OHV Gates, working on it
Posted: August 8, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: access, closed, gates Leave a commentFor the last three straight years, many of the OHV gates within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) did not open on time. This is not a new phenomenon. Sadly, it is a regular occurrence. This has always been the gate in question: The Middle Fork Trail 15N38.
It was so bad in 2025, that I decided to push hard to see that it did not happen again. (I had worked with the Basin previous years without success.) I contacted the LTBMU and had a meeting scheduled to talk about OHV gates in October of 2025. That’s seven months before the OHV gates were to be opened! Well, that was the time the federal government shut down due to lack of funding for about 40 days. No meeting.
Come January, the government is back open. The previous ‘acting’ Forest Supervisor retired. So, I started over with the new ‘acting’ Supervisor. We did meet. I thought we were on the right track. A few meetings, many emails.
But 15N38 was not open on June 1st. I emailed the Basin and I got this in response…
Tough to read but it says they had a crew scheduled to inspect the trail “today”. (6-2-2026). The day AFTER the trail was to open. My response was professional but very heated. A trail should not be scheduled for an inspection, the day after it’s to open.
Another new ‘acting’ Supervisor. More emails. More meetings.
My argument is that people out playing on the Rubicon read the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), read that the Middle Fork Trail opens June 1st. So, they plan to exit the Rubicon Trail using Barker Meadow OHV Trail (16E76), then Red Cabin Trail (16E79) and head down the Middle Fork Trail (15N38) to Tahoe. But they find 15N38 closed because the Basin has failed to do their job.
The FS is down employees, due to transfers out of the Basin and retirements. They claim to be down on funding and cannot replace people fast enough. So, I’m stepping up and removing some of their excuses regarding why OHV gates do not open on time.
The first step is developing a list of OHV gates. The MVUM lists all the trails, but some don’t have gates and some have two gates. I decided to hit the road/trail and figure it out.
It has been more than one trip to the lake to find and document all the OHV gates and their access and condition. I hadn’t been to Twin Peaks for years but I documented it. For the record, according to the signs, this is still a “day use” area and not one I need to worry about opening seasonally.
Some trails were campgrounds, not OHV areas. Some were FS cabin track roads, not OHV trails. Some were WAY overgrown and had not opened in years, but still on the MVUM. Those will take more research. But there is now a user created OHV list for the Basin.
We are scheduled to meet again later this month. I will share this list, and we’ll compare it to the FS list. I have created a check list / spread sheet to use when the FS is checking / opening gates. I’m in the middle of drafting a procedure for opening OHV gates within the Basin so everyone is on the same page and gate open due to a procedure not when someone has the time to drive out there.
There is still plenty of time to get this worked out. The Basin is open to working with the users. Finger crossed, we’ll get this figured out by next season.
.
Rubicon Ronin
Part III, finally!
Posted: June 5, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: gates, snag, trees Leave a commentIt was a short day, but we finally cleared the last of the LARGE trees from the Blackwood Canyon trails.
03-04 is clear from the Rubicon to Barker Pass. 16E76, the Hobbit Trail is clear from the Rubicon to 03-04. 16E79, the Red Cabin Trail (upper Hobbit) is clear from 03-04 to Barker Pass.
The Basin cleared and opened Middle Fork Trail on the 2nd. We drove it today and it was fine.
The paved road, Forest Road 03, is clear of trees but not debris from the summit to Lake Tahoe. Since it is a huge cycling route, the Basin should get a sweeper truck in there to clear the loose debris.
Now, when I say cleared, I mean a standard rig can pass. The trails are narrow in places, and many spots have a lot of debris on the trail. Drive slowly, be cautious. If you have time, stop and throw the debris off to the side.
This is how the day started…
Dragging is the quickest and safest method of clearing the trail. Once this was done, we cleared the pile in the upper right corner of the picture.
Again, passable but not polished.
We were out on the trail for probably two hours clearing the last of 16E79. This was in the middle of clearing this section.
This was the last of the piles.
This is where we turned around on Sunday. There is quite a bit of snow left but very passable.
We didn’t touch this one. There is a large snag hanging over 16E79. I have notified the Tahoe National Forest. Hopefully, they will get on this one soon. It’s about a half mile down from 03-04.
Always be prepared to deal with trail issues. I always carry a large handsaw, just in case.
Turn Around, Don’t Go Around
If there is a tree across the trail or a boulder you can’t navigate, do not go off trail to get around it. Turn around and come back another day.
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Rubicon Ronin
Middle Fork Trail is OPEN!
