Scramble Up this Trail to Allison Ridge for Amazing Views

Sep 14, 2022

Even after running thousands of miles on the trails in Truckee/Tahoe, I’m continuously blown away by our trail system and the accessibility we have! For the most part our trails are so runnable, which can be both good and bad for our training. If you’re looking to get in a lot of vert (maybe to practice using your running poles – check out this review for tips), then Allison Ridge is a perfect option! You’ll be rewarded from your tough hiking practice with beautiful views of Lake Tahoe.

Trailhead:

This trail is about a 35 minute drive from Truckee. Parking is in a neighborhood at the end of Allison Drive in Incline Village, Nevada. Your will head up Mt. Rose Highway and take a left, there are a lot of winding streets through the neighborhood and your best bet is putting Allison Drive in google maps or another directions app. From Mildes Drive, turn right on to Allison Drive and the trailhead will be on your left. Please be courteous with your parking and park the correct way on the road. Remember, no street parking November-May!

Trail Description:

The loop I’ll take you on is about 3.5 miles with 1,900ft of gain (there are options to make it longer like by adding on Rose Knob Peak, or shorter if you’d rather do an out and back). If you’re running with poles, I would recommend starting with them out. You’ll start off on a wider dirt path that will begin to take you up towards the ridge. Stay left at the water tower. From there, you will be on a narrower single track trail. You will gain about 970 feet in the next .67 miles (great hard uphill hiking practice!). You will be rewarded with a beautiful view of Lake Tahoe and a banger Ridgeline! You have the option to turn around and go back down from here OR continue up. If you decide to continue, you’ll have a slight downhill to give your lungs a small break before you continue up for another .3 miles and 425 feet.

The trail ends at a T, you can continue left if you want to go up to Rose Knob Peak, or if you’ve had enough climbing I’ll take you down and to the right to complete the loop. Follow the Jennifer trail down (also a great place to practice downhills with your poles). You’ll be going downhill for .7 miles before you take a left, all the steep stuff is over! Continue for another .25 miles before you take a left that will loop you back to Allison Drive. You will end between two homes at the very end of Allison Drive and you should be able to see your car from here.