrambling up rock that would be one thing, but on an actual trail that’s almost unheard of!
Anyway, the trail quickly heads towards the bank of the creek descending through Rocky Canyon, and you will then follow the banks of this creek for the next mile or so through the burned out forest.
Apart from the insanely steep trail, it’s also hard to miss the fire scars that surround you here. This area was ravaged by the Caldor Fire of 2021, and the forest shows severe damage. Almost every tree is a blackened husk, the forest floor is a blanket of black and gray ash, and very little appears to be living here.
However, when you look closely, there are signs of life and recovery! If you really look, you will see a smattering of trees still with green needles! Scattered around the forest floor are signs of life too! A bush here, a fern there, a flower over there. The forest was totally devastated, but life, uh, finds a way!
Continue climbing up one of the steepest trails that must exist anywhere in the world as you follow the creek. The trail quality is actually surprisingly good. There isn’t much for deadfall on the trail itself, and while it is crazy steep, the footing actually isn’t too bad, nor is it rough or rocky.
For a brutally long day, complete a triple summit day of Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, and Jobs Peak!
As you approach the 1 mile mark, the trail will move away from the banks of the creek before eventually crossing it right around 1 mile from the trailhead. At the creek crossing, the forest will begin to change drastically. Here, green grasses and bushes begin appearing around the creekside, and more and more green trees will appear above! This is the top of the burn scar, and the forest will look better and better as you continue up!
The Upper Trail:
Check out the Martis Peak Trail for a gentler Tahoe summit hike!
Across the creek, the trail mellows out for a little bit as you encounter flatter terrain. It won’t last, and to be honest, when I mean flatter, I just mean a normal level of steepness as opposed to insanely steep!
For the most iconic Tahoe hike, you have to check out the Rubicon Trail!
As you continue climbing the forest will thin while it simultaneously gets greener. This is the obvious effect of your increasing elevation! And as you climb higher and higher, the trail also actually becomes easier to follow. Through the burn scar, it’s like trying to follow a slightly different color of ash through a bunch of similarly colored ash. Up here, the trail is a bit rockier, but it’s at least easy to see for the most part!
The High Meadows to Cold Creek hike is a great moderate option in Tahoe!
After climbing through the thinning alpine forest, you will eventually start catching glimpses of the summit of Pyramid Peak itself. It will look hopelessly far away, but you’ll make it! The key is to just move at a steady pace you can sustain. Keep moving even if it feels painfully slow!
Check out the Stevens Trail in the foothills below Tahoe for great spring hiking!
After a steep, scramble adjacent, climb up a rocky not quite cliff face, you will begin ascending the lower slopes of Pyramid Peak. When you look at a topographic map, you can clearly see the beginnings of the Pyramid Shape well before the final summit pyramid, but while you’re on it it just feels like more uphill hiking!
Before long though, you will reach the base of the summit block and be faced with a 400 foot high pile of rocks!
The Summit Block:
The summit block of Pyramid Peak is no joke. The word block in “summit block” usually adequately describes the top of a mountain, but in this case it really isn’t close. The top most slopes of Pyramid Peak are a crazy steep pile of rocks and boulders 400 feet high. Technically, this isn’t above the treeline (the treeline around Tahoe is a bit over 10,000 feet) but it’s so rocky that nothing grows.
Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!
There is no trail to speak of and no easy route that I could find, so you’ll have a long slog up difficult class two terrain. You won’t encounter anything that is class three or higher unless you search it out, but as far as class two terrain goes, it’s pretty tough.
Tahoe is bear country so make sure you’re bear safe!
There are cairns that mark a route for the first 100 or 200 feet, but I eventually lost the cairns and made my own way. To be honest though, I don’t really think that following the cairns took me through easier terrain than I could have found anywhere else.
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
I began by trending to the right, making my way towards the east face of the mountain as I ascended the rocky terrain. I was hoping I would be able to continue this rightward trend all the way to the summit, but I hit the near vertical edge of the rock field well before I made the summit. After a brief pause to reassess, I changed course to head back towards the center of the rock field.
