Strawberry Pass–Buck Pasture Trail, 5 sights is a 16.1-mile out-and-back in Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit near Kirkwood, CA. The route reaches Strawberry Pass. It climbs 3,580 ft, with sections as steep as 21% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 53/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: backcountry feel.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
Strawberry Pass–Buck Pasture Trail, 5 sights
16.1 mi · ▲ 3,580 ft · 7 hr 9 min
Elevation 7,691–9,413 ft
Out & Back · Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
Trailhead: Pacific Crest Trail · 38.69484, -119.98928
Weather Aug 3: Clear, high 75°F / low 52° · precip 0% · wind 11 mph · sunrise 6:04 AM · sunset 8:10 PM
Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading NW.
- 250 ftContinue straight onto Pacific Crest Trail, heading N.
- 1.4 miTurn left, heading NW.
- 2.6 miSharp left onto Schneider Camp Trail, heading N.
- 1.1 miTurn right onto Schneider Camp 4WD Trail, heading W.
- 0.4 miContinue straight onto Strawberry 4WD Trail, heading W.
- 0.9 miPass Strawberry Pass.
- 50 ftBear left onto Buck Pasture Trail, heading W.
- 1.7 miReach Strawberry Pass, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 1.7 miBear right onto Strawberry 4WD Trail, heading E.
- 0.9 miContinue straight onto Schneider Camp 4WD Trail, heading E.
- 0.4 miTurn left onto Schneider Camp Trail, heading SE.
- 1.1 miSharp right, heading S.
- 2.6 miTurn right onto Pacific Crest Trail, 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
Weather
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.6 mi in (~16 min). Leave by 7:34 PM for the 8:10 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:41 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 Pacific Crest Trail Trailhead
- Pacific Crest Trail 2.9 mi · ▲ 371 ft
- Winnemucca Lake–Frog Lake, 3 lakes 4.6 mi · ▲ 504 ft
- Pacific Crest Trail 5.9 mi · ▲ 791 ft
- Pacific Crest Trail 5.9 mi · ▲ 791 ft
- Stevens Peak via Pacific Crest Trail 6.5 mi · ▲ 2,665 ft
- Pacific Crest Trail 7.4 mi · ▲ 819 ft
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