Where to hike with a dog near Lake Tahoe: Round Top Lake

The drive to this hike was almost as beautiful as the trail, which was pretty spectacular.

The dog in the gorgeous (and I'm sure very cold) Round Top Lake.

It was fall, so Highways 88 and 89 through the Sierra Nevadas were lined with yellow-gold trees (Trembling Aspens) and hundreds of people pulled over like paparazzi. We went in early October, and most years that is probably the latest you should go unless you like driving with snow.
We definitely walked with snow, as dark clouds followed us for much of the hike, dusting the mountains towering above us with white powder as we braved the wind gusts that took the temperature far below the promised 54 degrees.
Thanks to my husband's need to be prepared, we each had an extra jacket, without which we never would have made it all the way to Round Top Lake. Instead, we would have stopped at the very lovely Winnemucca Lake, as I think most people end up doing. Especially when you see a parade of people leaving Round Top Lake dressed as if they were climbing Mount Everest!

Winnemucca Lake.

We started at the Carson Pass trailhead on Highway 88, which is already at about 8,600 feet elevation. It was Columbus Day weekend and the visitor's center was closed for the season, but the pit toilets were still open.
Once you get through the trees and past Frog Lake about a mile in, the next half mile or so to Winnemucca Lake is relatively flat. 
The large boulders surrounding this lake made it hard for the dog to reach the water, and the gray, wet cold around us made me feel as if I had left California for Alaska or Norway.
The last mile to Round Top Lake was pretty steep and the wind made it very cold, but I am very glad we pushed on. The dog was in heaven, happily running right into the water even though it was likely barely above freezing, while the humans enjoyed just looking at one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. It was well worth braving the freezing wind and altitude, which exhausted me more than expected for a relatively short hike, only about seven miles round-trip.

Words to the Wise: If my husband had his choice, as soon as we saw the "Plague Warning" signs at the beginning of the trail we would have gotten back in the car and gone to Sorensen's resort for lunch. But obviously we pressed on. And the dog did not get bitten by any rodents or their fleas, though there were plenty of chipmunks scurrying about, especially in the first mile or so.


Where to stay: I like staying at Best Westerns, because they usually allow pets and charge you a very reasonable fee, so we stayed at the BW Topaz Lake Inn about an hour away. The drive back and forth was quite pretty, and takes you through Gardnerville, Nev., which has a Raley's, Starbucks and restaurants. I have heard good things about Sorensen's, though, which was much closer to the hike and has dog-friendly cabins.