With the winter snow mostly melted, it was time to do some Lake Tahoe hiking! Located just to the north of the lake itself, Martis Peak is a relatively unassuming peak, but that doesn’t mean the views aren’t big time! With snow still blanketing the highest reaches of the Sierra Nevada, this understated, heavily forested, peak was the perfect Memorial Day hike!
Miles/Elevation:
9.2 miles
1,794 feet vertical gain
About Tahoe National Forest:
The setting for this hike is Tahoe National Forest. One of the many national forests in the Sierra Nevada, Tahoe National Forest receives far fewer visitors than the much more famous national parks, and even though it shares its name with the stunning Lake Tahoe, much of the forest is miles and miles from its namesake lake.
At almost 900,000 acres, Tahoe National Forest contains miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, off roading roads, beautiful highways, and high mountain peaks. If you’re looking for a quiet and secluded backpacking trip, you can find it here. If you’re looking for an off road Jeep adventure you can find that here too!
The trailhead for the Martis Peak Trail does not have parking fees.
Getting To The Trailhead:
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
The trailhead to access Martis Peak is the Brockway Summit Tahoe Rim Trail trailhead. Located on highway 267 between Kings Beach and Truckee, the parking lot is simply a paved pullout along the road.
From Truckee, head south on 267 for about 9 miles. The parking area will be on your right heading south. From the south, take highway 28 to Kings Beach. Turn onto 267 and head north. Continue for about 3 miles until you reach the trailhead.
There is no fee at the trailhead.
The Martis Peak Trail:
To Tahoe Vista:
From the parking area along 267, cross the road and begin walking up the gravel fire road. Quickly, you will reach a well signed turn off to the left for the Tahoe Rim Trail. Take this left to begin the hike!
The first mile or so is a gentle but sustained climb through relatively thin pine forest. This terrain is super typical of the Sierra Nevada, and if you’ve ever hiked in the range before, this trail will feel very familiar.
The trail quality is excellent, and with the light grade, you should make pretty good progress. You will gain a bit over 500 feet in the first mile, so the climbing isn’t insignificant, but with how well built the trail is, it really isn’t bad. You’ll also have frequent peeks through the trees out over Lake Tahoe as you hike!
After just over a mile, you will reach a turn off to Picnic Rock. I haven’t been there myself, but from what I hear it’s a pretty cool spot that might make for a good short hike! We skipped it, but it might be worth visiting for you.
After the turn off for Picnic Rock, the incline of the trail really levels off and you’ll be on a mostly flat trail with bits of undulation for the next mile and a half or so. Here, you will lose your peeks at the lake as you head further into the forest and leave the hillside behind. I will admit I was bummed about this. I know a lot of people find forests really peaceful, but to me they’re mostly just boring if there is nothing to look at!
Anyway, at the 2.4 mile mark you will reach an intersection where you can take a left or right. Alltrails has hikers beginning with a right turn and then taking the route to the left back down, and I definitely concur with that choice. Make sure you turn right here!
From the intersection, continue hiking for another 1.4 miles of uneventful forest walking. You will however notice a change. As you get higher up, the forest thins at times to reveal large open meadows. I’ve seen similar breaks in the forest down in Yosemite, but unfortunately there aren’t any high peaks looming above the trees to add to the ambiance!
After 1.4 miles, you will reach the first reward of the hike, a viewpoint called Tahoe Vista. The viewpoint isn’t anything special itself, just a curve in the trail, but the looks out over the lake are epic! You will have unbroken views of the entirety of Tahoe, reaching from the far southern peaks around Desolation Wilderness all the way to the north shore! I could see people hiking this trail just for this view, but you have bigger fish to fry so keep going once you’ve taken it all in!
To Martis Peak:
Perhaps painfully, leave the viewpoint and hike back into the forest away from the lake. From here, it’s only 1 mile to the actual top of the hike! Continue on the singletrack Tahoe Rim Trail for a bit, and then once you encounter a fire road, take a left and leave the singletrack behind. Then very quickly take a right to continue on the paved road.
I was pretty shocked to find a paved road up here, but as it turns out, you can drive all the way up here on paved roads, and it’s a pretty popular thing to do! We probably saw 10 or so parked cars within half a mile, so apparently we were the only ones who didn’t know about it!
It’s a bit of a bummer that this hike largely finishes on paved road, but oh well. Continue on the road for the final half a mile to the lookout. Over the final quarter mile, you’ll hit by far the steepest section of the hike. It’s not that long, and it’s not really all that steep compared to a lot of bigger mountains, but the final kicker definitely had us breathing hard to finish!
The reward for your trouble is a really cool old lookout building with sweeping panoramas reaching from Desolation Wilderness in the south to Lassen Peak in the north! It feels like right beneath your feet is the city of Truckee, and all around are beautiful peaks and mountain forests! The coolest thing for me was seeing all the way to Lassen Peak, it’s not even in the Sierra Nevada, that’s the Cascade Range!
This is bear country so make sure you’re bear safe!
The listed trail on Alltrails actually ends here, but we decided to continue on and actually summit Martis Peak. From the lookout it’s maybe .2 miles with 100 feet of climbing. Follow the obvious use trail up into the trees. Eventually you will turn right, but really just keep going uphill, you’re looking for the top of a mountain!
The summit block of Martis is a 30 foot or so high pile of rocks and sand that has an easy route up on the right side. I wouldn’t even call it a scramble, really just a rocky trail up. Once at the summit, your reward for making it up here is a view of some branches!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
I totally understand why the route doesn’t take you to the summit, you literally can see anything! There are trees surrounding the top of the peak, and there are no big views to speak of. For us, summiting a peak is always fun, so we did it, but honestly there isn’t much to gain by making your way all the way to the top.
Check out the Stevens Trail in the foothills below Tahoe for great spring hiking!
After the uninspiring summit views, we descended back down to the actual lookout (which is epic), and sat down at the picnic table for a midhike snack!
Hiking Out:
From the lookout point, we began our 4.5 mile descent back to the trailhead. Remember back to about mile 2.4 of the hike? Well there was a place to turn either left or right. Right takes you to the Tahoe Vista viewpoint, but we decided to try the other way coming down.
Rather than turning off the paved fire road leading to the summit, turn right to follow it further down the mountain. I was a bit disappointed by this, but as it turns out this route actually follows the paved road for close to 2 miles. It made for fast descending, but it’s a very uninspiring way to hike down a mountain.
2 miles from the summit you will reach an intersection where you need to turn left to meet back up with the trail, and from the junction here, it’s an easy hike out on the singletrack you’ve already seen.
The final 2.4 miles or so went by really fast, and before we knew it we were back at the trailhead!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 7/10
There’s nothing really all that bad about this trail, but there isn’t anything especially great either. The views near the top are fantastic, but you won’t see them for long. The trail quality is mostly good, but there are some stretches of road walking. Overall, this is a good not great hike that is worth doing if you have the chance, but certainly shouldn’t be number one on your list of Tahoe hikes.
Pros:
- Big time views at the top
- Good trail quality
- Forest is peaceful
Cons:
- Miles of uneventful hiking
- Views don’t show up until near the top
- Road walking
- Actual summit has no views
Alternative Hikes:
Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, Jobs Peak Loop
The High Meadows To Cold Creek Loop
When To Hike To Martis 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.
Links For Further Reading:
Martis Peak Trail – California | AllTrails
Martis Peak : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost
Martis Peak Fire Lookout Hike | Trails + Paved Paths + Access
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