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Paved Paths & Cycling Routes
L I F E I N TA H O E
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HOME
from wildfires
S TO RY BY A M A N DA M I L I C I , TA H O E R E S O U R C E C O N S E R VAT I O N D I S T R I C T
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BIKE PATH RULES • Keep dogs leashed • Pedestrians must yield to bikes • Don’t stop on the trail; move to the side • E-bikes allowed on most paths; check in advance • Cyclists call out when passing pedestrians • Cyclists pass on the left • Pack out all trash, including dog waste. • Carry doggie bags.
EAST SHORE
EAST SHORE TRAIL Easy-moderate | 6 miles RT | tahoefund.org Runs along Lake Tahoe and connects to Hwy. 28 from south end of Incline Village, Nev., to Sand Harbor State Park. Parking near Ponderosa Ranch Road. Electric assist OK. Paid parking. TART NORTH SHORE
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE
CAMP RICHARDSON BIKE PATH Easy | 6 miles RT The trail parallels State Route 89 (Emerald Bay Road) for more than 3 miles, offering access to a number of local historic and recreational amenities. Park at Taylor Creek, Baldwin or Pope beaches. Visit tahoebike.org for more info.
SOUTH SHORE BIKE PATH Easy | 7 miles RT | cityofslt.us Follow the bike trail along South Shore, with sections along Lakeview Commons, Reagan Beach and playgrounds. Public parking at Parks and Recreation lot on Rufus Allen Boulevard. Visit tahoebike.org for more info.
CYCLING ROUTES AROUND LAKE TAHOE Strenuous | 72 miles This challenging route is a scenic trip around Lake Tahoe. A mix of flat spots, rolling hills and some steep climbs. Heavy traffic through South Lake Tahoe. Amazing views.
LAKESHORE BOULEVARD
BARKER PASS
Easy | 5 miles RT | washoecounty.us Runs along Lake Tahoe and connects to Hwy. 28 at each end of Incline Village. Park at Preston Field on Hwy. 28. Electric assist OK. TART
Easy-moderate | 8+ miles RT | tcpud.org First 2.5 miles mostly level with a half-mile climb up Dollar Hill. Cross Highway 28 to access 2.2-mile section to Fulton Crescent above Carnelian Bay. Public parking at 64 Acres, Commons Beach, Jackpine and Dollar Point. Electric assist OK. TART
Moderate-strenuous | 10 miles RT Barker Pass is one of the most beautiful rides in Tahoe, if you don’t mind a little climbing with 5 miles and 1,700 vertical feet. But if you’re up to the task, you will be rewarded with pristine wilderness, spectacular alpine views, smooth pavement and almost no traffic. You will pass through lush meadows, aspens, Lodgepole pines and several varieties of fir. Take Highway 89 south of Tahoe City to Barker Pass Road for about 4.2 miles. Look for the brown sign on the right for Blackwood Canyon/Kaspian, and shortly afterward you will see the Forest Service road.
TRUCKEE RIVER CANYON
OLD 40 TO CISCO GROVE
Easy | 9+ miles RT | tcpud.org 4.5 miles from the Tahoe City wye to Alpine Meadows Road, with trails continuing to Olympic Valley. The trail is scenic, separate from the highway, and is mostly flat terrain with a few short, gentle grades with trout fishing, river rafting and picnicking along the way. Connects with Squaw Valley Road or continue to Truckee. Public parking at 64 Acres and Squaw Valley Park at Squaw Valley Road. Electric assist OK. TART
Moderate-strenuous | 39 miles RT This route is one of the easiest to follow, and one of the best. It has it all the views, a good climb, a technical descent, a restaurant en route, Donner Lake and miles of lightly traveled roads. From downtown Truckee head west on Donner Pass Road until it ends in Cisco Grove. After passing Donner Lake, you begin the long and challenging, but scenic, grind up the summit. This climb has a vertical rise of less than 1,000’. From the top of the summit, it is a rolling downhill along the Yuba River all the way to Cisco Grove. The descent down to Donner Lake is a technical one. Watch your speed, and make sure your brakes work. Parking at West End Beach and boat ramp.
