Picnic Paramour

Some hardcore enthusiasts snowshoe the entire Tahoe Rim Trail—all 165 miles of it! Looking for just a good morsel of it? Get a taste of this famous terrain on a 3.6-mile (round-trip) segment, offering 360-degree views for little effort. From Highway 267, shuffle up the trail on a gentle traverse, climbing into dense stands of pine and fir. This forested stretch continues long enough to make you doubt your route-finding skills, but keep calm and snowshoe on. At a junction at 1.6 miles, turn left. In a few hundred feet the trees open out to an exposed platform of basalt boulders, the remains of an eroded volcano. Pick a perch, climb on top, and survey the scene before you. Lake Tahoe's sapphire waters seem to spread to the southern horizon. At your back, the northward vista takes in Martis Valley, Truckee, and Donner Summit. To the northeast, Mount Rose towers at 10,778 feet. Now pull your picnic out of your pack—you can't visit Picnic Rock without one!

The trailhead is 3.8 miles below Brockway Summit on Hwy. 267. The TRT crosses the highway; take the trail on the northeast side that begins as a fire road. Dog-friendly!