Today we went out to Boca Springs, it was hot and dry out there. A few wildflowers are starting to peak out but I think the season this year will be short unless we get some more rain. Boca Reservoir is still very low, with the gravel banks on the side still standing 20-30ft out of the water and the Little Truckee River is flowing is well below the campground (where it normally enters the lake). This area has a lot of crisscrossing fire roads and OHV trails so pay attention to the direction you're taking and look for landmarks. There are incredible views on this hike and you can even see Squaw Valley and the Siberia lift at the top of the mountain next to the Palisades.
This is a loop hike or can obviously be an out and back if you like. From the campground head up past the spring of Boca Springs, you'll be heading up hill and the road is easy to find at the back of the campground. Once you reach the top of the first hill keep to the road on the left and it will wind its way up a hill. At the top of next hill take the road to the left and you will shortly come to a three way intersection, from here take the road to the right which heads further up the hill. Follow this road for roughly a mile and the road will take a sharp to turn to the left, here I tend to go right and there is an old logging road that parallels the road you just came up. Following this road will lead you back to the three way intersection, at the intersection this time take the road to the right which will head back down the hill for about a mile and will come out below the meadow at the Boca Springs campground.
Rating:
Medium - quite a bit of uphill
Distance:
Today we went above 5 miles on the loop mentioned above
Getting There:
From Truckee take I-80 east towards Reno and get off at the Hirschdale exit and take a left under the freeway (there is also an on-ramp here for easy exit on your return trip). Follow the road over the Truckee River and across the train tracks and you'll quickly come to Boca Reservoir on the left. About 2 miles along the road there will be a paved road heading off to the right with a sign that says: Boca Springs 1 mile and Verdi Peak 14 miles. Take this road, it will quickly become dirt. You can either park here and hike up the road to the campground or drive up to the campground (the dirt road is not too bad and easily do-able in a car) just stay to the left and you'll reach the campground.
There are lots of fire trails and OHV trails in this area. The area is heavily treed but has been logged in the past. The trees are mostly Jeffery Pine and cedars (and there are some monsters up here). You will occasionally see people on quads and there are people that use some of the meadows for shooting guns but they are few and far between so you'll rarely see anyone out here.
Leash required: No
Water: None, very dry right now. There is water at the spring and in the small stream where the spring water runs off.
Enjoy!