Ralston Peak
Ralston Peak rises to 2,807 m in California. Freel Peak stands 3,305 m to the east, 11 miles off. The nearest named place is Horsetail Falls, a waterfall 1.2 miles away. Lake Tahoe - Eastshore Drive passes 12 miles off.
The story
Ralston Peak is a mountain in the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the west of Lake Tahoe within the Desolation Wilderness in El Dorado County, California. Ralston Peak is a very popular mountain to summit for the views of the wilderness area as it lies very near U.S. Route 50. The closest trailhead to the summit can be found in Camp Sacramento a few miles west of Echo Summit. Ralston Peak can also be accessed from the Pacific Crest Trail between Echo Lake and Lake Aloha. Starting at the nearest trailhead (Echo Lake), this route is significantly longer than the trail from Camp Sacramento. But the altitude gain on this route is much less, and the trail is much less steep.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q7288369, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 2807 m
How to reach it
- 12.3 mi off the Lake Tahoe - Eastshore Drive, National
- 19.7 mi off the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway, National
- 29.6 mi off the Mount Rose Highway
Overlooks nearby
- Cave Rock · 17 mi
- Logan Shoals Vista Point · 18 mi
- Memorial Point Scenic Overlook · 28 mi
- Hell's Kitchen Vista Point · 28 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Talking Mountain: 1.7 mi
- Keiths Dome: 1.8 mi
- Echo Peak: 2.2 mi
- Becker Peak: 2.3 mi
- Flagpole Peak: 2.5 mi
- Fallen Leaf Recreation Center: 3.6 mi
- Tahoe Paradise Park: 4.3 mi
- Lake Valley State Recreation Area: 5.3 mi
- Bonanza Community Park: 7.4 mi
- Old Emigrant Trail Historical Marker: 9.6 mi
- Glen Alpine Spring: 2.9 mi
- Folsom Spring: 13.2 mi
- Granite Spring: 13.4 mi
- Tragedy Spring: 13.6 mi
- Jim Quinn Spring: 14.4 mi
- Glen Alpine Resort: 3.0 mi
- Fannette Island Tea House: 8.4 mi
- Kit Carson Historical Monument: 11.3 mi
- Snowshoe Thompson Historical Monument: 11.3 mi
- Elkus: 14.0 mi
- Lovers Leap: 2.9 mi
- Cathedral Peak: 3.8 mi
- Detox Wall: 5.6 mi
- Distillery Wall: 5.6 mi
- Tallac Point: 7.9 mi
- Kiva Beach: 8.0 mi
- Pope Beach: 8.2 mi
- El Dorado Beach: 10.7 mi
- Lester Beach: 11.6 mi
- Lakeside Beach: 12.0 mi
- Andrews Meadows: 3.6 mi
- Linder Grove: 4.2 mi
- Washoe Meadows State Park: 5.0 mi
- Johnson Meadow: 8.2 mi
- Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park: 14.6 mi
- Horsetail Falls: 1.2 mi
- Modjeska Falls: 3.1 mi
- Cascade Falls: 7.0 mi
- Upper Eagle Falls: 8.1 mi
- Lower Eagle Falls: 8.2 mi
- Baldwin Home: 7.9 mi
- Lake Tahoe Historic Society Museum: 10.0 mi
- Genoa Courthouse Museum: 18.2 mi
- Alpine County Museum: 19.7 mi
- Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center: 20.3 mi
- Tallac Historic Site: 7.9 mi
- Balancing Rock: 10.9 mi
- Rubicon Point Light: 11.3 mi
- Round Hill Pines Beach Resort: 13.5 mi
- M. S. Dixie II Terminal: 14.5 mi
- Eagle Falls Picnic Area: 8.3 mi
- Sandy Cove Picnic Area: 11.7 mi
- Meeks Bay Beach: 14.0 mi
- Shot Rock Vista Picnic Area: 15.3 mi
- Cleveland Corral: 17.8 mi
- St Theresa: 9.9 mi
- The Big Tree: 23.4 mi
- Dolly's Vegetable Garden: 7.9 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 12.5 miles of Ralston Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freel Peak | E 81° | 3,305 m | 11.0 mi |
| Jobs Sister | E 80° | 3,299 m | 11.9 mi |
| Red Lake Peak | SE 144° | 3,067 m | 10.4 mi |
| Stevens Peak | SE 137° | 3,061 m | 9.4 mi |
| Pyramid Peak | WNW 285° | 3,042.818 m | 3.1 mi |
| Dicks Peak | NNW 330° | 3,042 m | 5.4 mi |
| Mount Price | WNW 299° | 3,040 m | 4.5 mi |
| Agassiz | WNW 295° | 3,038 m | 4.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:05 | 18:38 | 19:13 |
| June solstice | 05:36 | 19:50 | 20:30 |
| September equinox | 06:49 | 18:24 | 18:59 |
| December solstice | 07:16 | 16:01 | 16:43 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 31 | 31 | 36 | 40 | 48 | 55 | 62 | 60 | 54 | 46 | 37 | 30 |
| Precip in | 2.8 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — S Lake Tahoe AP, 7 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 265157 — Ralston Peak, El Dorado County, California.
OpenStreetMap element node/358799288
Day trips start here
- Bliss State Park · 10 mi
- Homewood · 18 mi
- Lake Tahoe · 18 mi
- Tahoe City · 24 mi
- Olympic Valley · 26 mi
- Tahoe Vista · 29 mi
Take the scenic way to Ralston Peak.
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