Ralston Peak with Ralston and Tamarack Lake
Ralston Peak

A view of the Ralston scenery from Lily Lake Trail (Echo Peak Trail)
Ralston Peak is a granite mountain southwest of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada. With an elevation of 9,235 feet (2,815 m), the pyramidoidal tip of Ralston Peak is towering over debris-covered slopes, polished rock terrain and glacially formed lakes such as Ralston Lake at the mountain's north base in the Desolation Wilderness. Only a few trees are successfully conquering the ridges and ravines that give structure to the open expanses of the north-facing granite slopes. Hikers who climb to the top of Ralston Peak enjoy magnificient views of the surrounding wilderness and other mountains of the Pacific Crest. There is a trailhead at Camp Sacramento near U.S. Route 50 west of Echo Summit. Another option is to start out from one of the Echo Lakes trailheads, follow the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to its junction with the Lake of the Woods lateral, proceed on this trail to the Lake-Woods/Pinecrest-Trail intersection, turn left on Pinecrest Trail and continue the ascend to Ralston Peak. The latter route is longer (about seven miles, one way, from the Echo Lake Chalet), but with less elevation gain than the Ralston Peak Trail out of the South American River canyon.
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Echo Lakes and beyond