Dogskin Mountain
Place Name: Washoe County
Place Description: State: Nevada
Date: 11/23/2020
Elevation: 7,487 Feet
Prominence: 2,041 Feet
Miles: 5.7
Elevation Gain: 2,195 Feet
Lists: Great Basin
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Difficulty
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Solitude
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Kid Friendly
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Summit Views
An Unexpected Surprise
If looking at a satellite image of Dogskin Mountain, you may wonder why anyone would want to go there. It doesn’t look like much. I was surprised to find lots of trees and wildlife. It’s much more than a barren wasteland, it’s an unexpected surprise!
Overall
2.6Pros
- Road was in decent shape
- Nice summit views
- Wildlife
Cons
- Some washed out road areas higher up
- OHV traffic
- Road walk
Fortunately names don’t mean everything. When you hear the name Dogskin Mountain, and couple that with the fact it lies north of Reno, most probably think it’s a hell hole!
Nothing could be further from the truth. Dogskin Mountain is an easy to get peak and surprisingly both beautiful and full of wild life.
Getting There
You more than likely won’t find better approach roads anywhere in Nevada. Exit US-395 at Red Rock Road and then follow it to Bird Spring Rd. Bird Spring is all high speed dirt for the most part and easily drivable.
We followed up through a gate and started up the next road which was covered in snow. Honestly, you can drive this road quite a ways up and turn this into around a 2-mile hike.
With the snow on the ground and nowhere to be, hiking the road sounded like more fun.
The Trail
For the most part, the trail is the road. Hiking it is quite enjoyable. It’s very quiet and easy walking. There are lot of trees and we saw a herd of 10 mule deer.
Higher up, as you see the summit, break away from the road and follow a nice single track dirt bike trail for a bit and then bust up the hill to the summit ridge. Our trip was walking on 10-12 inches of fresh powder which took out the possibility of rattlesnakes or ticks ruining our day
Trail is snow covered, this is where we left the road.
The Summit
Dogskin Mountain has a fantastic summit area. The views are magnificent with Tule Peak, Pyramid Lake, Virginia Peak, and Petersen Mountain all coming into view.
Pyramid Lake peaks out.
The large rock pulpit on the south end makes for a dramatic photograph with huge air behind you.
Dogskin Mountain
The Final Word
What can I say? Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Dogskin Mountain is a huge surprise and it seems most people I have talked to have felt the same way. Access is good, hiking is easy, and views are fantastic. It’s amazing that folks in Reno don’t play out here more often. They are missing out!
