The Rubicon Trail is a 22-mile-long route, part road and part
4x4
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...
, located in the
Sierra Nevada of the western United States, due west of
Lake Tahoe and about east of
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.
The western maintained section of the route is called the Wentworth Springs Road; it begins in
Georgetown, California
Georgetown (formerly Growlersburg) is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California. It is the northeasternmost town in the California Mother Lode. The population was 2,367 at the 2010 census, up from 962 in 2000. The town is re ...
, a hamlet in California's
Gold Country
The Gold Country (also known as Mother Lode Country) is a historic region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, that is primarily on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines ...
. The road continues from its intersection with
State Route 193 toward Wentworth Springs, where the
trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...
for the unmaintained portion of the route exists adjacent to
Loon Lake. The trail portion of the route is about long and passes in part through the
Eldorado National Forest
Eldorado National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range, in eastern California.
Geography
Most of the forest (72.8%) lies in El Dorado County. In descending order of land area the others counties ...
as well as the Tahoe National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. The eastern maintained portion of the trail is called the McKinney Rubicon Springs Road, and leads to Lake Tahoe.
Trail summary
There are entrances to the trail, either at Wentworth Springs at the Loon Lake spillway or on the Lake Tahoe side along highway 89 near Tahoma. The
Wentworth Springs entrance, at
Gerle Creek, is the original entrance to the trail, and starts with an obstacle known as Devil's Postpile (not to be confused with
Devils Postpile National Monument
Devils Postpile National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located near Mammoth Mountain in Eastern California. The monument protects Devils Postpile, an unusual rock formation of columnar basalt, “all closely and perfectly fitted together ...
near
Mammoth Lakes). The
Loon Lake route is shorter, first crossing the Granite Bowl, a large open rock valley. The Loon Lake entrance previously had an obstacle known as The Gatekeeper. It was altered using explosives in October 2004 in a failed attempt to make the trail easier in order to reduce wheel spin and sediment movement to local waters. This attempt was a cooperative effort between El Dorado County an the Eldorado National Forest. The obstacle exists today and is still difficult by typical trail standards.
The Wentworth Springs entrance joins the trail from Loon Lake shortly before Ellis Creek. After driving through the relatively mild section beyond Ellis Creek the
Walker Hill obstacle is encountered. It includes a rocky climb followed by a notch that can either be straddled or side-hilled. Walker Hill is named for Chuck Walker, a long time trail guide for Jeepers Jamboree known for his good attitude and winning smile.
A short distance beyond Walker Hill is the Soup Bowl. The Soup Bowl is an optional obstacle next to the trail, a short climb with a series of ledges that are difficult to ascend. High clearance and long
wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
s help with this obstacle. After passing the Soup Bowl, the Little Sluice awaits.
The Little Sluice, also known as the
Sluice Box
Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment.
Placer mining is frequently used for p ...
or simply as "The Box", is close to Spider Lake. It can be bypassed in two ways for vehicles that cannot ascend the main trail. The most common bypass route is to the left of the obstacle known as the long bypass. The second way to bypass the Little Sluice is to drive up Toyota Rock. Toyota Rock is to the right toward
Spider Lake (so named because it resembles a spider from above), just before the large rocks in the Little Sluice, and leads to the slabs that surround Little Sluice. The large rocks in the Little Sluice were reduced in size in the fall of 2012 by El Dorado County in order to reduce concentrated camping and the "spectator" atmosphere at the Sluice. The section is still difficult, but difficulty has been reduced.
After passing the Little Sluice the next obstacle is Thousand Dollar hill (also sometimes called Million Dollar hill). It is a rock ledge followed by a steep grade, facing downhill if driving the trail toward Lake Tahoe. As of 7/15/2012, Thousand Dollar Hill has been closed. This obstacle had a moderately difficult bypass (the original trail), which is now the only route open.
The next obstacle is Arnold’s Rock, named for Kenny and Mike Arnold, brothers who guided this section at early Jamborees.
The trail splits again about a quarter mile past this point, the lower trail continuing on the granite slabs (aka Indian Trail) or the upper (original) trail through the Old Sluice. Both routes lead to
Buck Island Lake. The granite slabs are
off camber but are an easier and much quicker route to take.
The trail then continues toward the Big Sluice. This downhill section contains a switchback with a rock drop-off and an off camber rocky section, leading to the Rubicon River Bridge and then into the private property of the
Rubicon Springs.
