1. It’s easy to do. If you can walk, you can hike. All you need is common sense and motivation.
2. It’s social and fun. Hiking is a great way to bond with friends and enhance your vacation.
3. Trails are everywhere. The Lake Tahoe area has a wealth of trails. Below is information on a variety of TRT day hikes.
4. There is no cost. One may have to put a little extra into filling up the tank that week, but otherwise hiking is completely free.
5. The gear is minimal. Although we recommend a few extra items (see 10 Essentials list), all one truly needs for a day hike is adequate footwear and a water bottle.
6. There are wonderful health benefits. Through hiking, one can burn calories, tone muscles, and reduce stress. Below is a chart detailing how many calories one burns hiking relative to other activities.

   ---

How to Break the Tahoe Rim Trail into 14 Day Hikes

The eight trailheads of the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail create segments that range from 12 to 33 miles in length - a daunting distance for many day-hikers!  It's possible to access the TRT from a few points that aren't  official trailheads and break the trail into 14 day hikes.  Check it out...

Recommended Hikes
There is a wealth of hiking in the Lake Tahoe area. The Tahoe Rim Trail offers some of the best options as it can be accessed from anywhere around the lake or surrounding cities. Additionally, most of the trail is located on the ridge tops to offer amazing vistas.

One can enjoy a nice day hike from any Tahoe Rim Trail trailhead by simply going out in one direction for as long as one wants and then turning around and returning to one's car. However below we have given you recommendations on some of our favorite options. These hikes have been sorted by location (North shore, East shore, South shore, and West shore). Within each location there are options for an easy (1-2 miles), a medium (3-5 miles) and a hard (over 5 miles) hike.

Also note that most of these day hikes are either

• out and back hikes meaning that you will be seeing the same sites when you return or
• loop hikes; both of which allow you to park and at the end of the hike you will return to your car. There are also day hiking options that go in only one direction. These hikes will require you to set up some kind of shuttle (refer to the Shuttle page for information on group shuttles in the Tahoe area).