Climber.Org Driving Directions
for Passes south of Lake Tahoe:

This file points you to roads which CROSS the range south of Lake Tahoe, but does not contain details of trailheads or roads that PARALLEL the range. The Climber.Org Driving Directions page can point you to other passes in addition to Northern Sierra trailheads, Highway 395 waypoints on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, and Central Valley waypoints on the west side.

GENERAL NOTES:

• This file is intended for winter users. Summer trailheads may be elsewhere or marked differently!
• For overall context and wide area maps, please see the Northern Sierra overview.
• Scroll down for an overview map of Hwy 50 and Hwy 88 between the Central Valley and Nevada.
• Scroll down for notes about Sno Park permits.
• Scroll down for Echo Summit and Echo Lake Sno Parks, near Echo Summit on Hwy 50.
• Scroll down for Iron Mountain Sno Park, west of Silver Lake on Hwy 88.
• Scroll down for Silver Lake trailheads (Tragedy Springs and Kit Carson Resort).
• Scroll down for Carson Pass and Meiss Meadow Sno Parks, near Carson Pass on Hwy 88.
• Related GPS waypoints in Waypoint+ format (NAD83, decimal degrees)
  with descriptive comments, in a popup window.

There are three main GPS routes in this file, all going through Hope Valley (where there are more trailheads) and ending south of Minden on Hwy 395 (in Nevada). From there you can follow Highway 395 south to many more trailheads.

1. GPS route CARSON PASS - 88
   waypoints from I-5 to Hwy 395, by way of Hwy 88 through Jackson and over Carson Pass
   for Silver Lake and Carson Pass trailheads, plus the Iron Mountain Sno Park
   
2. GPS route BYPASSJACKSON 88
   starts and ends with the same Carson Pass waypoints but takes you just north of Jackson
   (which can save time if there is a festival or other congestion)
3. GPS route ECHO SUMMIT - 50
   for Echo Summit and Echo Lake Sno Parks
   takes Hwy 50 over Echo Summit before joining Hwy 88 by way of Hwy 89

There are four additional GPS side routes in this file:

1. GPS route TRAGEDY SPRINGS
   starts at the southern Silver Lake trailhead and goes to Mokelumne
2. GPS route KIT CARSON
   starts at the northern Silver Lake trailhead and goes to Thunder and Thimble on the border of Kirkwood
3. GPS route STEVENS PK CARSON
   starts at the Meiss Mdw Sno-Park and goes north to Red Lake Peak and Stevens Peak
4. GPS route ROUND TOP CARSON
   starts at the Carson Pass Sno-Park and goes south to Round Top, Elephants Back, and Sisters

OVERVIEW MAP:

Hwy 50 east of Sacramento, goes over Echo Summit
(GPS route ECHO SUMMIT - 50)

People sometimes get confused because the 80/50 split (waypoint 080050) comes up so fast and the signs may not give you time to change into the exit lanes. Hwy 50 (called I-80 Business, which fools my StreetPilot GPS) seems to go straight with most of the lanes while regular old Hwy 80 (to Reno) is a right exit when you're heading east. The map below shows only the portion of Hwy 50 going over Echo Summit, where the trailheads are. See the overview map for the east and west ends of Hwy 50.

There are two Sno Parks near the Echo Summit sign on Hwy 50:

• The Echo Lake Sno Park (waypoint ECHLAK, leave Hwy 50 at waypoint ELTURN) is far quieter if you plan to spend the night. This is where skiers and snowshoers head across the frozen Echo Lake toward Pyramid, Ralston, etc. The Sheriff confirmed in 2004 that it's OK to sleep on the ground by your car, but be prepared for them to ask you what you're doing - they're used to motorhomes, not bivy bags. No tents in the parking area.
• The Echo Summit Sno Park (waypoint ECHSUM, leave Hwy 50 at waypoint ESTURN) is apparently no longer managed by the state, but it's still there. It's more for families and snowplay, no overnight parking.

East of Echo Summit is Luther Pass, Hope Valley (with several great winter trailheads), and Woodfords where you head down to Hwy 395. Hwy 89 goes up the west shore of Lake Tahoe, Hwy 50 goes up the east shore. They are briefly the same road (through Meyers), which can cause some confusion! See the Northern Sierra Trailheads page for lots of west shore trailheads. The east shore (in Nevada) doesn't have much in the way of climbing trailheads.

Hwy 88 east of Stockton, goes over Carson Pass
(main GPS routes CARSON PASS - 88 and BYPASSJACKSON - 88)
(GPS side routes TRAGEDY SPRINGS and KIT CARSON from Silver Lake)

The two main GPS routes start and end with the same set of waypoints but one leads you just north of Jackson (which can save time if there is a festival or other congestion, but which bypasses almost all the services in the area). The best connection between Hwy 5 and Hwy 9 (to reach Hwy 88) is by Hwy 4. The signs are pretty clear, and the connector is all freeway. Don't miss the left turn at waypoint 088012!

Here is the Jackson area, specifically Hwy 88 and and the Jackson Bypass on Hwy 104:

Here is the portion of Hwy 88 from Iron Mtn Sno Park, past Silver Lake, and over Carson Pass:

The Iron Mountain Sno Park (waypoint IRONSP) is not near any peaks.

Kit Carson Resort (waypoint KITCAR) at the north end of Silver Lake, for Thunder and Thimble:

GPS route 'KIT CARSON' goes to Thimble by way of Thunder. It is intended for winter use, when trails are buried and cross-country travel is easy. Thunder has a great snow chute with interesting volcanic rock going straight up from waypoint THUCOL, but the top is easy 2nd class. Thimble has a class 4-5 summit flake of volcanic aggregate, and is right on the Kirkwood ski area boundary. When traversing between these peaks, be sure to respect the ski area boundary. See Steve's trip report for winter climbing details.

Tragedy Springs (waypoint TRAGDY) at the south end of Silver Lake, for Mokelumne:

GPS route 'TRAGEDY SPRINGS' goes all the way to Mokelumne, which is not on the map below. It is intended for winter use, when trails are buried and cross-country travel is easy. The black lines represent avoidable roads which are probably heavily used by snowmobiles. The red line is optimal for skiers/snowshoers. In winter, there was still running water at waypoint RWATER (and apparently nowhere else close to the peak). See Steve's trip report for winter climbing details.

There are two Sno Parks right at Carson Pass (waypoints CARSON and MEISSM):

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