Tahoe, McKinney Trail, August 2005

Summary:

Who: Gregg, Rachel, Reilly and Sadie in the 4Runner
What: McKinney Trail and a small part of the Rubicon
Where: CA - Tahoe, in the Tahoe National Forest
When: August 2004
Difficulty: Moderate

Route/Directions:

This trail starts just north of Tahoma, a small town on the west side of Lake Tahoe. Part of it is at one end of the Rubicon Trail which continues west through Tahoe NF all the way to Georgetown. We took a fork north on the shorter McKinney trail ending at Barker Pass where we had a picnic lunch. From there, it's a paved road heading back east to Lake Tahoe just north of Tahoe Pines.

Maps, books, etc:

"Backcountry Adventures: Northern California", Massey and Wilson
McKinney Creek Trail (Northern Sierra #17), p. 346

MapSource Topo Map

Pictures:

At the start of the road, there was a large log blocking the way. It was very out-of-place, and wasn't as heavy as it looks. So I suspected that some ATV riders had placed it there in hopes of turning vehicles back. The road passed several lakes, the first two covered with lily pads.

We didn't get a view of Lake Tahoe on this trip, but the scenery was still pretty nice. Barker Pass had a nice picnic area, and seemed like a good staging area for hikers and mountain bikers (the PCT ran nearby).