This entire trail could be done in a full size truck, with only a few short narrow sections of brush to worry about. After lunch, we found our way to the top of Ellis Peak. The last mile up the mountain is an easy dirt trail with a few very short steep sections. The reward at the top is a 360 degree view from 8000 feet that includes all of Lake Tahoe and the entire Rubicon tract, all the way to Loon Lake. We spent 20 to 30 minutes here, but could have easily spent 2 or 3 hours enjoying the view.
Camping is available in the vicinity for that prefer high altitude sites.
From the peak we worked our way down Ellis Peak to the west. Our intended route was to find a trail down to the Rubicon exit and find another 4WD trail from there to Barker Meadow. However, there are many trails that don't appear on the maps, and we missed our intended route by several miles. We settled for turning north on a major forest route and finding our way to the Barker Meadow trail. This is another short, scenic and easy trail that shortcuts a section of the forest road.