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Maggie’s Peak – South Summit

Home Peak BaggingMaggie’s Peak – South Summit
Maggie's Peak - South
Maggie's Peak Trail Lake Tahoe

Place Name: El Dorado County

Place Description: State: California
Date: 08/18/2019
Elevation: 8,699 Feet
Prominence: 579 Feet
Miles: 5.1
Elevation Gain: 1,872 Feet
Lists: None

  • Difficulty
  • Solitude
  • Kid Friendly
  • Summit Views

Great Beginner Trail

Legend has it that Maggie’s Peaks were named after a busty bartender during the 1800’s in Lake Tahoe. If she was half as pretty as the view from the top, then wow. This trail is crowded, well used, and the lower elevation than other Tahoe peaks make this a great beginner hike or summit to take your kids to.

Overall
2.6

Pros

  • Amazing view of Tahoe
  • Granite Lake is 1 mile in
  • Well maintained trail

Cons

  • Parking fills up early
  • Lots of people and noise
  • No directions to summit at the saddle

If you are looking for solitude, you have come to the wrong place. You can expect over flowed parking lots, boom boxin music at Granite Lake, and just lots of people in general

That said, this is a fun hike that is not exhausting and leads you up to a fine view of Lake Tahoe and the Desolation Wilderness.

Arrive to the trail early

The trail starts at the back end of the Bay View Campground where the small lot fills ups fast. We parked back out at Highway 89 and were fortunate to get a good spot. When we came out later in the day, there were cars parked up and down Highway 89 for miles. It’s really sad to see what crowded place Tahoe has become. The trail head is marked and there is a bathroom. Also, make sure to self-issue yourself a Desolation Wilderness Permit and sign into the log.

The early part of the trail switchbacks up the mountain and leads you to wonderful overlook of Emerald Bay. After about a mile, you will be in a bowl that holds Granite Lake. From here, the trail starts to climb and switchback up to the saddle between the north and south summits of Maggie’s Peaks.

The trail is well maintained and easy to follow until reaching the saddle. From here, the Granite Lake Trail (As labeled on map) continues deeper into the wilderness. The second trail ventures off to Maggie’s South. Both of these trails cut off to the left, you will want to take the eastern most of the two. I would recommend saving a track from Peak Bagger for reference. The views from the top are amazing. However, you will need to make short climb up a piece of granite to claim the true high point.

We used this as a warm-up hike for Rubicon Peak later in the afternoon.