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WINNEMUCCA |
DISTANCE: 6.0 miles round-trip
HIKING TIME: 3.0 hours
SEASON: June–October
DIFFICULTY: challenging
This loop hike to Winnemucca and Round Top Lakes is deservedly popular all summer, but especially so during the July wildflower bloom. Begin at the Woods Lake trailhead; campers can start from their tents, while everyone else begins from the trailhead parking lot a half mile before camp. The path wanders through forest, then breaks out onto open slopes with a straight-on view of 10,381-foot Round Top Peak, an ancient volcanic vent that is the highest summit in the area. In 1.9 miles, you reach Winnemucca Lake, a blue-green gem surrounded by mule’s ears, scarlet gilia, Indian paintbrush, and other flowers. You’ll see other hikers who have arrived via Carson Pass to the northeast, but your loop continues west another mile to Round Top Lake, which is smaller than Winnemucca but dramatically positioned below Round Top Peak, towering imposingly 1,000 feet above.
Finish your loop with a descent on Lost Cabin Mine Trail, tracing alongside Round Top Lake’s outlet creek, through more wildflowers and past an old mine site, then back to the campground at Winnemucca Lake.
From the junction of Hwy. 89 and Hwy. 88 in Hope Valley, drive west on Hwy. 88 for 10.5 miles to the Woods Lake Campground turnoff on the left (south) side of the highway, 1.5 miles west of Carson Pass. Turn left and drive 1.0 mile to the trailhead parking area, 0.5 mile before the campground.
