Tyrolean Downhill
Distance: 3 miles | Trailforks
This is one of our favorite mountain bike trails in the Lake Tahoe area. We believe it offers some of the most accessible mountain bike downhill and technical single track in Tahoe. It is rated as a Black Diamond on Trailforks so you should be comfortable riding at this level before attempting this trail. We have a full trail guide for Tyrolean if you are interested in riding this trail. If you are at least an intermediate rider you should absolutely consider riding this one when you come mountain biking Tahoe!
Flume Trail
Distance: 13 miles | Trailforks
We really couldn’t list our top 5 trails for mountain biking in Tahoe and not include the Flume Trail! This is one of those trails that just draws people to the area from miles and miles away. The Flume Trail is easily one of the most beautiful mountain bike rides in all of the United States, but it’s not for the rider looking for an easy day of cruising. Starting at Tunnel Creek Cafe, this ride takes in around 13 miles of pedaling and 1400ft of climbing up to an altitude of 8100ft!. Most of the climbing is within the first 4 miles of the trail so at least you get the hard part over and done with while you are fresh.
Following your 4 mile uphill workout you are treated to 8 miles of spectacular singletrack offering incredible views out over Lake Tahoe. The final couple of miles are downhill, which you absolutely earned!
Bring plenty of water and a lunch on this ride. We reccomend taking this one in with the Flume Trail Shuttle to get you started.
Kings Beach DH
Distance: 7 miles | Trailforks
This is a contender for the number one favorite trail with my coaching clients. It does come with a caveat though, it’s way way up there! To get to this trail you are going to need 1) legs and lungs of steel or 2) shuttled.
Once you get up to the trail you’ll realize why all that effort (or sitting in the van) was worth it. This mountain bike trail starts with an incredible view out over Lake Tahoe and then drops right into some fun rocky chunk, switchbacks and roller jumps. If you time the season right, you will be treated to an incredible meadow of wildflowers so don’t blast past it!
The trail eventually ends up in Kings Beach, where you can pick up a great sandwich at Tahoe Central Market. This trail is pretty easy to lose your way on first time out. I recommend taking this one on with someone who has ridden it many times before, you’ll get more out of your day! Check out the video below from our Facebook page to see the trail and get an idea of how coaching sessions work.
https://www.facebook.com/battlebornprodigies/videos/2329502553805935/
Sawtooth Ridge Trail
Distance: 8.5 miles | MTB Project
This one is for the beginner rider, or perhaps the mountain bike rider looking for a mellow day on the trails. There are rocks on this trail (hey, it’s mountain biking), but that just means its a nice easy introduction to riding rocky terrain for the less experienced rider.
Sawtooth is an 8.5 mile point to point ride without much climbing or descending. The trail is easily accessible from Truckee and takes in views of Squaw Valley, Highway 89, Truckee River Canyon and the Truckee River. There is another variant of this trail so make sure you chose the correct one!
Chimney Beach
Distance: 4 miles | Trailforks
You want fast, flowly DH? This is the place.
This is an exit trail from the Tahoe Rim Trail and is probably one of the most fun ways of getting down from the TRT. It’s easiest just to shuttle this one. We could go on and on…just watch this video.
We hope you have enjoyed our 5 favorite trails for mountain biking Tahoe, we think there is a trail here for everyone. Remember, this is just scratching the surface of what is available to ride here. If you have any questions about what to ride, where to ride or how to ride then get in touch or book a mountain bike coaching session and we will be happy to help you!
