Bowman Lake Road

Bowman Lake Road leaves Highway 20 west of Cisco Grove and winds roughly 14.5 miles north through the Tahoe National Forest to the Bowman Lake Recreation Area, trading pavement for about 4.25 miles of increasingly rugged dirt as it approaches the reservoir. The drive moves through thick pine and fir forest before opening to dramatic views across granite-studded Sierra slopes, with access along the way to many other roads, hiking trails, fishing lakes and streams, and plenty of established climbing areas. A large staging area and several campsites can be found at the end of the paved section that resides on Sierra Pacific Lands. The dirt then begins as a relatively easy, compacted road with occasional potholes, then narrows to a single lane and grows progressively rockier, with loose and embedded baseball to softball-sized rocks, making high clearance and 4WD strongly recommended for the final stretch. Several small dispersed campsites are tucked into the forest along the road, generally best suited for one or two vehicles and ground tents, while Bowman Lake itself offers abundant dispersed camping options and multiple improved campgrounds.