Christmas Valley Trail – Mountain biking on the Spinal Tap of Tahoe

Christmas Valley offers different ways to approach the experience, catering to both the more adventurous and those who prefer to follow the KISS principle.

Option 1: As a loop

Park at the end of the trail, which will take you onto South Upper Truckee Road. From there, you'll ride on a paved road through a campground that will take you to the Big Meadow Trailhead. This route includes another 800 feet of elevation gain and two miles of biking.

Option 2: As a shuttle

Skip the first climbing section by taking the shuttle. Park the second car at the Big Meadow Trailhead.

Option 3: Round trip

Christmas Valley is part of the Tahoe Mountain Bike Festival and is part of the Triple Crown route. Instead of riding down, festival-goers must ride up. As an ascending route, it has a consistent gradient, but the challenge lies in the incredible amount of rock formations you must overcome.

The rest of the journey

Once you reach the Big Meadow Trailhead, follow the Tahoe Rim Trail, affectionately known as the TRT, south as a loop or commuter route. Note that the first section is a granite staircase that is challenging to climb. However, once you reach the valley of Big Meadow, there is a steady climb over a ridge followed by a few switchbacks down to the entrance of Christmas Valley.

Stop and smell the flowers

As you cycle through Big Meadow, take a moment to enjoy your surroundings. Depending on when you visit, in spring and early summer the valley is teeming with wildflowers and a babbling brook where you might spot a small fish or two. In fall the grasses turn Tuscan pink, contrasting beautifully with the granite of the surrounding peaks.

Rewarded with a view of the ridge

Continuing past the meadow, the trail begins to climb with a deliberate, sustained incline until you crest the ridge. You'll then be rewarded with views of the Sierra Crest between the tall pines. From there, you'll descend via some switchbacks and enter a deep, shaded valley connected to alpine lakes such as Round Lake, Dardanelles Lake, and of course, the Christmas Valley Trail.

Start slowly…

As you turn right and pass the turnoff to Dardanelles, the trail slowly becomes more challenging. A few switchbacks. Some smaller rocks to roll over. And then you come to the first large rock garden. This is just the start of a long and relentless trail. Not so much scarily massive, but simply a continuous test of your skills. You pick up speed and quickly come to a series of stairs that you whiz down. Some are close together and some are further apart.

A test of skills

The focus of the trail builders seems to have been to make sure you have flawless control of your bike. Route finding. Pedal placement. Consistent speed. And yet, if you're a good intermediate rider, you feel like you're doing it cleanly. But then suddenly an oddly placed rock makes you rethink things.

Don't let these peaks distract you

About halfway through, the dark forest gives way to the granite walls of the peaks towering above Echo Lakes. It's as if the trail is begging you with its playful charm to let yourself be distracted by its majestic views. And yet, this section is so challenging that if you relax too much, you could fall headfirst onto any random boulder or step.

This is Spinal Tap

With the sound of the freewheel spinning, the trail continues. Christmas Valley keeps the volume at eleven, with rocky terrain that seems to never end. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, you come across an entire bleached white scree field. It seems like it slid down the side of the mountain. And the trail cuts right through it. Big chunks of granite. Small pebble-sized rocks – all of this must be avoided.

Just as quickly as you reached it, you are back under the forest canopy. Although it is not as technical as the higher zones, your body is less enthusiastic by now. The route continues to make you stagger. It begs you to lose concentration. It longs to throw you off your steed. And just as quickly as you rode it, the path ends back at your car.

Why we love it

At the end of the day, you'll feel accomplished. Is it as tough as Mr. Toads? Absolutely not. Are there others in the basin that offer smoother and more flowing rock gardens? Of course. But for a full potpourri of nasty mountain biking fun, you can't go wrong with a big, heaping slice of Christmas Valley fun.

Not robust enough?

If the current route isn't difficult enough for you, keep an eye out for the various alternative routes that local mountain bike organization TAMBA has introduced in recent years, which add a little more excitement to the trail.