TR: Great first time destination for kids (off I-80)
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 1:50 pm
A good friend and long-time backpacking partner and I decided to take our kids out for their first backpacking trip back on August 11th. We imposed a few restrictions in order to make sure it went smoothly:
• Easy access from I-80
• No more than 2 miles of hiking to get to the destination
• A modest amount of elevation gain
We decided on Salmon Lake—a small lake near the Loch Leven Lakes just south of I-80. It is easily accessed from a trail head on a forest road above Lake Valley Reservoir. The hike in is only 1.25 miles with 300 feet of gain—easy work for my 6-year-old and my friend's 7- and 9-year-olds.
We hit the trail around noon with some smoke in the air. (Unknown to us, the American Fire had started the evening before.) We kept the pace slow and stopped for a few rests, but by 2pm we were at the lake and the kids were swimming, fishing, and exploring. The lake obviously gets a fair share of visitors judging by the obscene amount of fire rings. We only saw a couple day hikers over the course of our outing and I thought that perhaps the Loch Leven Lakes attract more over-nighters. We were glad to have the lake to ourselves when the peacefulness of the area was disturbed by the yelling of wild boys. That night the smoke cleared and those that stayed up late (or woke up early) were treated to the Perseid meteor shower. After a lazy morning and a few small hikes around the lake we headed down the trail, getting back to the car in about an hour.
The smoke from the American Fire was a minor annoyance, but everything else was great. The kids loved the lake, there is plenty to explore, and the Loch Leven Lakes (which have trout) are just over a half mile away. I highly recommend this spot to introduce someone to backpacking, but still be close enough to the car and civilization should you need to bail.
• Easy access from I-80
• No more than 2 miles of hiking to get to the destination
• A modest amount of elevation gain
We decided on Salmon Lake—a small lake near the Loch Leven Lakes just south of I-80. It is easily accessed from a trail head on a forest road above Lake Valley Reservoir. The hike in is only 1.25 miles with 300 feet of gain—easy work for my 6-year-old and my friend's 7- and 9-year-olds.
We hit the trail around noon with some smoke in the air. (Unknown to us, the American Fire had started the evening before.) We kept the pace slow and stopped for a few rests, but by 2pm we were at the lake and the kids were swimming, fishing, and exploring. The lake obviously gets a fair share of visitors judging by the obscene amount of fire rings. We only saw a couple day hikers over the course of our outing and I thought that perhaps the Loch Leven Lakes attract more over-nighters. We were glad to have the lake to ourselves when the peacefulness of the area was disturbed by the yelling of wild boys. That night the smoke cleared and those that stayed up late (or woke up early) were treated to the Perseid meteor shower. After a lazy morning and a few small hikes around the lake we headed down the trail, getting back to the car in about an hour.
The smoke from the American Fire was a minor annoyance, but everything else was great. The kids loved the lake, there is plenty to explore, and the Loch Leven Lakes (which have trout) are just over a half mile away. I highly recommend this spot to introduce someone to backpacking, but still be close enough to the car and civilization should you need to bail.