Family Snowshoe Recs – Carson Pass (CA)

I don't cover that area with snowshoes, but rather with cross country skis. If you drive up to Carson Pass proper, there are two Sno-Park lots, so have a permit. If you go north, you will get up around Showers Lake where you can see Lake Tahoe in the distance. But there is scenery even if you make it only halfway. Instead, if you go south, you will be heading toward Round Top Mountain. Lake Winnemucca is at its base. I see more snowshoe tracks going to the south rather than to the north.

If you need something easier, then drive on through Carson Pass and down to the Red Lake turnoff. There, the Blue Lakes Jeep Road heads south. If you follow it about 2.5-3.0 miles, you will get to some scenery. Again, many people turn around halfway.

–B.G.–

Thanks Bob, good suggestions. Red Lake might be a decent option for us. We might just settle for a little walk down to Woods Lake — my daughter's 5 year old legs can only 'shoe so far.

Consider going up the old Carson Pass Rd on the south side of Red Lake. It's a nice easy grade, offers expansive views, and will be downhill all the way back to the car, assuming you start at the lake.

"Consider going up the old Carson Pass Rd on the south side of Red Lake."

The old road is the original wagon road from the 1850's. That was one of the best routes from the Nevada side entering California. Read up on the history, and then go travel the route.

The highway is the new route that was put in much later.

–B.G.–

Nice, thanks Bill. My kids so far really seem to enjoy our little snowshoe adventures so it seems safe to say that there will be another (we just bombed around Hope Valley area this time). We'll definitely check out your suggestion in an upcoming weekend.

For history buffs, another interesting destination near Carson Pass is the site of a Fremont party campsite nearby. That makes a nice loop trip starting at the pass, going cross country from the PCT, and returning via the old roadway. It used to be you could find the location on the web; somebody had a whole page devoted to it.

Probably too tough for the kids, though, and they aren't likely to appreciate the history so much at 5.

"Probably too tough for the kids, though, and they aren't likely to appreciate the history so much at 5."

Explain to the kids that it was Kit Carson, the famous frontier scout.

–B.G.–