Showers Lake off Carson Pass - Tahoe Area

[TollerMom]

Last Sunday my friends and I went to Showers Lake off Hwy 88/Carson Pass. It was my first time there. There are several routes to Showers Lake. One being from Luther Pass-Hwy 89 via Big Meadow/Round Lake, one being from Hwy 88 through Meiss Meadow (about 9 miles RT) and another from the Caples Lake maintenance station off Hwy 88. This last route is probably the shortest but steepest. We chose this last one for the views. We drove in to the trail head about a mile and a half. One would need a fairly high clearance vehicle as the road is rutted and rocky. Our hike RT was about 4.6 miles. Looking over our shoulders as we head up the trail, we can see pretty much all of Kirkwood Ski Resort--we then hiked along the ridgeline - taking a detour off trail to reach the highest point to take pics, then hiking down another mile or so to the valley below, crossing the PCT - and lunching at the end of the lake for lunch. The snow had melted from the trail - with just a bit left high along the tops of the ridge. It was a bit early for the big wildflower display. The views were spectacular!

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

That is definitely some really great scenery. It looks as though you're working to get your money's worth out of that Garmin eTrex as well.