Showers Lake north of the Meiss Family Cabin

Showers Lake, Meiss County, California
Showers Lake

Granite-bound Showers Lake

The “little lake district” between Echo Summit (Highway 50) and Carson Pass (Highway 88) in the Sierra Nevada, California, includes Elbert Lake, Dardanelles Lake, Round Lake, Meiss Lake and Showers Lake. Smaller lakes are hidden in the forest-granite landscape between these lakes.

A great way to get there is by hiking or horseback riding the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) northbound from the Meiss Meadows Trailhead at Carson Pass. The single-track PCT travels over a scenic saddle and then drops down into Meiss Meadows, leading you to the historic Meiss Cabin. From there, it takes two more miles across meadows and uphill through open forest to reach near-timberline Showers Lake, where you are treated to a sweeping view of deep blue water, granite boulders, pines and mountain hemlocks—backdropped by the northeast-facing slopes of the Sierra Crest with steep meadows and graggy walls of rocks.

The out-and-back trip from the Meiss Meadows Trailhead to Showers Lake is a little over ten miles long and takes five to six hours, depending on your pace and recreational diversions.
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North and south of Carson Pass
Hiking Trails: Meiss Country (includes trail map)
From Carson Pass to Meiss Meadows
El Dorado National Forest: PCT to Showers Lake
From Carson Pass to shallow Frog Lake
From Frog Lake to Winnemucca Lake
From Winnemucca Lake to Round Top Lake
From Round Top Lake to Fourth of July Lake