Join plant ecologists Molly Ferry and Hugh Safford for a guided 3+ mile hike near Emerald Bay in South Lake Tahoe. This hike is hosted by the California Native Plant Society, Tahoe & Sierra Valley Chapter- rain or shine.

The hike will include some off-trail walking over uneven terrain, covering 2–4 miles with about 500 feet of elevation loss and gain (down and back up the paved road). Restrooms are available at the boat-in campground.

At Emerald Point, we’ll explore a stand of massive old trees, including Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), and Canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis). We will count 13 different tree species that occur at the site.

In the spirit of Molly’s Wildflower Wednesday Search Parties, we’ll also be looking for a short list of target plant species. Your observations will help update the classic book Plants of the Tahoe Basin (Graf, 1999).

Wildflower Wednesdays are task-oriented toward search party species and map hunts. Expect off-trail hiking and uneven terrain as we search for species that need their distribution clarified for an update to Michael Graf’s 1999 Wildflower Guide. This may mean bypassing other interesting flowers to prioritize reaching key sites.

What to Bring: Water, sunscreen, layered clothing, sturdy shoes, a snack, and a botanical loupe (if you have one). No dogs, please.

Meeting Point: Please park and meet at this precise Google Maps location near Emerald Bay. Parking can be challenging, but there is plenty of paved roadside parking where the boat-in campground road meets Highway 89. We’ll meet at the green gate at 10am, returning in an estimated 4 hours. There are also shuttles running from South Lake and Sugar Pine Point State Park to Emerald Bay.

No registration - just show up on time.

Questions? Check out the Tahoe Plant Book Website or email Molly at tahoeplantbook@gmail.com