Trail Report for Tuesday, August 17th

The biking and hiking season is in full swing. With only one day of rain in the last month and a half, trails are becoming a little dusty and increasingly fragile though. That's not to say that the riding is not good, in fact it's great right now. But, it does mean that riders need to take extra care in avoiding skidding and doing other damage to the trails. Shoveling or modifying trails at this time of year often creates more harm than help.

Trail Report for Thursday, July 22nd

It's pretty much game on here in the Lake Tahoe mountain bike world. Toad's and Stanford Rock are thawed and fully ridable. You'll notice that we have Hole in the Ground marked as open, but after talking to some customers that attempted to ride it on Sunday, that designation is debatable. They said that they pushed their bikes through snow for about an hour and a half. Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty miserable to me, but we'll leave it as open on our trail page because some others have insisted that it's good to go.

Amended Trail Report for Thursday 7/1/10

Breaking news... Tahoe Rim Trail is ready for action... You may need to use the side entrance to avoid snowpack from the treeline to the top of the first climb, but all systems are now go on the Rim. Don't know where the side entrance is? It pays to be local, enjoy the ride!

Trail Report for Thursday 7/1/10

The heat is on and trails like The Flume, Tyrolian Downhill, Chimney Beach Downhill, and Incline Flume are 100% free of snow. Sections of Tahoe Rim Trail between Tahoe City and Highway 267 are mostly clear and rideable, with the exception of Watson Peak, which still has a little snow left.

The Tahoe Rim Trail from Mt Rose Meadow to Tunnel Creek and from Tunnel Creek to Marlette Lake still has enough snow to be considered a nuisance. It shouldn't be more than a few days to a week for that to change though. Educated guessors believe that it may be as early as next week that traffic will increase on the Rim.

That leaves a few choice rides that just aren't quite ready for riding; Mr Toads, Donner Rim, and Hole in the Ground to name a few, are in particularly snowy areas that will cause late openings this season. We'll keep you posted. And if you'd like to keep us posted please email Ben here.

Trail Report for Thursday - 6/24/10

There has been a little more thawing that has allowed for more trail openings, but not as much as we'd like... The Tyrolian Downhill is now rideable from the top with some snow interference on the fire road that leads to the trailhead. From the trailhead down is clear and in excellent condition. The Marlette Flume is melting more and more daily and can be completed from Spooner to the Ponderosa Ranch with a little snow biking. The Flume Trail Shuttle service is also open for business.

The Tahoe Rim Trail from Mt Rose Meadow is getting clearer, but can not be connected with out significant snow portaging. There are sections that are clear north of Diamond Peak, but less than a mile at a time is rideable. If you want to attempt this ride, your best plan of attack is to climb Tunnel Creek road and approach from the south until you can't take hiking thru the snow with your bike anymore.

South of us, the Rim Trail from Kingsbury to the Bench is open and ready. On the north facing aspects, (from Spooner to the Bench) there is still plenty of snow to battle.

Northstar at Tahoe is open for the DH biking season.

Trail Report for Friday - 6/11/10

Good news to report! The snow is melting light years faster than anticipated due to a few days of warmer than average temperatures and blazing sun. The Marlette Flume trail is now rideable from Ponderosa Ranch to the Marlette Lake Dam. The shores of Marlette Lake are still packed in snow, preventing us from riding the Flume from end to end at this time. There are also a few patches of snow and some downed trees to contend with on the Flume itself, but nothing to keep eager riders from going on this Tahoe classic mountain bike ride.

The Incline Flume trail is also free and clear of snow from Old Mount Rose Highway to the short-cut where the Tyrolian Downhill intersects the Incline Flume. From the Incline Flume to Diamond Peak there is still lots of snow to hike your bike thru. It will probably be another week or more for the snow to melt on the north facing aspects.

The Tyrolian Downhill is fully rideable from the Incline Flume down to Diamond Peak and the trail is in epic condition.

For more information and maps of Lake Tahoe rides and hikes check out our Trail Maps and info page.

Trail Report for Tuesday - 6/8/10

There is still little mountain biking to choose from on the North Shore right now. Options are pretty much limited to Emigrant Trail, Tunnel Creek Road, Galena Creek Park (Reno), and some of the lower Martis Peak trails. In South Lake Tahoe, the Corral Trail and Powerline trails are ready to go.

It will likely be at least a month before the Tahoe Rim Trail is clear from the Mt Rose Meadow to Marlette Lake. The meadow is still completely covered in up to 3 feet of snow and that snow level only gets deeper once to cross the meadow into the trees.

The Flume Trail will probably be ridable within the next two weeks. There is still snow from Tunnel Creek station up to the Flume and there is still snow surrounding the south/west shore of Marlette Lake.

The Tyrolian Downhill will probably be good to go from the Incline Flume down within two to three weeks also. The snowpack above the Incline Flume is still very deep. At the top of the Downhill, there is still solid 4 foot snowbanks covering the trail.

Click here for more information and trail maps.