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Photos Maps Summary: This hike begins with a challenging climb, however, once this is over you are rewarded with a spectacular view south to the Crystal Range as well as southwest towards Loon Lake. As you approach the last climb to Ellis Peak you have a couple of options as shown on the map. On top of Ellis Peak you are afforded a 360 degree view of the Northern Sierra Nevadas. Ellis Lake is not the most scenic lake to hike to but it is only an extra ~0.85 miles to see it and return to the trail.Distance: 7.2 miles round-tripElevation Gain/Loss: 2,150' totalSeason: mid-July through OctoberFees & Permits: None for dayhikersFinding the Trailhead: 39.0718 N, 120.2311 W. From the CA-89/28 intersection in Tahoe City, follow CA-89 south for ~4.2 miles and turn left onto Barker Pass Road. Follow the road for ~7.0 miles to the trailhead off the western side of the road. The Hike: First, a few remarks about distances. My measurements of distance don't quite line up with Mike White's distances reported in his hiking book, "Lake Tahoe." His distance to Ellis Peak is 3.5 miles one-way (he has the distance to Ellis Lake being 0.4 miles from the trail intersection which is the same as mine; see below). He, however, incorrectly reports the total mileage to be 8.6 instead of 7.8 (he has it taking 4.6 miles to go from the trailhead to Ellis Lake and then to Ellis Peak which, unless you visit Ellis Lake a second time, would not result in a total of 8.6 miles). So, in the end, we are only off by ~0.6 miles total. Now on to the actual description. The hike immediately starts climbing the ridge to the south of the road and gains ~490' in ~0.6 miles. Here, there are wonderful views to the southeast, southwest, and northwest (a little further along the ridgeline). The trail then follows the ridge to the southeast and descends the ridge to the east before ascending and descending a smaller ridge. Shortly after this the trail intersects with the Ellis Lake trail (to the left) and a road coming in from the southwest (behind and right) and southeast (forward and right) ~2.45 miles from the trailhead. Continuing straight here, you begin to climb again towards Ellis Peak (we visited Ellis Lake after we climbed Ellis Peak). About 0.4 miles from the trail intersection we past by a
junction with a trail coming in from the right (we didn't see it). The trail to the right is another option to get to the summit (or for coming back down from it). We continued to the left and intersected with that trail ~0.2 miles from the first intersection after scrambling over some rocks (trail disappears in places here). The summit is reached in a further ~100 feet (~3.1 miles from the trailhead). We also continued a little ways to the north of the summit for better views of Lake Tahoe and to the north. On our way back down from the summit we took the alternate trail (to the east) and found that it was slightly (< 0.1 miles) longer but did not involve scrambling over rocks. We made our way back down to the major trail intersection and turned right towards Ellis Lake. We reached the shore of Ellis Lake ~0.4 miles from the trail intersection. From here, the trailhead is ~2.9 miles away.
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