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

Watson Creek Trail & Watson Lake Trail via Tahoe Rim Trail

14.7 mi · ▲ 2,198 ft · 6 hr

Watson Creek Trail & Watson Lake Trail via Tahoe Rim Trail is a 14.7-mile out-and-back in Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit near Ponderosa Palisades, CA. It climbs 2,198 ft and is mostly dirt. It scores 75/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.

Elevation

0 mi6,831 – 7,865 ft15.3 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 39.24975, -120.19060
Nearest town Ponderosa Palisades, CA
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Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Watson Creek Trail & Watson Lake Trail via Tahoe Rim Trail

14.7 mi · ▲ 2,198 ft · 6 hr

Elevation 6,831–7,865 ft

Out & Back · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Trailhead: 39.24975, -120.19060

Weather Sep 21: sunrise 6:48 AM · sunset 7:01 PM

Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading W.
  2. 0.4 miTurn left, heading SE.
  3. 0.3 miTurn left onto Big Chief Trail (Middle), heading E.
  4. 3.5 miBear right onto Big Chief Trail (Upper), heading E.
  5. 0.4 miContinue straight onto 116 Road, heading SE.
  6. 50 ftContinue straight onto Big Chief Trail (Upper), heading SE.
  7. 1 miContinue straight onto Tahoe Rim Trail, heading E.
  8. 0.9 miTurn right onto Watson Creek Trail, heading NE.
  9. 1.2 miReach Watson Lake Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  10. 1.2 miTurn left onto Tahoe Rim Trail, heading NW.
  11. 0.9 miContinue straight onto Big Chief Trail (Upper), heading W.
  12. 1 miContinue straight onto 116 Road, heading NW.
  13. 50 ftContinue straight onto Big Chief Trail (Upper), heading NW.
  14. 3.8 miTurn right, heading SW.
  15. 0.3 miTurn right, heading N.
  16. 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/watson-creek-trail-watson-lake-trail-out-back-24-km

Trail surface

100% dirt

Weather

Sunrise 6:48 AMSunset 7:01 PM

Good to know

  • Parking lot at the trailhead

Other ways to reach this destination

More from this trailhead

Hikes near Ponderosa Palisades, California