Spring Riding Etiquette
Due to a low-snow winter, we’re having an early start to mountain bike season here in Tahoe! Many of our low-elevation trails have already melted out and many more will continue to do so in the coming weeks. The spring melt off means some important riding considerations for us as we get back on the bikes. Please try and follow the guidelines below to help keep our trails in good shape.
- Avoid trails that you know are going to be muddy. In the spring, that often means avoiding north-facing trails that don’t get much sun and those that have more clay in the soil. Try and stick to those sandy trails we all love!
- If you do come across a section of trail with standing water or mud, don’t ride around it on vegetation but ride through it. If everyone rides around it, the trail footprint gets wider and makes more trail for us to maintain.
- If we’re getting a hard freeze at night, get out riding early before the trails have thawed and become muddy.
- Watch for down trees! We had some big wind events this winter and there are bound to be trees across the trails. Just like the standing water or mud, if you do come across a down tree, please try not to ride around it as this adds to the work our volunteers need to do when they clear the tree. Snap a photo of the tree and email the location and diameter of the tree to trails@tamba.org and we’ll try and get out and clear it as soon as possible.
Busy Trails
As everyone knows, we saw a huge increase in trail use over the past year and that trend will certainly continue this year. Please be courteous to all trail users you see enjoying our public lands. Here are a couple tips to remember when you’re out.
- Alert users when you’re approaching, slow down and say hello. Let other users know how many people are in your group behind you.
- Avoid the crowds by getting an early start on your day. The trails are most busy from 10 am – 4 pm.
- Ride from home whenever possible to reduce trailhead parking congestion. Rack up some extra miles!
- If you’re parking in a neighborhood, please be respectful of the residents.
- Pack out what you pack in and pick up litter if you do see it.
New Crew Leader Training
If you are interested in leading volunteer trail days or just expanding your own knowledge of trail building, you should sign up for our 2021 Crew Leader Training. It’ll take place May 22-23 and will be all outdoors. There will be a capacity limit, so register early!
This training is only open to current TAMBA members. To register, please sign up here.
2021 Trail Projects
We have more than a dozen trail projects we’ll be working on this spring, summer and fall, in addition to the general trail maintenance work that’s constantly ongoing. Here are some of the projects for this year:
- Armstrong Connector/Corral System Maintenance – We’ll be making extensive improvements to these heavily used trails over the course of this summer and next.
- Bijou Bike Park – We’ll be bringing back our weekly maintenance days as well as having a contractor do a major resurfacing of the park.
- General Creek and Lost Lake Trail Maintenance – We’ll be getting these trails up to standard for inclusion in the future “Lake Trail.”
- Hartoonian Trail Network Maintenance and Signage – We’ll continue to improve the signage on these critical neighborhood connecting trails.
- Lily Lake Trail – We’ll be finishing up the final 800 feet of trail at the start of the summer!
- Mr. Toads Wild Ride – We’ll be doing erosion control efforts through trail armoring and reducing trail braiding.
- Stanford Rock Trail – Come and volunteer to finish up the final re-routes of this multi-year project!
- Tunnel Creek Road Bypass – We’re partnering with the Great Basin Institute and Tahoe Fund to create a singletrack alternative to the existing Tunnel Creek Road for users finishing up the Flume Trail.
- Tyrolian Trail Upgrades – We’ll continue our work on the new upper jump line as well as start working on sections of the lower trail.
If you’re interested in helping out on these projects, please fill out our volunteer interest form or email trails@tamba.org to get involved!
Volunteer Interest Form
Do you want to get your hands dirty and give back to your local trails by volunteering at trail days this year? If so, please fill out this form and you’ll be notified when volunteer days are happening in your area. No experience is needed, just a willingness to have fun and work hard.
Due to COVID-19 we’ll still be limiting numbers at our trail days, but we hope to have these restrictions ease as we get further into the summer.
Apply to Join TAMBA’s Paid Trail Crew
Thanks to a partnership with Tahoe Fund, Great Basin Institute and the LTBMU, we’re excited to have a full-time paid trail crew this season! If you’re interested in being a part of the crew, please apply here.
Crew members must be hardworking, enjoy working with volunteers, and have a passion for mountain biking and wanting to make our community a better place!
Successful Grants!
We applied for and received a handful grants this winter, which will help us make critical improvements to our trails this summer:
- We received a National Forest Foundation grant to repair and upgrade the General Creek Trail and Lost Lake Trail on the West Shore. These will be part of the the future bike-able trail around the lake and we’re excited to bring these trails up to standard. These will be some beautiful and adventurous sections of trail. Thanks to Tahoe Fund for providing matching funds to make this happen!
- We received two grants from the Latrobe Fund. The first was to continue our upgrades to the Hartoonian Trail Network in South Lake Tahoe and improve signage on lower elevation connecting trails in the area. The second was to make erosion control upgrades to Mr. Toads Wild Ride. We’re excited to continue these projects this summer!
- Finally, we received an Epic Promise Community Grant from Vail Resorts to refurbish the Bijou Bike Park. These upgrades will happen in May 2021.
Thank You to our Recent Large Donors
While we appreciate every donation we receive, TAMBA would like to thank the following individuals in particular for their recent generous donations:
- John Percy – $1,000
- King Bars LLC, Wes King – $6,000
- Environmental Incentives – $1,000
- Marila Alvares – $500
- Corey McLeod – $500
- Ryan Nickelson – $500
- Ronald Francis – $1,000
- William & Diane Austin – $500
- Daniel T. Robertson MD Professional Corporation – $1,000
- Tunnel Creek Properties – $1,500
- Alpen Sierra, Inc. – $1,500
- Scott MacLeod – $500
- Brian Kelly & Jenay Aikanoras – $1,000
- Scott Fair – $1,000
- Bruce Pauly – $500
- Bill Russell – $2,000
- Sue Hughes – $500
- Hans Kellner & Kelly Chang – $500
- Matt Rolandson – $500
- Tahoe Oral Surgery, Daniel Martin – $1,500
- Frederic Lequient – $1,000
- Alexander Tolger – $500
- Michael Hurd – $1,000
- Shoreline Tahoe LLC – $1,000
- Joshua Hutchens & Hillary Dorinson – $1,000
- Erik van der Poel – $2,000
- Annabin Charitable Account – $1,000
- Donnie & Janie Friend – $1,000
- Robert Boughton – $500
- JVCG Charitable Fund – $500
- Obi Felten – $500
- The Vail Resorts Charitable Fund – $3,000
- Thomas Albanese – $1,500
- Liberty Utilities LLC – $1,250
Thank you for your support!
