Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway: Floriston to Hirschdale

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

Features Commonly Bikepacked · Views

Though road noise is ever-present on this trail, the views are rather spectacular and you never feel like you are riding in traffic. The trail seems designed to keep bike speeds from getting out of control, so expect to scrub regularly unless you are highly skilled at cornering.

This trail attracts a surprising number of hikers, dog walkers, bikes, fishermen and even bears. Careful on the blind corners!

Though you see a fair number of gravel bikes here, you'll probably be happier in the loose sand and gravel with a mountain bike.

From Floriston, this trail heads upstream, hugging the sidehill above the Truckee River's biggest rapid (Jaws). The slope is too steep for mere singletrack, so you ride on engineered boardwalk then hike your bike up a staircase before rejoining dirt.

From the top of the hogback, singletrack drops you through tight switchbacks and down toward the shoreline before climbing back up again to hug the embankment below the freeway. Eventually, you rejoin recognizable sections of old US-40, with occasional abandoned 1950s-era cars and old wooden guardrails. Snatches of pavement appear and become smoother and more continuous as you approach the Hirschdale Bridge and the end of your ride. You can park near the bridge, or a mile or so further along the road beside the freeway overpass and off-ramp.

Interpretive signs along the way explain some of the history of the canyon, the railroad, the highway, and historic features as well as local ecology.