The going will be slow, and there’s a good chance you’ll be annoyed with just how slow it goes considering the work you already put in to get up here, but you’ll make it eventually! As you approach the summit, the rocks get smaller and easier to manage, and once you’re able to almost walk normally, the summit is just ahead!
For such a dramatic peak, there is actually a pretty open and flat summit area. There are some walls built up on top of the peak to protect from wind, but the real headline are the views!
The best view, which you’ll get your first glimpse of on the summit, is the panoramic look over Desolation Wilderness! Lake Aloha and the numerous other lakes of the wilderness all lie at your feet! On the far side of Desolation, you have a clear look at the backside of Mt Tallac, and around the flanks of Tallac are the crystal blue waters of Lake Tahoe!
Looking northwest, you have a straight look up the spine of the Crystal Range. Pyramid Peak is the highest summit of the Crystal Range, the most iconic range in Desolation, but you’ll have top down views of the ridges and other peaks! The bright white granite and near complete absence of trees are iconic Desolation images!
To the south and east, there’s even more to look at! You’ll have had some good looks to the south throughout the climb, but they’re obviously the best from the top! The panoramas south towards Kirkwood and beyond contain the highest mountains visible from the summit!
There’s lots of great places to sit and relax from the summit, and once you’ve enjoyed the summit, it’s time to head down!
Hiking Down:
This hike is an out and back so you’ll follow the same trail all the way back to the trailhead. First though, you have to make it back down to the bottom of the summit talus field.
My route up to the summit wasn’t exactly easy so I didn’t follow the same route back down. Going up, I stuck to the east side of the rock field, but going down, I actually ended up more on the west side.
Honestly going back down wasn’t any easier on this side, so I really don’t think it matters which way you go. There is no easy way down; you’re going to have to deal with class two scrambling the whole way, so find whichever way is easiest for you!
Once back on the trail itself, follow it all the way back to the trailhead. It’s really not a long hike back, but with the massive elevation loss you will definitely feel it a bit in your knees and quads!
The trail actually has pretty good footing, so you can make decently quick progress. You won’t have to pick your way down the whole way, watching each step which is super nice! Before long you’ll be back in the burnt forest, and from there the road isn’t far! Pick your way back to the highway and you’re done!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 8/10
While Pyramid Peak itself is a beautiful, well shaped mountain, the hike up to it isn’t quite as great. The insanely steep trail legitimately might be the steepest I’ve ever encountered, especially at the beginning, and it’s not really an officially maintained trail. Add in the burnt forest for the first third and it’s not a great start.
Things do get better the higher you go, but the lengthy though interesting class two scramble up the summit block isn’t enough to recover from the not great start. Yes the destination is awesome; the summit of Pyramid Peak is legitimately pretty great. But to be honest, the view from the summit misses maybe the best feature of Desolation: Pyramid Peak! Since you’re on it you don’t get to look at it!
This is a worthwhile hike, but it’s far from the best you can find. Summiting Pyramid Peak is certainly worth doing, but I don’t see myself coming back to this hike for a while! Not the best summit hike in the area, and definitely not the best of the Sierra!
Pros:
- Awesome views
- Fun scrambling
- Major summit
Cons:
- Insanely steep
- Burnt forest
Alternative Hikes:
Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, and Jobs Peak Loop
When To Hike Pyramid Peak:
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 well into May, with conditions becoming reliably snow free in June, 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, and even then could make for a nice snowshoe hike or cross country ski outing! I would personally recommend this hike between June and September, and the broader Tahoe area anytime between June and October.
Be aware there isn’t a ton of shade on this hike, so on especially warm days, it will get hot! Aim for cool summer days or spring and fall when snow isn’t a factor!
Links For Further Reading:
Pyramid Peak Trail | Map, Guide – California | AllTrails
Pyramid Peak : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost
2 Comments