Riding the Rubicon Trail

At one point, the Rubicon Trail and Hwy 50 were the two choices of road used to travel between the western Sacramento area of California and Lake Tahoe. I was told the trail itself is still considered a county road and can be traveled by anyone. For ATV use, you must have a California green sticker and a spark arrestor.

On our visit in early August, we saw four 4×4 Jeeps and a pickup along with another 6-8 quads enjoying what challenges the trail had to offer. You never really know when the Forest Service is going to open or close the trail each year. A normal opening time would be the beginning of June, but in 2005 it didn’t open until mid July, due to heavy snow fall earlier in the year. A typical closing time would be in the months of October or November.

Regardless of when you come, expect to find dusty conditions. It does rain from time to time in the summer, but it’s safer to assume you’ll be there when it’s not raining. Since the trail is in the middle of the Sierra Mountains, you have plenty of shade to keep you out of the direct sun. Because the temps can change quickly at high altitudes, (ranging from 6,800 to 7,400 feet above sea level) it’s best to wear layers and peel them off as needed. If you find a forecast for nearby Reno Nevada, just subtract 15 degrees from that high temp, and it should be close to what the temp is along the trail.

On our visit to this marvel of a trail, we rode with Warren Hawes and his two kids, Shyrle (19) and Niko (17). It was Shyrle’s first time on a quad. “I wasn’t sure what I’d see, but it was kick, it was fun. It was a little easier than wake boarding,” she said.  Dad and Niko had ridden once before with a tour guide in southern Utah a couple of years ago. “That was a lot different, the terrain was more diverse and even including some sand dunes,” Warren told us. He said he’d recommend this trip to anyone who enjoyed the outdoors, but if you’re pushing 70 you might stick to a sport that won’t toss your kidneys around. The Hawes family agreed a quad would be fun to have, and will put it on their wish list. Warren told us he’d love to have one to use to go camping along trails like this. We agree it’s a great way to enjoy the beauty Mother Nature provides.      

Anyone planning on visiting the area should know a few things. This trail is being closely watched by the Forest Service. A few locals we talked to said it would seem that they’d rather have the trail closed, than open to the public. We were asked to spread the word that the biggest problems the trail is facing is littering and the making of new trails that shoot off the existing trail. So…if everyone who rode the trail would pick up after themselves, and stay on the trail, it would help OHV’s of all sizes to continue to use the trail.

There is another option you have when visiting the famous Lake Tahoe area. If you’re flying in from out of state, and didn’t pack your quad, you can take a tour of the Rubicon Trail with folks who know it very well. There is a tour company, Lake Tahoe Adventures and they offer year-round tours. In the summer, you have two choices of where you can go, and a couple choices of vehicles. Have you seen those mini sand rail buggies—the Ridge Runner? They offer those for use on the high desert tours. In the winter, you can choose to take a ride on a snowmobile.

Our tour guide, Jason  Gardner, (26) actually grew up on the Rubicon Trail. His grandfatherwould take him on rides in an old jeep. He told us a story about how he got the bug for the trail at a young age. There were a group of Germans visiting from overseas who were all in Jeeps. His grandfather became ill, so Jason had to drive the jeep back to their house, this happened at an age when most of us were glued to the TV watching Bugs Bunny or Scooby Doo. He’s been on the entire 25 miles countless times in a Jeep, but not the full distance on a quad. We asked him if this trip could be made on a sport quad. “A 4-stroke would have a better chance than a 2-stroke. You’ll loose too much traction with wheel spin in the places where you need it most. This is definitely a trail for a thumper.” He added a two wheel drive quad could do it, but you’d probably bust a shock before it was all over: “Last week, we saw a guy do just that on a sport quad.” The other concern would be the ground clearance. With most sport quads only having four to five inches of travel from the rear axle, we wouldn’t try this without full skid plates underneath.

The Rubicon tour is open during the summer months for groups from two to six. If you have a group of 12, don’t sweat it, you’ll just get two tour guides. For the Rubicon tour, they offer two, three and six hour tours. The two hour is very basic, for those who have never ridden an ATV or with very little seat time. The three hour tour offers a few steep climbs and some rugged rock crawls. The six hour tour is meant for the massive thrill seeker who has a good deal of seat time and could perhaps puke in their helmet on a couple of occasions. As much as we wanted to, we didn’t have the time for the six hour tour…maybe on our next visit to Tahoe.

We’d like to thank Lisa at Lake Tahoe Adventures for finding a tour to put us on and Jason Gardner for all the great info on the trail. If you’re headed to the Tahoe area on a vacation and want to see the Rubicon for yourself, give Lisa a call at (530) 577-2940 or visit www.laketahoeadventures.com to see more photos of what they have to offer.

SIDEBAR

Lake Tahoe Facts
Shoreline: 72 miles
Maximum depth: 1,645 feet
Average depth: 1,000 feet Surface area: 192 square miles

Below the 600-700 feet mark, the water temperature remains a steady 39 degrees. During July and August, surface temps can reach up to 70 degrees. On average, the lake has only 50 days a year of cloudy weather. Most snowfall occurs from November to April.