![]() The full Lake Tahoe Flume Trail is more than 20 miles round trip, which is still a doable hike or run, but the most scenic hiking spots along the trail can be accessed from Marlette Lake in the Spooner Backcountry. HikingĪlthough the Flume Trail hike is definitely ranked as one of the best trails to mountain bike in the world, the amazing views of Lake Tahoe are just as spectacular when hiking or trail running. Don’t have your own wheels? The folks at Flume Trail Bikes can help. The bike trail is rideable from May to November, weather permitting however, if you are starting at, including, or connecting with any sections of the Tahoe Rim Trail, the trail is only open to mountain bikes on even days of the week. A moderately difficult 14-mile ride with more than 1,000’ of climbing in the first four miles and 4.5 miles of singletrack, it’s safe to say the Marlette Flume Trail is a good trail for intermediate to advanced riders. Once you hit the singletrack, keep a sharp eye on the trail-on one side are boulders the size of Volkswagens, and on the other side is a bumpy 1,600’ drop to Sand Harbor. The first section is a 1,100 climb that tops out at Marlette Lake at 8,157’. One portion, and probably one of the most easily accessed sections of the Lake Tahoe Flume Trail, begins at Spooner Lake State Park, part of the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Parks four-unit network. ![]() This area is also home to the Lake Tahoe Wagon Trail, which was used to travel from Carson City up Kings Canyon and over the crest to arrive lakeside near Incline Village. In 1887, more pipelines and flumes were built to tap into Hobart Creek and Marlette Lake, increasing the available water volume to 6.6 million gallons per day. Engineers built a diversion dam and constructed a combination of box flume and pressure pipeline to channel water 2,000 ft. To solve this problem, locals searched for water in the Carson Range and found Franktown Creek (Hobart) flowing into Washoe Lake. Tahoe Flume Trail Historyĭuring the Comstock Lode days-when Virginia City hit one of the biggest silver strikes the world has ever known-the West’s shortage of available water came into stark view, especially with an ever-growing population of miners dotting the hills with campsites. Today, the trail typically becomes snow-free and rideable around Memorial Day, and has several access points with different days designated for mountain biking or foot traffic.Īfraid of heights? Then avoid this famed 4.5-mile singletrack that hugs cliffs 2,500 feet above breathtaking Lake Tahoe-and miss out on what may be the best vistas from just about any mountain biking or hiking trail on Earth. Located in North Lake Tahoe near Incline Village, the Lake Tahoe Flume trail is a singletrack trail carved into steep granite cliffs overlooking Lake Tahoe, which follows the path where wooden square-box flumes once delivered water to Virginia City in the late 1800s. Very invigorating, and a good place to stop and rest.Touted as one of the most spectacular trails in the Lake Tahoe area (if not the world), visitors from around the globe flock to the Flume Trail in Tahoe for unbeatable access to hiking and mountain biking. At the end point, there is a small waterfall and rushing rapids. It is pretty flat without a lot of difficult terrain. There are 14 Flumes with narrow walking paths to navigate once you get on the right trail. No worries, we enjoyed some extra exercise and some beautiful vistas. We had a little mishap, and as you can see from the map, we took the wrong way from the trail head, and hiked over a mile up a fire service road before we discovered our “mistake”. Normally the Flume Trail is a two hour hike, about an hour out, and an hour back. Since we are “training” for an upcoming trip that will involve lots of walking, we headed out to hike the Flume Trail to build up our stamina, get some fresh air and have some time to talk. Teresa had hiked the Flume Trail with a friend, and was looking forward to sharing it with me. ![]() One great thing about living in the hill country is all the amazing hikes we can get to in a few minutes. ![]()
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