Big Meadow Trailhead to Dardanelles Lake
September 14-17, 2017
South Lake Tahoe Region
7.5 miles round trip
1400 ft elevation gain
A pretty easy-going hike. Terrain can be rocky. Proper high top mountain boots saved my ankle twice. Also, waterproof boots are recommended as there are a couple small streams to cross.
Day 1: Stay at Pioneer Inn & Suites
We stayed at Pioneer Inn & Suites. Decent price, clean. Nothing fancy. It was about an hour from the trailhead.
Day 2
Stopped at Cook's Station for some quick breakfast.
Big Meadow Trailhead
Started the hike with a beautiful meadow.
We had to cross a couple small streams. There were rocks big enough to stay dry.
We reached the lake after a couple hours. It was stunning. Right away, you'll notice designated campsites. These sites are shady and covered by trees and more of a soft dirt ground. If you continue to walk around the lake to the right, you can find more amazing campsites closer to the water, and with a more rocky environment. My favorite!
Day 3
We decided to take a day hike to Round Lake. We had two options: 1) Take the trail but much longer route or 2) Cut through everything, without a trail, possibly saving time. We had our GPS and some hikers that passed by our campsite said it was doable. So of course we took the no-trail option. Note: this is absolutely NOT recommended without a GPS.
Took about two hours (or a little less) to get to Round Lake without a trail. Even though it was only about a mile away, without a trail it got very technical. A lot of boulders and bushes to get through.
The weather suddenly changed from sunny to possible rain and thunderstorms. So we ate a quick lunch and packed up.
Hiking without a trail is exciting, scary, and rewarding at the same time. The views were amazing.
But after all the photo-taking, we realized we had to get down.
Not only do you need a GPS but you also have to be a fairly experienced and fit hiker. I consider myself experienced but some routes really had me questioning my safety. Being 5 ft tall did not help conquering these boulders! I was terrified. Luckily my tall-ass friends helped me down.
It was quite relieving see our campsite once again.
Day 4
On the way back, we saw way more people coming in! Was shocked, since it was Sunday. There were mountain bikers on the trail, several day hikers, and a couple backpackers.
Overall, I LOVE this lake. It's easy to get to and just plain beautiful. Campsites cannot get any better than this!