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Mountain Biking

We hope you enjoy the many trails that have been maintained by land management agencies and the public in the Tahoe area. As a legitimate user group, we know mountain bikers share a deep appreciation of the beauty and natural wonders of Lake Tahoe with hikers, equestrians, bird watchers and other recreational users. To guarantee a quality outdoor experience for all trail users and to preserve the clarity of Lake Tahoe, please be aware of the needs and rights of others by practicing safe and responsible riding etiquette.

Riding Etiquette in the Lake Tahoe Basin:

The choices you make as a mountain biker impact forest ecosystems. Making a conscious effort to be a low impact rider is paramount for long term sustainability of the forest and lake clarity. Common sense and developing a low impact riding style is all it takes.

1. Stay on the trail! When you encounter a puddle or snow on the trail, walk or ride through it! Riding around wet or snow covered areas compounds the problem by causing the trail to widen and damages vegetation that is essential to stabilize soils and reduce erosion. Vegetation may take many years to reestablish once damaged. Staying on the trail also means don't cut switchbacks! Eventually, unimproved trails divert surface runoff causing erosion and trail degradation.
2. Be patient and wait for the snow to melt and conditions to dry out before riding trails. Riders have a much larger impact on the trail and forest ecology when they ride on wet trails. Not only does riding in these conditions cause excessive damage to trails, but mud and ice also fouls bicycle components. Riding a muddy trail mobilizes sediment into surface water, degrading water quality. Additionally, continual use on wet trails can create a boggy condition. Soils lose compaction and break down into fine grain particles and the trail becomes permanently damaged.
3. Use your front brake all of the time! Did you know, the front brake accounts for approximately 80% of the braking power, Using both brakes in concert will slow a bike more effectively than locking and skidding the rear wheel, Skidding the rear wheel displaces soil and contributes to a channelized trail.
4. Ride softly! Make an effort to have minimal impacts when you ride. Trails in Tahoe receive substantial use. If every user were making an effort to be soft on the land, impacts to forest ecosystems would be significantly reduced.

Mountain Bikes and Water

Anytime ruts are left on a trail, a long term impact is created that causes water to flow down the length of the trail. As time passes, large volumes of sediment will be moved off the trail leaving a channelized trail. Once a trail becomes channelized, water is focused onto the trail, Water and users transport sediment off the trail leaving larger rocks behind and consequently a rough trail with gullies develops. The mobilized sediments may reach surface water and contribute nutrients into Lake Tahoe causing further loss of lake clarity.

A channelized trail is a condition where the trail transports water on the trail line like an irrigation ditch. Once a trail is channelized, water will effectively remove all sediment until only rock is left. Often surface hydrology may be altered by a trail that is channelized. Once hydrology is altered vegetation and soils can become destabilized and permanently damaged. In many cases the effects are mot apparent until it is too late. Trails that seem harmless during normal rainfall years may cause significant diversion of runoff during large storm events.

Sensitive Areas: The rest of the story.

In more sensitive areas such as stream environment zones and meadows long-term chronic impacts are generally more of a problem than occasional storm events. Disturbance to meadows (wetlands) and stream environment zones reduces water-storing capacity of soils. Functioning meadows act like a natural sponge; releasing water over a long period of time. As the trail becomes the lowest point in the meadow, the water will drain along the trail and dry out the meadow. This phenomenon is known as dewatering. When a meadow becomes dewatered, the water loving plants perish and other species such as lodgepole pine trees move in. Meadows and stream environment zones have a delicate balance that is easily upset. Take special care not to damage meadows and wetlands.

Loose slopes are often stabilized by many years of vegetative development. A single user may compromise the delicate balance by disturbing sandy soils. Once the soils and vegetation are damaged the soils may continue to erode for many years. Forest users should avoid steep and sandy slopes by staying on the trail at all times!

Trails often take users to sensitive, pristine areas that roads do not. Although trails are smaller than roads and many only receive nonmotorized traffic, trails may cause disturbance to sensitive areas. Developing low impact riding techniques is paramount to conserve forest ecosystems. Avoidance of trail use during wet periods significantly reduces sediment mobilization to surface waters and reduces trail degradation that causes trails to be channelized. Staying on existing trails reduces soil and vegetation disturbance.

Land management agencies appreciate input from the public. If you notice trail problems report them to local agencies. Also contact land managers if you are interested in fixing problems yourself. Often all that is needed is a written proposal, an agreement, and a little sweat. By working together we can all help to Keep Tahoe Blue!

International Mountain Bike Association: Rules of the Trail

1. Ride open trails only.
2. Leave no trace.
3. Control your Bicycle!
4. Always yield trail.
5. Never scare animals.
6. Plan ahead.

Special Thanks to:

International Mountain Bike Association
Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association
South Tahoe High School
South Tahoe Middle School
Tahoe Regional Area Cyclists

For their contribution to the education of mountain bikers. This effort is an important step towards protecting the forest and keeping trails open.