@movernie
North Lake Tahoe has many beautiful landscapes and natural trees, plants and wild life. It also have beautiful mountains and lake for outdoor activities. In particular, Lake Tahoe has tons of hiking trails with various levels of difficulty for different hikers.
One of the trails that we hiked during our Visit Nevada Press Trip was called the “Flume Trail“. This hiking trail is located at the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park called “Spooner Backcountry“. As the Travel Nevada staff informed us, there is this famous rock called the “Monkey Rock” coz the rock resembles the shape of a monkey head. We all wanted to check it out and wanted to see how closely it resembles a monkey head. Now, there is no signage to direct you to get to the Monkey Rock, so you will have to ask around and get some pointers and test your lock. But that’s what make it interesting, you have to search and explore to find this Monkey Rock. In my mind, I was like “This Monkey Rock better be worth it!”.
Based on the INFO from the tour guide and local hiking experts, there are a various routes to reach to the Monkey Rock, but I suggest you park your vehicle at the Tunnel Creek Café, which has decent amount of parking and it’s located at the bottom of the hiking trail. I recommend you to grab some water or beverages at the Tunnel Creek Café to give them business but also to ensure you are replenish with energy and not de-hydrated. And also, I suggest you use its washroom before the hike.
Get all you need for the hike and get ready to walk on an incline towards the trail. After a slight slope of the incline, you will encounter a few miles of level route that is easy to walk and with a great view of the lake and the shore line. This Flume Trail is so beautiful. Plus the day we were walking, it was not too hot and with breeze, sunny blue sky and it was just beautiful.
As we walked a little bit more, we were encountered by this “Welcome to Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park” sign. It gives you all the “Need to Know” INFO and the guidelines when hiking this trail. By the way, check out the photo below, look how BIG the pine cones are in this area? I found Lake Tahoe area has lots of big pine cones.
As we walked further into the trail, we saw a few local hikers and we asked them for pointers of where to find this Monkey Rock. The friendly hikers told us to Monkey Rock is somewhere up the slope. Approximately 20 feet from this sign shown above, there was a split routes, we decided to go for a steep climb. Trust me, the steep climb is evident from the get go, if you have prior leg injuries or you feel you are not physically able, don’t force the issue. The Monkey Rock is definitely cool to check out and the view is magnificent but in no way worth risking your life for it. Safety and health come first!
After climbing for about 15 minutes and a gain of 400 feet of elevation, we found some rocks and trees, as we walked further up the rocks to explore, we found a few more rocks, as we slowly walk closer, we could see the Monkey Rock! See the photo below, could you spot the Monkey Rock. You couldn’t literally climb on the Monkey Rock as it’s located at the edge of the steep slope, but from a far, there were other rock platforms that you could admire the Monkey Rock plus the breathtaking view of the forests and the beautiful blue lake.
MoVernie Recommendations – While Visiting The Monkey Rock
- Ideally, if possible, pick on a day that has nice weather, sunny blue sky preferred than rainy days.
. - Wear a pair of comfortable shoes, make sure it has good grip on the sole for the rocks, terrain and other surfaces.
. - Put sunscreen on, perhaps wear a hat, wear sunglasses and maybe bring a thin jacket or sweater in case it gets cooler as you are hiking. Also, bring water or gatorade or other beverages to keep you hydrate.
. - It is a steep slope to climb to find the Monkey Rock. If you have back joints or ankle or injured legs before, I recommend you don’t want to force the issue. Again, you should evaluate the risk and your ability to climb the slope. If you don’t feel comfy or be able to do it climb, don’t force the issue.
. - Enjoy the view up on the mountain. I think the Monkey Rock does look like the shape of a monkey’s head.
Remember to respect our nature, our environment, our natural habitats so we and our future generations can appreciate our planet. Thank you!
Tunnel Creek Cafe
Website: www.TunnelCreekCafe.com
Address: 1115 Tunnel Creek Rd a, Incline Village, NV 89451, USA
Phone: +1 775-298-2502
Want to know more about my press trip experience and adventures during my visit in North Lake Tahoe, Nevada? Follow my journey on Instagram (@RealMoVernie) and Twitter (@MoVernie).
The visit to the Monkey Rock & the Flume Tail and this press trip were provided by Travel Nevada. However, as always, the opinions expressed in this post is entirely my own.
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MoVernie Fun Fact: What is “DFMI” stands for? It stands for “Don’t Fence Me In”, which is the main slogan & identity for Travel Nevada.