Posted: June 2, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 15N38, gates Leave a commentJust received this from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit…
Hi Doug – FYI 15N38 and 03 were opened today.
Best regards,
-Daniel
Daniel Cressy
| Daniel Cressy Public Services Staff Officer |
| Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit |
| p: 530-543-2675 daniel.cressy@usda.gov |
| 35 College Drive South Lake Tahoe, CA 9615 |
Today is June 2nd, got the email about 4:30pm. That means both the paved road and the dirt road to Barker Pass are open for use.
There are still details to work out about the late opening of the trail. I will be having many meetings with the Basin to make sure the trail never opens late again.
Get out there and enjoy,
.
Doug
Fed and FS Still Shut Down
Posted: November 1, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: gates, reroute, staging Leave a commentWith the federal government shut down, the US Forest Service is shut down. But our OHV trails are NOT shut down. Get out there and enjoy while the weather is awesome and the changing tree colors are beautiful.
Although the shutdown should end somewhat soon, the effects of the shutdown might linger. Three Rubicon Trail projects/issues come to mind.
I’m going to apologize up front. After rereading this post, it is full of rumor, opinion and things I have not been able to confirm. So, take it with a grain of salt.
The first project has been discussed for years and was scheduled to start in 2025. This would be the reroute around the Miller Creek shelf road section of the Rubicon Trail. Yes, the government shutdown has currently stopped the project, but I’m hearing that there are other factors stalling the project. I cannot confirm a lawsuit regarding the reroute, but the rumor is out there. There is also talk of repairs to the shelf road rather than the reroute, with one donor offering a lot of money to see the current route repaired rather than do the reroute. For the record, the UDFS has already made the decision not to do a repair but to go forward with a reroute. There is talk of forest service gates being put on the new reroute as it is not part of the county’s recognized ‘right-of-way’, although I have a document that promises not gates on the new section of 16E75, the Rubicon Trail. That will be a fight as decades ago gates were also threatened, fought against and we won. Again, with the FS shutdown, I cannot confirm this.
One of the lesser talked about aspects of the “reroute” project is the decommissioning of several user created routes along Cadillac Hill. I am very much opposed to closing any of these as they allow safe passage of rigs going up and coming down Cadillac Hill. Closure of these short, parallel trails will force users to drive off trail to get around each other.
The second project is the expansion of the Tahoma staging area parking lot. Along with the shutdown of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, the LTBMU is very short on personnel due to transfers and retirements and cannot complete the work they agreed to do regarding planning and permitting. No idea when the LTBMU can hire and fill positions, bring those individuals up to speed and get their work on the expansion completed.
The third is my effort to talk about the opening of OHV gates. This didn’t even get off the ground as our first group meeting was cancelled due to the shutdown. The good news is we really have until May to get together and produce a plan to get the FS gates open on time. I’m confidant this will get done and our OHV trails will be accessible on time.
Get out there and use our OHV trails. Please remember that in the Sierra, this time of year, any weather is possible. Go prepared to spend the night. Be safe, Think smart.
.
Rubicon Ronin
Side Trails and a Meeting with the LTBMU
Posted: July 2, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: gates, LTBMU Leave a commentGreat day today out on the Rubicon side trails.
I started up the Middle Fork Trail (15N38), then down the Red Cabin Trail or upper Barker Meadow OHV Trail (16E79), then across 03-04 to 03-04-12 and up to Ellis. I stopped at Ellis Lake and had lunch on Ellis Peak.
Starting down 16E79 there was a few trees encroaching on the trail. I winched one out of the way and it caught another and two were pulled back.
The TNF was able to cut a tree blocking 03-04 but they left it on the side of the trail. I took the time to pull it back and roll it off the trail.
The only snow I encountered was going into Ellis Lake. By the time you read this and then get out on the trail it will be gone.
There were a few other little logs around and they were easily pulled off the trail.
I took the time to check out Ellis lake and Ellis Peak. If you’ve never climbed Ellis Peak it is a must. Ellis Peak proper is another 100 yards to the north, I didn’t bother. Do not drive the last section of trail. It is NOT an OHV trail. It’s loose, rocky and has NO turn around area at the top.
While at the top, I had lunch.
On the way home, I had a 2:30 meeting with the LTBMU about OHV gates and getting them open in a timely manner. The meeting went very well. No real promises made other than to work together to make our trails safe and to try to open the OHV gates on time.
Emails will be exchanged, maybe a meeting after Labor Day and a tour before winter. Hopefully, by Spring, we’ll have a plan to clear trails before their opening date so the trails can open on time.
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Rubicon Ronin
The 'Other' Rubicon 