Mount Tallac & Gilmore Lake via Floating Island / Mount Tallac Trail is a 7.1-mile out-and-back in Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit near Fallen Leaf, CA. The route passes Mount Tallac and Gilmore Lake. It climbs 3,194 ft, with sections as steep as 32% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 89/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
0 mi6,582 – 9,722 ft · steepest grade: 32%7.3 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Alpine Falls Tract Road 38.87809, -120.07964
Nearest town Fallen Leaf, CA
Directions
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Mount Tallac & Gilmore Lake via Floating Island / Mount Tallac Trail
7.1 mi · ▲ 3,194 ft · 3 hr 58 min
Elevation 6,583–9,722 ft
Out & Back · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
Trailhead: Alpine Falls Tract Road · 38.87809, -120.07964
Weather Aug 3: Clear, high 84°F / low 46° · precip 0% · wind 2 mph · sunrise 6:04 AM · sunset 8:11 PM
Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading W.
- 1.4 miTurn right, heading NE.
- 0.5 miTurn left, heading N.
- 0.2 miTurn left, heading NE.
- 0.1 miContinue straight onto Floating Island / Mount Tallac Trail, heading NW.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading NW.
- 0.3 miContinue straight onto Mount Tallac Trail, heading N.
- 0.2 miReach Mount Tallac, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Floating Island / Mount Tallac Trail, heading W.
- 1.4 miPass Gilmore Lake.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading SW.
- 0.9 miTurn right, heading SE.
- 1.4 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
84% dirt16% unspecified
Weather
ClearTemperature 84°F46°
Precip0%Wind2 mphUV9Humidity24%
Hourly temperature
85°45°
Sunrise 6:04 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:11 PM
Tue
85°61°
Wed
85°61°
Thu
87°61°
Fri
87°62°
Sat
87°62°
Sun
88°61°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 3.1 mi in (~167 min). Leave by 5:04 PM for the 8:11 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:40 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Toilets at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from Alpine Falls Tract Road Trailhead
- Gilmore Lake 4.7 mi · ▲ 1,855 ft
- Lily Lake–Angora Lake Trail, 3 sights 5 mi · ▲ 1,479 ft
- Alta Morris Lake–Gilmore Lake, 3 lakes 10 mi · ▲ 2,570 ft
- Dicks Peak & Gilmore Lake via Pacific Crest Trail 10.6 mi · ▲ 3,596 ft
- Floating Island / Mount Tallac Trail 11.5 mi · ▲ 4,407 ft
- Gilmore Lake & Fallen Leaf Lake via Floating Island / Mount Tallac Trail 15.3 mi · ▲ 5,706 ft
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Hikes near Fallen Leaf, California