There’s a few hikes around North Tahoe that seem to be on everybody’s list: 5 Likes Trail, Shirley Canyon and the Mount Judah Loop. Hiking these trails on a weekend is often similar to traveling Highway 80 on a busy weekend. The Frog Lake Overlook hike on Donner Summit offers a nice alternative with some fantastic flowers and vistas. For the road warrior readers, it’s also convenient to to catch this hike on the way home to points west.
The trail should be accessed from the Pacific Crest Trailhead, near the Boreal exit. Head toward Boreal, then turn left toward the Boreal Inn motel and continue to the PCT parking lot. Although it is possible to access the trail from the westbound 80 rest area, some people have been ticketed for parking there for recreational use.
There’s a confusing mix of trails as you leave the parking lot. The safe bet is to follow the signs for the PCT, even though it does add some extra distance into the hike. We ended up inadvertently taking a more direct cross country line to find the tunnel under Highway 80. Once you’re under the highway and headed north, look for signs for the Warren Lake Trail. The hike winds through the forest and along a stream with many wild flowers. There’s also a lot of nice granite for bouldering and some pitches that would offer some nice beginner top rope climbing. This only negative to this section is the significant road noise from the highway, which is tough to escape anywhere on Donner Summit.
After about a mile, there’s an option to take a side trip to Summit Lake. Summit Lake is a nice little lake with fishing and swimming – but it is also accessible to 4WD vehicles. We skipped it this time. From here, the trail gets quite a bit steeper and leaves the forest. There’s huge meadows of wild flowers and mule ears to traverse, along with great vistas of Castle Peak, Mount Rose, Northstar and Sugar Bowl. The total vertical climb is about 1500′ over three miles.
As you arrive at the saddle on the right shoulder of Castle Peak, there is a short spur trail leading up to the Frog Lake Overlook. It’s a great place for a picnic. The overlook is more than 1000′ above Frog Lake. While it’s not a cliff, the terrain is steep enough to make some people’s feet tingle. You’ll want to watch your children and dogs carefully. Frog Lake is privately owned, as are the cabins that surround it. Rental information is available by searching VRBO. It’s not cheap.
There is another spur trail leading up the saddle toward Castle Peak. It offers some nice views down toward Warren Lake. Hiking down to Warren Lake is steep and hiking back out is steep and hot. The lake next to Warren Lake is named “Devil’s Oven”, giving you a sense of what to expect. We chose to head back to Donner Summit. We only saw 6 other hikers on a busy 4th of July weekend day.
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