AMBLEWAY Wildest hikes
Numbers Fire plume from Mount Watson.jpg
Dicklyon · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Mount Watson Boulevard–Tahoe Rim Trail (Watson Lake), 4 sights

15.4 mi · ▲ 2,452 ft · 6 hr 22 min

Mount Watson Boulevard–Tahoe Rim Trail (Watson Lake), 4 sights is a 15.4-mile out-and-back in Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit near Carnelian Bay, CA. It climbs 2,452 ft and is mostly dirt. It scores 75/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.

Elevation

0 mi6,513 – 8,327 ft15.8 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 39.23235, -120.08576
Nearest town Carnelian Bay, CA
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Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Mount Watson Boulevard–Tahoe Rim Trail (Watson Lake), 4 sights

15.4 mi · ▲ 2,452 ft · 6 hr 22 min

Elevation 6,511–8,328 ft

Out & Back · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Trailhead: 39.23235, -120.08576

Weather Sep 20: sunrise 6:47 AM · sunset 7:02 PM

Transit-accessible: stop 706 m from the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading N.
  2. 0.4 miBear left, heading N.
  3. 1 miSharp left onto Tahoe Rim Trail, heading S.
  4. 1.8 miBear left onto Watson Creek Road, heading W.
  5. 0.3 miBear right, heading S.
  6. 0.4 miBear left, heading SW.
  7. 250 ftTurn left onto Tahoe Rim Trail (Watson Lake), heading SW.
  8. 0.5 miSharp right onto Watson Peak Trail, heading W.
  9. 1.2 miContinue straight onto Watson Peak Road, heading SW.
  10. 0.1 miBear right, heading W.
  11. 1.4 miBear right onto Mount Watson Boulevard, heading NE.
  12. 0.5 miReach Tahoe Rim Trail (Watson Lake), then turn around and head back the way you came.
  13. 0.5 miBear left onto Watson Peak Road, heading W.
  14. 1.5 miContinue straight onto Watson Peak Trail, heading SE.
  15. 1.2 miSharp left onto Tahoe Rim Trail (Watson Lake), heading E.
  16. 0.5 miTurn right, heading NW.
  17. 250 ftBear right, heading NW.
  18. 0.4 miBear left onto Watson Creek Road, heading E.
  19. 0.3 miBear right onto Tahoe Rim Trail, heading N.
  20. 1.8 miSharp right, heading NE.
  21. 1 miBear right, heading E.
  22. 0.4 miArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail map, photos and weather for this hike: www.ambleway.com/hikes/mount-watson-boulevard-tahoe-rim-trail-watson-lake-out-back-4-sights-25-km-1c2b

Trail surface

92% dirt6% paved1% gravel1% unspecified

Weather

Sunrise 6:47 AMSunset 7:02 PM

Good to know

  • Transit-accessible: stop 706 m from the trailhead
  • Parking lot at the trailhead

Other ways to reach this destination

More from this trailhead

Hikes near Carnelian Bay, California