It’s been some time since I’ve posted, but I was able to get out for a hike this past weekend. So, we went skiing on 2/7 after a night of what we thought would be good snow. Unfortunately, it was pretty crusty and hard so the following day I decided I’d hike from Kingsbury to Castle Rock. Whether that was the right decision as I saw some pictures from Heavenly that looked pretty good, I don’t know. Either way, it was a fun hike over 3.5 miles, but not quite 4. The hike is easy with great views of Lake Tahoe once you reach the top of Castle Rock and along the early trail. The trip travels mostly on the Tahoe Rim Trail.
Jillian, the pup, and I left the house around 8am. I brought snowshoes just in case as it did snow a little the night before, but I wasn’t sure if it was enough to warrant wearing my snowshoes. We got to the trailhead, Kingsbury North, the Tahoe Rim Trail around 8:30am. I packed up my Granite Rocx Cascade Backpack & Cooler and we were off. The trail starts with a short incline and levels off. This is a popular hike and mountain bike section of the Rim Trail in the summer. Below are some pictures of the trail and Lake Tahoe from the trail. The lake was cloud covered and looked pretty amazing as the clouds hovered just above the lake and the Sierras proceeded to extend outside of cloud cover.
Jill and I continued and about half a mile into the hike, you’ll see a split right or straight. We continued straight towards Castle Rock junction which was about one mile further. Once we reached the junction, you can actually trek two trails to Castle Rock. We went the right route (the other route is straight). This is where you start traveling up. Not too much further you’ll see Castle Rock, which is also a popular rock climb in the summer. We hung out at Castle Rock for a bit with a cool view of the lake. Below are some pictures.
There was a better spot for us to get to with better views, but with wet rocks I was hesitant to take Jillian up there with me, so we decided to just head back to the car. Below shows a picture.
To get to the trailhead, you can take Kingsbury Grade or Highway 207 up from the lake to North Benjamin Drive. Make a left onto North Benjamin, and then continue straight onto Andria. The road will come to a dead end and the trailhead is clearly on your left.
I’ve snowshoed up to Castle Rock before, but have not been there from Kingsbury. You can see a post I wrote from a different direction here: Snowshoe to Castle Rock. This was a nice short hike and right now you won’t need snowshoes. Hopefully, Mother Nature brings us more snow here in Tahoe for the winter. If you’ve been to Castle Rock, make a comment below! Also follow me on twitter @sberei!
Lake Tahoe All Access 