Woods Lake to Winnemucca Lake to Round Top Lake Loop - Trailhead is found by taking the Woods Lake Road off Hwy. 88 about a mile past Carson Pass. This hike has 3 sections and I have separated them so you can decide which ones you want to hike and in what order. All start at the Woods Lake parking lot. Be prepared to pay a fee. It was $8 when I did it in 2020 and they do not accept federal passes. The trailhead is at 8200' and you will be going up to 9,300' so be prepared for the effect of high elevation.

The easiest and most popular is the hike to Winnemucca Lake. If you are doing the loop, I highly recommend that you start with this one. It is just under 2 miles from the trailhead with about 750'’ elevation gain and is worth doing by itself if you don’t have much time. The first half is wooded and then you get into the open where you see Mount Round Top and hills covered with wildflowers. The climb is moderate and the trail is good. You will see the rounded form of Elephants Back to the left of Winnemucca Lake. The Winnemucca Lake trail intersects with the trail from Carson Pass and it will take you to Elephants Back.

To continue the loop, you go right at Winnemucca Lake on the trail from Carson Pass. Heading uphill, it is 1 mile to Round Top Lake with 700’ elevation gain before dipping 300' to the lake. You have great views of the surrounding area. The hike from Round Top Lake back to Woods Lake is about 2.5 miles and is steep and very rocky in places (as shown in slide 11). Elevation loss is over 1100’. This is not a good trail for people with bad knees, but it has great scenery including views of Caples Lake, Woods Lake and Black Butte. You pass remnants of the Lost Cabin Mine. The end of the hike levels out and goes through trees where you will enjoy the shade.

From Round Top Lake, you can also go to Round Top Summit, about 1000' elevation gain with a difficult trail. The views from the top are supposed to be spectacular but I did not try this.

Many people take the hike to Winnemucca Lake for the summer wildflower display. From mid-June to mid-August, the flowers cover the hillsides. There are outlet streams from both Winnemucca Lake and Round Top Lake and wildflowers grow abundantly along their banks as well as on the hillsides. You also hear these streams tumbling down the mountain side.