Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Spanish
Tahoe City Trailhead
Until recently, it was also a steep, slippery and badly eroded section of trail that presented both safety and environmental issues. It was common to see hikers walking tentatively down the trail and slipping on the loose rocks. While cyclists typically had difficulty controlling their speed on the steep and slippery tread.
The Plan
During the spring of 2018 the TRTA and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the US Forest Service developed a plan to improve this important trailhead. Tight property boundaries limited the options, but a suitable design was drafted. The new trail alignment would create a more manageable grade with a stable and sustainable tread. It would also reduce erosion, improve user safety, and provide a more visually appealing trailhead.
National Trails Day
On June 2, as part of the TRTA’s National Trails Day activities, a group of volunteers set to work constructing the new trail alignment. Construction started with staging rocks in areas where they would be used to create a true corridor entrance. The work crews then built a series of steps and platforms to raise the trail gradually and provide a sustainable trail tread. Steps and a platform were built to provide trail visitors with easy access to the trailhead kiosk. As work progressed, the volunteers built a platform for a switchback turn. In addition, they built rock cribbing to support the tread and filled in space around the trail with riprap (small rocks) to control erosion.
Muscle Power
The final stages of construction required another series of steps and platforms up the hill to replace the steepest part of the tread. Those steps and platforms required large rocks to hold them in place, and those rocks were at the bottom of the hill. Moving large rocks uphill is no small task, but a group of experienced crew leaders was up for the challenge. They spent two full days hauling boulders up the hill using a winch and wire rope to create a high line. Of course, plenty of volunteer muscle power was required as well. Once the boulders were staged where needed, the group used them to construct another series of steps and platforms to replace the worst section of the old trail. After ten work days and well over 500 volunteer work hours, the new trail alignment was completed.
It Takes a Village
The broad community support for the project demonstrated how worthwhile this work was. The TRTA obtained a generous grant from the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation to support the project and the US Forest Service provided several truckloads of boulders. REI sponsored the National Trails Day work and North Tahoe Fire Protection District provided parking for our tool trailer for a couple of weeks. Denise Springsteel and the folks at the Tahoe City Community Center also allowed us to use parking spaces and got the word out to the community. In addition, trail users, neighbors and passers-by all thanked the volunteers for their work. One lady from the neighborhood brought cookies and water for the work crew. A little girl named Lexi gave the crew a small volcanic rock as a token of her appreciation. Based on this community response, the project was a tremendous success!
View the time-lapse video below to see a start to finish look of the Tahoe City Trailhead Restoration Project!
This article was written by Bill Doherty and Jackie Ferek, TRTA volunteer Senior Crew Leaders, Project Leaders, and the Tahoe City to Brockway Segment Coordinators.
