Tahoe has been experiencing a very lovely fall season, so we’ve been trying to get out and enjoy it as much as possible.

For today’s hike, we didn’t want to venture too far away from home, plus, we had to be mindful of the still-active Davis Fire in the area, so we chose another hike on the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) out by Spooner Lake. And, actually, it was a hike we’d done back in 2020, so I was a little surprised my husband suggested this rerun. This time, however, we trekked up to Snow Valley Peak, which we skipped the last time we hiked this route.

The small parking lot at Spooner Summit was already full when we arrived, so we had to carefully park along the highway. But we started our way up the trail and were already taken by the surrounding beauty.

View of Spooner Lake from the trail.
One of the biggest trees we saw along the trail.

The trail profile was a steady climb up 2,000 ft. with very few flat sections overall. And what was flat didn’t stay flat for long.

Forested section of trail.
High enough for our first views of Lake Tahoe from the trail.
Another sizable tree along the trail.
Bright red berries = bear food
TRT trail sign for Snow Valley Peak.

Beautiful views from the trail.

East shore of Lake Tahoe.
Lake Tahoe from the TRT.
Lake Tahoe from the TRT.
Hiking the TRT with Lake Tahoe in the background.
Hiking the TRT.
Standing on a rock pile on the TRT in front of Lake Tahoe.

As we fought the wind and crested, both Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe came into view – truly an iconic sight. Marlette Lake sits about 1,600 feet above Lake Tahoe.

Marlette Lake (7,823 ft.) above Lake Tahoe (6,225 ft.).
Standing in front of Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe.
The TRT above Marlette Lake.
Lake Tahoe and Marlette Lake.

We sat on a couple of large rocks and had quick snacks above the two lakes before we got back on the trail. Then we had a decision to make. After 2.5 hours and 6 miles of pretty constant ascending, were our legs ready to add the relatively steep climb up to the top of Snow Valley Peak?

My thought: We’re already up here, so we might as well go up there. I just kept going and my husband followed. 🤷‍♀️ One foot in front of the other.

We made it to the top and oh my gosh was it windy.

View of Lake Tahoe from Snow Valley Peak.

We ventured out to the edge of the peak and it got even windier. Check this out 🤣 :

We can’t figure out the significance of this wooden signpost on Snow Valley Peak. The numbers stamped into it are 191519.

Mysterious sign post on Snow Valley Peak.
East shore of Lake Tahoe from Snow Valley Peak.

From up here, looking towards Reno, we could spot some of the red fire retardant in the distance that was dropped during the Davis Fire, which was still an active fire.

Looking towards Reno from Snow Valley Peak. Red fire retardant visible in the distance.

After a short while, we had to get out of the wind, so we started making our way back down to the main trail. The views on the descent were just as beautiful as the way up.

Descending Snow Valley Peak.
Rounding a corner of the TRT.
The TRT next to Lake Tahoe.

In this photo below, Lake Tahoe is the big lake, but behind it you can also see slivers of Fallen Leaf Lake on the far left, a very tiny sliver of Cascade Lake in the middle, and just to the right of that, the “mouth” of Emerald Bay can be seen.

Fallen Leaf Lake, Cascade Lake, and Emerald Bay all set behind Lake Tahoe.
TRT along Lake Tahoe.

Back down into the forest, where it was much less windy!

After 12.51 miles, we made it back to the trailhead in under 5 hours’ time. It was a wonderful hike and the crazy sustained wind at the top was something we’ll probably never forget!

Snow Valley Peak hike
Total Distance12.51 mi
Total Time4:50:53
Total Ascent2,493 ft
Max Elevation9,235 ft
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5 responses to “Snow Valley Peak Hike on the TRT”

  1. Ms. Nancy Settergren Ramoundos Avatar
    Ms. Nancy Settergren Ramoundos

    Long hike. Big climb. Major wind. You guys are amazing! Lovely views to make it all worthwhile.

    1. Yes! That wind was so wild!

  2. Mary Jo Schrader Avatar
    Mary Jo Schrader

    That wind was NUTS! Just about took Bri out.

  3. What’s a rerun?

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