Introducing The Tahoe 20 MTB Project

My journey to compile & complete 20 classic Tahoe-area mountain bike rides before winter.

Summer seems to be flying by! At the time of writing this, we only have 20 weeks left before December. In an effort to make the most of the summer & fall, I’ve decided to challenge myself to try 20 unique mountain bike rides before the snow flies. I’ve named this list of rides the Tahoe 20, and it includes a range of trail types, from fun and flowy to difficult and technical, as well as a few bike parks.

Below is my initial attempt at compiling these 20 classic rides. Some of these I have ridden several times, and some I’ve had on my to-do list for a while. As I work through this list and get to know each trail better, I plan to refine it and release updates periodically. I also plan to post a weekly youtube video to my channel chronicling the journey and highlighting all the stoke and struggles along the way. Hopefully, I’ll come out of this journey as a better mountain biker with tons of great memories.

Take a look at these rides, and let me know what you think! Which rides did I miss? What changes would you make?

#	Ride Name	Location	Difficulty	Distance	Type	Vertical	TrailForks Link
1	Painted Rock	Tahoe City	Difficult	14 miles	Out & Back with loop	+2,340 ft/ -2,340 ft	Palisades to Painted Rock
2	Tour de Tahoe Donner XC	Tahoe Donner	Moderate	12.8 miles	Loop	+2,104 ft/-2,129 ft	Tahoe Donner XC Loop
3	Angora Ridge	South Lake Tahoe	Moderate	7.4 miles	Loop	+1,337 ft/ -1,337 ft	Angora
4	Corral with Armstrong	South Lake Tahoe	Difficult	8 miles	Loop	+1,367 ft/ -1,367 ft	Corral with Armstrong
5	Mr. Toads	South Lake Tahoe	Difficult	18.9 miles	Loop	+3,301 ft/-3,349 ft	Mr. Toads Loop
6	Hole in the Ground	Truckee	Difficult	16.1 miles	Loop	+2,194 ft/-2,184 ft	Hole in the Ground
7	Donner Rim Trail (Glacier)	Tahoe Donner	Easy	5.4 miles	Shuttle Point to Point	+184 ft/-1,118 ft	Glacier Way Shuttle
8	Spooner to Van Sickle	East Shore & Stateline	Difficult	22 miles	Shuttle Point to Point	+3,188 ft/ -3,861	Spooner to Van Sickle
9	Standford Rock	Homewood	Moderate	15.7 miles	Out & Back	+2,206 ft/ -2,206 ft	Stanford Rock
10	Paige Meadows	Tahoe City	Moderate	6.5 miles	Loop	+776 ft / -804 ft	Paige Meadows
11	Rawhide to Scott Peak	Tahoe City	Difficult	15.1 miles	Out & Back	+2,001 ft /-2,001 ft	Rawhide to Scott Peak
12	Big Chief Upper & Lower	Truckee	Difficult	15.5 miles	Loop with Fire Road Climb	+1,946 ft/ -1,946 ft	Upper & Lower
13	Kings Beach DH	Kings Beach	Moderate	7.5 miles	Shuttle Point to Point	+334 ft/-2,295 ft	Kings Beach DH
14	Tahoe Meadows	Mt. Rose	Difficult	13 miles	Shuttle Point to Point	+542 ft/ -2,805 ft	Tahoe Meadows to Tunnel Creek
15	Marlette Flume	East Shore	Moderate	13 miles	Shuttle Point to Point	+1,418 ft/ -2,038 ft	Marlette Flume
16	DonkeyTown AKA Jackass	Truckee	Moderate	4.4 Miles	Loop	+701 ft/ -696 ft	Jackass Loop
17	Tyrolean	Incline Village	Difficult	5 Miles	Shuttle Point to Point	+71 ft/ -2,206ft	Tyrolean
18	Truckee Bike Park	Truckee	All	N/A	N/A	N/A	Truckee Bike Park
19	Northstar Bike Park	Truckee	All	N/A	Lift service	N/A	Northstar
20	Sky Tavern Bike Park	Mt. Rose	All	N/A	Self-serve or shuttle	N/A	Sky Tavern