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Best mountain bike route in Truckee.


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Map Key

10.9

Miles

17.6

KM

50%

Singletrack

6,988' 2,130 m

High

5,907' 1,800 m

Low

1,446' 441 m

Up

1,452' 443 m

Down

5%

Avg Grade (3°)

24%

Max Grade (13°)

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Features Drops/Jumps · Views

Overview

Awesome collection of trails including Yogi Bear and Donkey Town Trail. All singletrack going down and more jumps and banked turns than I've seen in one place.

Need to Know

More info about Sierra Pacific Industries land use here: spi-ind.com/OurForests/Recr…

Description

Start of route is right off Hwy 89. There's a large shoulder to park cars. There is also a limited number of parking spots just off the fire road. To the right you'll see the end of Donkey Town Trail. Head left up the fire road. Soon you'll hit the end of El Burro Trail but keep to the left on the fire road.

Keep following the fire road. At one point, there's an intersection of fire roads and you want to head left. If you head straight you'll end up at the top of Donkey Town Trail which is fine but you'll miss some great sections higher up.

The fire road to the left takes you into the logging territory of Sierra Pacific Industries. Keep following the fire road and at next intersection you'll head right. Watch out for logging trucks which use these roads. Keep following the map or MTB Project mobile app and eventually there will be a somewhat overgrown fire road up and to the left which you'll want to take. This will get you onto the summit spur which is a singletrack out and back. This can be a little tricky to climb because it's rocky and rooty but that makes it all the more fun on the way down.

Follow the summit spur until you reach the top with a bench and some biking tools. Turn around and head back down the summit spur and enjoy the multiple jumps, berms and other features which have been built here. The singletrack will end in a clearing that's recently been logged. Across the clearing is a large bear statue marking the start of Yogi Bear. Head this way and enjoy more awesome singletrack with lots of natural downhill features mixed with a few man made jumps.

Keep following this route and eventually you'll hit the clearing with multiple directions. To the left are the entrances to Donkey Town Trail and El Burro Trail. Straight ahead takes you back to the fire road you originally climbed up. Follow the signs for Donkey Town Trail but be sure to take the turnoff for Jackass Point Loop which is a fun singletrack loop around the point.

After the loop, you can choose either Donkey Town Trail or El Burro Trail to get back to the parking lot. Donkey Town Trail was built by the awesome folks at the Truckee Dirt Union. There is a sign with a QR code linking to their website where you can donate. Donkey Town Trail is a labor of love, it's nonstops berms, jumps and other awesome features. It makes the absolute most use of the downhill gradient by doing frequent switchbacks to make the track even longer and pack in more features.

If you want a more direct route you can take El Burro Trail instead which is great but much faster. Both trails end at the parking lot where you started.

Contacts

Local Club: Truckee Dirt Union

Shared By:

Greg Brown

Trail Ratings

  5.0 from 3 votes

#1235

Overall
  5.0 from 3 votes
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Recommended Route Rankings

#181

in California

#1,235

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Photos

One of many jumps
Jul 3, 2023 near Truckee, CA
Sign indicating branch off point between Donkey Town and El Burro.
Jul 29, 2023 near Truckee, CA
Singletrack
Jul 29, 2023 near Truckee, CA
Boulder feature.
Jul 29, 2023 near Truckee, CA
Entrance to Yogi Bear
Jul 29, 2023 near Truckee, CA
Entrance to yogi bear
Jul 3, 2023 near Truckee, CA

0 Comments

Weather


Current Trail Conditions

Bad / Closed 25 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Sep 14, 2024
Meghan Seifert
Closed until 2025 for wildfire resilience restoration :(
Jul 20, 2024
Chelsea Lyons
Riding great. Fucking awesome 12.2mi
May 17, 2024
Keith Becker
Still some snow if you do the full loop, clear if you take the fire road straight to the top of donkey town — 1h 20m
Oct 2, 2023
Skylar Cook
fkkn awesome

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