Chickadee Ridge rises gently out of Tahoe Meadows, the broad sub-alpine meadow on the Mt. Rose Highway. The walk itself is easy and gorgeous — wildflowers in summer, a popular snowshoe in winter — but the famous part is the mountain chickadees, so used to visitors that they'll flutter down and land on an outstretched hand.
It's a short, rewarding outing that kids adore, and one of the most accessible high-meadow walks anywhere near the lake.
| Distance | ~2 miles round trip (longer options through the meadow) |
|---|---|
| Elevation gain | ~300 ft |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Trailhead | Tahoe Meadows on NV-431 (Mt. Rose Highway), about 1 mile past Mt. Rose Summit on the south side of the road, elev. ~8,700 ft |
| Parking | Roadside pullouts along the highway — easy to spot thanks to the open meadow, but can fill up on summer weekends |
| Dogs | Leashed dogs allowed |
| Season | Summer hike or winter snowshoe; the meadow can be marshy at snowmelt |