Tahoe Rim Trail gets a new, improved section

Emma Garrard / Sierra Sun via Tahoe Daily Tribune
October 3, 2008

The Tahoe Rim Trail added another mile to its 165-mile circumference after rerouting a section of the trail from Tahoe City to Cindercone this summer. The trail was rerouted to make a more environmentally-friendly, sustainable and scenic trail including better erosion control, water quality and protection for wildlife in the area, in particular the protected Northern goshawk, said Jim Backhus, a Tahoe Rim Trail board member and senior crew leader.

The trail, which used to be one of the least-used sections of the Rim Trail, may become one of the more popular, Backhus said. "Once people get used to it, they will find they like it more," he said.

Garrett Villanueva, a civil engineer for the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit who helped construct the trail, agrees it is more scenic than before. "It has amazing vistas of the lake and the upper Truckee River canyon," Villanueva said.

The trail was built with the help of the Forest Service, Nevada Conservation Corps and Tahoe Rim Trail volunteers. The project was funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. Although the Tahoe Rim Trail Association started planning the trail in 2004, it began construction last fall with most of the trail work completed this summer.

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