Getting Outdoors: The Tahoe-Pyramid Trail

The urge to get out of the house gets stronger each day. The challenge is to pick an adventure that minimizes your interaction with many people. I can tell you first hand that Home Depot is not the answer. So Andy, Bob and I planned a midweek ride on the recently completed Tahoe-Pyramid trail.

The Tahoe-Pyramid Trail is a vision that eventually will create a 114 mile trail for hikers and bikers that will connect Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. With the completion of the Truckee River canyon section last October, technically it is now possible to go the entire way on foot or bike. Keep in mind that parts of that trail include bike lanes along Highway 89 or the city streets of Reno and Sparks.

Our ride took us from Truckee to Crystal Peak Park in Verdi, just shy of a 25 mile ride from my house. The ride includes paved bike trails, paved roads, gravel roads, single track trails, bridges, boardwalks and some stairs.

The ride from Truckee starts with the Legacy Trail out to Glenshire. From there you take Glenshire Drive down to Hirschdale Road. After a couple of miles, you’ll find the beginning of the single track section. It is possible to drive this far, park the car and ride or walk from here. The Tahoe-Pyramid website does note that local property owners have complained about too many cars parking in this area. We avoided the issue by riding from home.

The single track section to Floriston is the most technically difficult portion of the trail. The track is in great condition, but parts are a bit unnerving. There are some “no fall zones” where you’re side hilling with a lot of rip-rap rock work both to your left and right. A crash here would be very unpleasant.

I was surprised to find quite a bit of uphill on the trail, thinking that it’s downhill to Verdi. The trail often goes down toward the river, then climbs back up toward the highway. My tracking app claims a total of 1700 feet of elevation gain during the ride. Bob and I were on RadRover e-bikes, so the hill climbs were less of an issue. My right knee was thankful for that. Andy was working without electrons, but fortunately his mountain bike weighs like 3 pounds. Having to deal with the stair sections with a 60 pound e-bike was not so fun.

Note: Have you noticed that the guys that complain about e-bikes on trails are the same ones that have no trouble riding a lift up a ski hill? I can guarantee you, we did not use our electrons to pass up any other bikers on the trail. I’m glad that electrons have got me back into biking.

After Floriston, most of the ride is on gravel roads and old sections of Highway 40. You also spend more time closer to the river. If you study the maps on the Tahoe-Pyramid website, you’ll see that they are marked with green circles for beginners. There’s quite a bit of parking near the rafting takeout in Floriston, so you could start your ride here. There are some short sections of single track, but none as puckering as the upper section.

There’s plenty of nice shady places to stop near the river. We chose a nice spot next to the water just past the Fleisch bridge and dam, just before the River Rock climbing area. It was a good place to take a break because after that comes the “mother of all hills”. It’s a steep section of gravel road for about 1/3 of a mile that will cause you to downshift to your lowest possible gears and literally crawl up the hill. We walked bikes up this section because it was also the warmest part of the trail, with no shade or wind. Andy’s remark at the top of the hill was “It felt good.” He’s an animal for a guy his age.

From here, it’s mostly downhill on gravel roads. Some of them are kind of steep, and involve some switchbacks. Parts of this section have a black diamond rating as it’s easy to slip out if you let your speed build. As you reach Quilici Ranch Road in Verdi, there is a parking area where your ride could wait. We did the last couple of miles to Crystal Peak Park, where our rides were waiting.

Things to know:

• This section of trail is very busy on weekends and holidays. Midweek, we only passed about 10 other small groups of people in 25 mile.
• The trail is not recommended for beginner mountain bikers. In particular the section from Hirschdale to Floriston has a high pucker factor.
• Be prepared with water, snacks and typical bike and tire repair supplies. There are no services along the way. There are a few places where you could bail out early and get to Highway 80, but then arranging a ride from there might be a chore.
• CalTrans is doing some blasting work near Farad during May and June. This will cause trail (and Highway 80) closures, reportedly on some Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11am til 1pm.
• If you’re not already in Tahoe, please wait to come here to do this ride. There’s plenty of good rides in your area too. When things are more open, come enjoy this ride.