Lake Tahoe Flume Trail MTB ride is one of the most memorable in the basin. Situated just south of Incline Village along the Carson Range, the old logging flume trail runs 1,800 feet above the lake providing great views of the eastern shore and the west side of the lake.

I opted to use Flume Trails Bike's shuttle service, which allowed me to park my car at the base of Tunnel Creek Road next to the bike shop, and take a shuttle to the starting point of the ride at Spooner Pass State Park. The shuttle fee was only $18 (very reasonable), and the driver provides an overview of the route before you take off.

The 14 mile ride starts with a 1,000 ft climb (the only significant climb of the ride) over 4 miles up North Canyon Road to Marlette Saddle, and then a short descent down to Marlette Lake, once the staging ground where logs were gathered before being sent down the Flume to Lake Tahoe. The ride continues along the west side of the lake and then you enter the famous Flume Trail. From that point on you are on the Flume Trail until you reach Tunnel Creek Road for the descent back to Tunnel Creek Trailhead and the bike shop (located behind Tunnel Creek Cafe). The Flume Trail is relatively flat, only descending 40 ft every mile. Most riders ride north from Spooner Lake on the trail but there are also riders and hikers doing the out and back route from Tunnel Creek Road.

The views are breathtaking but come with some trail exposure. It's important to stop when you want to take in the views as you don't want to ride off the trail. The descent to the lake on Tunnel Creek Road is fun but you need to watch out for the loose granite sand, which I learned about the hard way.

For those looking for a more ambitious ride, you can add in the Incline Flume Trail (different than the main Flume Trail) to Tyrolian Downhill Single Track trail loop that starts near the top of your descent of Tunnel Creek Road.

Trailforks: [ Ссылка ]

Link to Google Doc that has more local MTB recommendations:
[ Ссылка ]

Chapter Markers:
0:00 Overview
0:33 Marlette Lake
0:42 Flume Trail
2:25 Tunnel Creek Road

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