TAHOE CITY TO CARNELIAN BAY
VILLAGE BOULEVARD Easy | 7.4 miles RT | washoecounty.us Bike path runs along Hwy. 28 through Incline Village. Access to shopping and parks. Park at Preston Field on Hwy. 28. TART WEST SHORE
TAHOE CITY TO MEEKS BAY Moderate | 25+ miles RT | tcpud.org Mostly separate from the highway, the trail includes a few miles of highway shoulder and residential streets. Terrain is varied with a few steep sections. Access to picnicking, beaches and playgrounds. Public parking at 64 Acres. Electric assist OK. TART OLYMPIC VALLEY
OLYMPIC VALLEY Easy | 4 miles RT | tcpud.org A 2-mile trail runs beside Squaw Valley Road to the ski area from the Squaw Valley condos to Victoria Road, with views of the meadow and surrounding peaks. Public parking at Squaw Valley Park or Village at Squaw. Electric assist OK. TART TRUCKEE
TRUCKEE LEGACY TRAIL Easy | 6 miles RT | tdrpd.org Stretches from downtown Truckee to Truckee River Regional Park, River View Sports Park and Glenshire. Park at either park or East River Street. Electric assist OK. TART
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Mike Vollmer
PAVED MULTIUSE TRAILS
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Life in Tahoe is a new feature to provide information and resources on some of the most commonly asked questions and concerns about life in the Tahoe Sierra. If you have a topic you’d like us to address, email editor@tahoethisweek.com.
L
iving at Lake Tahoe is special. It means living amongst endless recreation opportunities and living with the peace and serenity created by our shared body of pristine water. However, living at Lake Tahoe also means living with something else: wildfire.
HOPE VALLEY TO BLUE LAKES Moderate | 28 miles RT You can explore the Highway 88 in either direction of Hope Valley, but 12-mile ride from the valley to Blue Lakes is a biker’s dream: smooth roads, doable climbs and spectacular alpine scenery with a lake at the end. Park at the intersection of Highways 88 and 89 and turn right. In 2 miles, turn onto Blue Lakes Road. The ride starts out mostly level until you pass the Hope Valley campground where it begins to steadily ascend before reaching the pass with a panoramic view of the area. Then descend for several miles to end at Blue lakes before the return trip.
Filled with specific recommendations for each component of the home, the guide empowers residents to address their home’s vulnerabilities.
INCLINE TO MOUNT ROSE SUMMIT Strenuous | 16 miles RT Ride about Lake Tahoe for panoramic views of the basin climbing to 8,900’ on the Mount Rose Highway out of Incline Village, Nev., to the Mount Rose Pass. While 8 miles of climbing is tough, it’s a fairly gentle grade. Just put it in your lowest gear and keep pedaling, followed by 8 miles of downhill at fast speeds with sandy bike lands. Keeping your speed under control is vital. Parking at Preston Field in Incline Village or start at the top and park at Tahoe Meadows or at the summit.
In the past, we’ve focused a lot on vegetation and defensible space. Of course, good defensible space is absolutely necessary, but we need to remember that our homes themselves are combustible, too. During a wildfire, 60 to 90 percent of home loss is due to embers. Depending on a fire’s intensity and wind speed, embers can travel more than a mile ahead of a flame front. Thus, even a home blocks away from a fire can be at risk of ignition. The Wildfire Home Retrofit Guide recommends a coupled approach that considers both the vegetation surrounding a home and the home’s construction materials. It includes recommendations for ember-vulnerable components of a home including roofs, rain gutters, eaves, vents,
By owning a home in a Wildland Urban Interface (the zone where natural environments intersect human development), Tahoe residents take on the extra responsibility of protecting their homes from wildfire. Although the thought of losing a home is scary and tragic, there is a lot residents can do to increase their home’s wildfire resiliency. In January 2021, a team of California and Nevada scientists and practitioners published the Wildfire Home Retrofit Guide. Filled with specific recommendations for each component of the home, the guide empowers residents to address their home’s vulnerabilities.
siding, skylights, windows, decks, chimneys and fences. These recommendations range from routine maintenance (removing pine needles from roofs and gutters), to DIY projects (installing 1/8th-inch metal mesh screening to vents), to full retrofits (replacing a wood-shake roof ). The Wildfire Home Retrofit Guide is beyond informative. It’s empowering. It allows residents to look at their home, see what they can do to protect it, and feel more in control of their wildfire risk. The Wildfire Home Retrofit Guide is free and can be downloaded at tahoelivingwithfire.com. The guide was funded by CAL FIRE California Climate Investments. Contributing agencies to the Guide include University of Nevada, Reno Extension; University of California Cooperative Extension; Tahoe Resource Conservation District; Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities; Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team; and Tahoe Living With Fire.