Rubicon Springs is on private property and must be respected as such. A cabin (in the same spot as the former 2-story hotel) houses the caretaker family. A seemingly endless number of camp spots are available around the springs, as well as a
helipad for emergencies and for large events to fly supplies in. Most large events will set up base camp in the Springs because it is large enough for hundreds of people to camp. Notable annual events are the Jeepers Jamboree (maximum of 500 vehicles), the Jeep Jamboree (200 vehicles), the Toyota Land Cruiser Association's Rubithon (approximately 150-200 vehicles), and the Marlin Crawler Round-Up (approximately 150-200 vehicles).
After Rubicon Springs is
Cadillac Hill. Cadillac Hill is a series of switchbacks up to Observation Point, starting with a rutted out section with many exposed tree roots. After turning a hairpin the trail becomes very off camber and contains a series of boulders to maneuver around or over. After that is a steep stairstep obstacle to climb. At the top of the hill is Observation Point, a good place to see where you have just driven and to take a short break before the long dirt road back to
Lake Tahoe. There are a few small sections of rocks like "Potato Patch" and the "Slabs" after this but nothing that poses a significant obstacle.
Rubicon land use issues
In 2001 the Lahontan Water Board contemplated filing an order to force closure of the east end of the trail near the Tahoe Basin. In order to prevent this closure Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR), a grass-roots, user-driven organization was formed and built more than thirty erosion control devices on the trail in order to prevent erosion and siltation of the watershed. The Lahontan Water Board dropped their effort and FOTR kept the trail open and have conducted many work projects on the trail each year since then.
The initial organized effort to close the trail involved embroiling El Dorado County in an effort to manage the trail. This effort resulted in the Rubicon Trail Master Plan which the county rejected because it was projected to be too costly. Most of the costs involved were for monitoring, not for fixing problems on the trail.
When the Master Plan effort failed multiple complaints were filed with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Board. The complaints were that the trail was causing erosion and siltation of the watershed, sanitation problems were not being addressed, and OHVs were spilling oil on the trail. These complaints resulted in a Draft Cleanup and Abatement Order that would have closed the trail had it been implemented as written. During the hearing, before issuing a final order, testimony was heard from El Dorado County, the Eldorado National Forest, and the Rubicon Trail Foundation. The result of that hearing was a more manageable order requiring El Dorado County and the Eldorado National Forest to repair the trail, build bridges, obtain an accurate user count, conduct education and planning efforts, report regularly to the board, and provide more law enforcement on the trail. The Cleanup and Abatement Order was rescinded on October 14, 2014, noting the efforts by government agencies and trail users to redress water quality concerns.
The Rubicon Trail Foundation, Friends of the Rubicon, El Dorado County, and the Eldorado National Forest continue their efforts to keep this "crown jewel" of OHV routes open.
Usage
Part of the trail is used as a testing ground by Jeep and many aftermarket Jeep product companies local to Northern California. The Rubicon variants of the
Jeep Wrangler
The Jeep Wrangler is a series of compact and mid-size four-wheel drive off-road SUVs manufactured by Jeep since 1986 and is currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was revealed in late 2017 and is produ ...
and
Jeep Gladiator
Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...
are named after this trail.
Many large events take place on the trail, ranging from Jeep-only events (
Jeep Jamboree) and 4x4 enthusiast events (
Jeepers Jamboree, TLCA's Rubithon, Marlin Crawler Round-Up, Cantina on the Con) to family trips to special events organized just for SUVs and stock 4x4s that could not otherwise complete the trail.
As of April 2016, the TV show ''
Top Gear USA'' on
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
channel recorded images of the entire Rubicon Trail using a NCTech iSTAR 360 degree camera, as part of their show. A few hundred of the 6000 images can be found on Google Maps provided by NCTech.
Gallery
File:El Dorado National Forest as viewed from Rubicon Trail.jpg, View of surrounding forest from the top of "Cadillac Hill".
File:Jeep rubicon.jpg, Jeep Wrangler Named after the Rubicon Trail
References
External links
Rubicon Trail Foundationis a nonprofit foundation fighting to keep the Rubicon trail open for future generations to enjoy.
Rubicon Trail from the official
El Dorado County, California website
Friends of the Rubiconis a coalition of trail users that do volunteer work on the Rubicon Trail.
Rubicon Trail Patrol A group of volunteers who educate users on the trail.
The Off Road Report reviews the Rubicon Trail.
Rubicon Trail track files and GPS coordinates* commercial Rubicon Trai
information siteThe Other Rubicon Information on the Tahoe side of the trail
{{Authority control
Roads in El Dorado County, California
Roads in Placer County, California
Sierra Nevada (United States)
Lake Tahoe
Protected areas of El Dorado County, California
Protected areas of Placer County, California
Eldorado National Forest
Jeep vehicles