There are many magnificent peaks surrounding Lake Tahoe. From Mount Talac to Mt. Rose, there are great summer trails to hike and winter faceshots to be had. Freel Peak is the tallest peak surrounding Lake Tahoe. Just beyond South Shore, looking Southeast you will see two peaks behind the Heavenly Valley. Freel Peak to the right and Jobs Peak to the left. Freel Peak stands at 10,886 feet (3,318 m) putting it just about 200 feet higher than Jobs peak which is at 10,633 feet (3,241 m) and over 1000 feet higher than Mount Tallac which stands at 9,739 feet (2,968 m). At one point the owner of Heavenly Valley, back in the day, was thinking about running Heli-Skiing out of that area. Until 1987 there was a microwave tower up there that gave South Lake Tahoe it’s television! Click here to read more history on Freel Peak.
During the summer months when there is no snow there are various ways to reach the summit of Freel Peak all of which require slogging through the decomposed granite found all over the Tahoe basin. SummitPost.org lays out 3 routes that are really easy to follow:
- South Side Route: Class 1
This is the most direct and shortest route. It also has the least amount of
elevation gain. The trailhead is in Horse Meadow on the south side of
Freel Peak on a dirt road off of Highway 89. The route is nothing more
than a cross country accent of the south slope of Freel - Horse Meadow to Armstrong Pass: Class 1
Same trailhead as the above route, but instead of heading up the south slope you follow a use trail up to Armstrong Pass and follow the Tahoe Rim Trail to the junction with the Freel Peak Trail. - Trout Creek: Class 1
The trailhead is at a gate at the end of Oneidas Street. At the gate there is a well-defined use trail. Follow the use trail up the Trout Creek drainage until the reach a saddle at the junction if the Tahoe Rim Trail and the Freel Peak Trail. Follow the maintained trail to the top.
Come winter you can easily skin to the top of this peak. It is not the most epic ski by any means. The mellow hike up is met by mellow skiing back down and a 4 mile skate back to your car. This one is not for snowboarders. The Backcounty has a simple guide to skiing Freel Peak located HERE.
If you are in need of a quiet get away or need to add to your peakbagging list, Freel Peak offers a great day out in the woods with amazing views of Lake Tahoe, the Desert and even the Sierras near Kirkwood. Some great photos and other info on Freel Peak can be found online at Kevin’s Hiking Page, Summit Post, Climber.org and the Backcounty.net.
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