Hike With Chris!: #22

09/02/2016

Washoe County, Nevada

Hurray! Done with grad school and can finally finish this extremely late write up on Mt. Rose. I did my M.S. degree at the University of Nevada, Reno and I wasn't about to leave Reno without visiting the Tahoe area at least once. I was looking for a good hike and remembered seeing "Mt. Rose" pop up on my GPS map every time I used it. I gave it a quick Google search and immediately knew I had to give it a go. The drive to the trailhead took me around 35 minutes from Downtown Reno. The parking lot is big and easy to find. While I came on a weekday, I read that the parking lot gets pretty packed on the weekends, so I would advise to come early if so. I saw a lot of speed traps on the drive up the mountain... so drive with caution!

Mt. Rose is the 2nd highest peak in the Tahoe basin with a total elevation gain of ~2300 ft. The trail starts moderately easy with little to no elevation gain. You'll reach a waterfall where the trail splits into two directions. Follow the Mt. Rose trail signs on the right of the fork where it'll lead you through a narrow, bushy trail. The next push is quite strenuous with a lot of elevation gain within a short distance (especially for my out-of-shape butt). Once you run into a "Mt. Rose Wilderness" wooden trail sign, keep a close eye out for another trail sign made up of a post and a piece of paper stapled to it. I almost missed the trail sign and nearly continued on to god knows where. From here, it's a straight push to the top! (The sign says 1 mile to the top. THIS IS A COMPLETE LIE! At least that's what it felt like...)

Distance: 10.6 miles (Out-and-Back)

Elevation Gain: 2,388 ft.

Final Elevation: 10,776 ft.

Directions to the Parking Lot: Use the following coordinates in Google Maps to route your directions to the Mt. Rose Summit Tahoe Rim Trail Trailhead where the parking lot is located.

39.313194, -119.897389

Parking Lot.