Rubicon Trail (Emerald Bay to D.L. Bliss)
Lake Tahoe (Emerald Bay State Park) · near South Lake Tahoe · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Hiking · Trail Running
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- point-to-point
- Distance
- 4.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 400 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- June–October
- Distance
- 9 miles
- Elevation gain
- 900 ft
- Best season
- June–October (snow-free)
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit; state park parking fees at both ends. A shoreline trail along Tahoe's most famous stretch of water — best as a one-way with a car shuttle.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
- How the permit works
- No permit for day running. D.L. Bliss and Emerald Bay State Parks — day-use fees ($10) and small lots that fill early. Point-to-point needs a car shuttle or return run.
What is here
- Features
- Lake Tahoe shoreline trail · Emerald Bay & Fannette Island · Crystal-clear water & coves · Vikingsholm castle
- Features
- Tahoe's most beautiful shoreline singletrack · Above the impossible blue of the west shore · Emerald Bay & Fannette Island views · Vikingsholm castle at the finish
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Set up a car shuttle between Emerald Bay and D.L. Bliss to walk it one-way and avoid backtracking. The side trip down to Vikingsholm castle is worth it. Parking at both parks fills early on summer weekends — arrive before mid-morning or take advantage of the shuttle services around Emerald Bay.
Trail Running detail
- Surface
- singletrack
- Intl tip
- Point-to-point from D.L. Bliss (north) to Emerald Bay (south) is the classic direction; arrange a shuttle or run it back. Both parks charge day-use and fill early. Vikingsholm castle (tours in summer) sits at the Emerald Bay end. Combine with a Tahoe swim (swimming guide) and the Mount Tallac summit (hiking guide).
The guide
The Rubicon Trail traces the southwest shore of Lake Tahoe between Emerald Bay and D.L. Bliss State Parks, hugging the waterlin…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Rubicon Trail (Emerald Bay to D.L. Bliss) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.954, -120.1