AMBLEWAY Wildest hikes
Watson Creek headwaters meadow and Tahoe Rim Trail.jpg
Dicklyon · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Shivagiri Extension–Watson Creek Trail, 3 sights

13.4 mi · ▲ 2,166 ft · 5 hr 33 min

Shivagiri Extension–Watson Creek Trail, 3 sights is a 13.4-mile out-and-back in Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit near Ponderosa Palisades, CA. It climbs 2,166 ft, with sections as steep as 16% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 74/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: backcountry feel.

Elevation

0 mi6,690 – 7,865 ft · steepest grade: 16%13.9 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 39.24336, -120.18268
Nearest town Ponderosa Palisades, CA
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Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Shivagiri Extension–Watson Creek Trail, 3 sights

13.4 mi · ▲ 2,166 ft · 5 hr 33 min

Elevation 6,690–7,865 ft

Out & Back · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Trailhead: 39.24336, -120.18268

Weather Sep 22: sunrise 6:49 AM · sunset 6:59 PM

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading SW.
  2. 0.3 miBear left onto Big Chief Trail (Middle), heading S.
  3. 2.6 miBear right onto Big Chief Trail (Upper), heading SE.
  4. 0.4 miContinue straight onto 116 Road, heading SE.
  5. 50 ftContinue straight onto Big Chief Trail (Upper), heading SE.
  6. 1 miContinue straight onto Tahoe Rim Trail, heading E.
  7. 0.9 miTurn right onto Watson Creek Trail, heading NE.
  8. 1.1 miSharp right onto Sawmill Flat, heading E.
  9. 0.1 miBear right onto Watson Creek Road, heading S.
  10. 100 ftContinue straight onto Sawmill Flat, heading SE.
  11. 0.3 miTurn left onto Shivagiri Extension, heading SE.
  12. 0.2 miReach Watson Lake Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  13. 0.2 miTurn right onto Sawmill Flat, heading W.
  14. 0.3 miContinue straight onto Watson Creek Road, heading N.
  15. 50 ftBear left onto Sawmill Flat, heading N.
  16. 0.1 miSharp left onto Watson Creek Trail, heading N.
  17. 1.1 miTurn left onto Tahoe Rim Trail, heading NW.
  18. 0.9 miContinue straight onto Big Chief Trail (Upper), heading W.
  19. 1 miContinue straight onto 116 Road, heading NW.
  20. 50 ftContinue straight onto Big Chief Trail (Upper), heading NW.
  21. 2.9 miBear right, heading NE.
  22. 450 ftArrive 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/shivagiri-extension-watson-creek-trail-out-back-3-sights-22-km

Trail surface

99% dirt1% paved

Weather

Sunrise 6:49 AMSunset 6:59 PM

Other ways to reach this destination

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Hikes near Ponderosa Palisades, California