Forest Road 003-004

One end of Forest Road 003-004 is where some people say the Rubicon Trail goes from 2wd to 4wd or low range to high range. There was (and soon will be again) a sign with distances to the staging area and Tahoe City.  The other end is the summit at the end of Blackwood Canyon at the actual Barker Pass.

Driving the Rubicon Trail from Tahoe and the Tahoma staging area there are many intersections. At this intersection, a left turn takes you down the Rubicon and a right turn will take you on Forest Road 003-004 and eventually over to Blackwood Canyon and Barker Pass.  There are lots of side trail so please carry maps and know where you are going.

The south end: the Rubicon Trail (16E75) on the left and Forest Road 03-04 on the right.

It’s a long road and there is much to see.  You pass Bear lake.  Lots of room to camp and I hear the fishing is really good.

A ways further down the trail, you can turn left on to the Barker Meadow OHV Trail, which ends at the Rubicon Trail.  If you don’t know the turn, you will miss it.

Further down you can turn right and follow the rest of the Barker Meadow OHV Trail. This trail will put you out the same place that Forest Road 03-04 does, at Barker Pass and the staging area for the Tahoe Rim Trail which has a pit toilet.

Eventually, Forest Road 03-04 hits the summit where the paved road Forest Road 03 comes up Blackwood Canyon.  You can take the paved road out to Tahoe or take the Middle Fork OHV Trail that about parallels the paved Barker Bass Road out to the Kaspian campground and Lake Tahoe.

Not a great shot, but here is the north end of 03-04 looking south. The newly installed carsonite marker is shadowed by the tree on the right.

Blog posts about Forest Road 03-04:

https://wordpress.com/post/theotherrubicon.com/2218

https://wordpress.com/post/theotherrubicon.com/1285