Stateline Lookout

Stateline Lookout (Off Hwy 28, near Crystal Bay CA) -

Distance: 1 mi / 2.2 km (Round Trip)

Elevation Gain: ~500 ft.

Highest Elevation: ~6831 ft. / 2082.2 m.

Dogs: Allowed

Difficulty: Easy

I originally picked out this hike because we needed something easy and short to do with Chris' Mom when she visited us back in October.

Can't Say I was disappointed...

Most of the hikes we do in California come from my copy of Foghorn Outdoors: California Hiking by Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown. I had the Foghorn for Washington and Oregon and loved it, so when we moved I gifted my copy to Katie and naturally picked this up as a replacement (you should too). Aside from the occasional issue with directions and mileage these books are outstanding. They have spot on ratings for difficulty and beauty, and have pretty much all the relevant information you need as far as permits, location etc.

The Stateline entry caught my eye for a couple of reasons: the ratings and mileage were exactly what I was looking for, and when I read the first few sentences of the description I was all in.

"For years we avoided this trail because we thought it was just a tourist attraction, located at the lookout tower that straddles the Nevada and California state line. It turns out that we were the dumb tourists, because this little trail is great." (Pg. 222)

You basically hike up an old access road, but don't worry, the pay off is so good you might cry. This is a great spot to hike up to and eat some lunch if you're tooling around the northern end of Tahoe. There's some cool plaques with cultural information about the area, including timber, mining etc.

But I have to say my eyes were otherwise occupied...