Blackwood Canyon
West Shore, Lake Tahoe · near Tahoe City · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Nordic & Snowshoe
At a glance
- Best season
- Dec–Mar; west-shore snow variable (~6,300–7,700 ft)
What is here
- Activities
- backcountry · snowshoe · classic
- Setting
- forest
- Amenities
- Sno-Park valley tour · Gentle snowed-over road · Backcountry to Barker Pass · Creekside forest scenery
- Best for
- Easy valley touring with a backcountry option
- Features
- Gentle snow-road tour · Backcountry to Barker Pass · West-shore Sno-Park · Creekside forest
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Variable west-shore snow · Avalanche terrain higher toward Barker Pass · Shared with snowmobiles lower down · Navigation & Sno-Park permit
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Rentals
- No
Nordic & Snowshoe detail
- Venue
- sno-park
- Ability
- intermediate
- Snow
- 3
- Trail notes
- A popular west-shore Sno-Park where a snowed-over road makes an easy, gentle valley tour, with backcountry snowshoe and ski options climbing toward Barker Pass
- Terrain note
- ~6,300–7,700 ft; ungroomed road & backcountry; variable snow
- Intl tip
- A west-shore Tahoe Sno-Park near Tahoe City where a snowed-over road makes an easy, gentle valley tour up Blackwood Creek — ideal for beginner snowshoers and classic skiers — with backcountry ski/snowshoe options climbing toward Barker Pass (genuine avalanche terrain up high). A California Sno-Park permit is required; the lower road is shared with snowmobiles, and snow at ~6,300 ft is variable (best mid-winter after storms). Bring navigation beyond the valley, dress in layers. Versatile terrain.
The guide
Blackwood Canyon, a forested valley on Tahoe's west shore near Tahoe City, is a popular Sno-Park where a snowed-over access roa…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Blackwood Canyon — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.11, -120.16