4.1 miles

Distance

192 ft

Climb

-1,572 ft

Descent

00:34:14

Avg time

Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Christmas Valley Trail

Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association
Sponsor
USFS
Land Manager

Details

Activities
- Mountain Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
- Horse
Riding Area

Meiss Country
Meyers, California
Ref Number

#18E05
AKA

Lake Valley Trail, Meiss Meadow/Round Lake Trail
Difficulty Rating

Black Diamond rate
Voted Difficulty

Black Diamond (2 votes)
Hiking SAC Scale

T2 Mountain Hiking
Trail Type

Singletrack
Bike Type

AM, XC, Fat
Direction

Both Directions
Popular direction shown
Climb Difficulty

Black Diamond
Physical Rating

Hard
Trail Visibility

Always easy to follow
Season

May-November
Alpine Trail

Yes
Dogs Allowed

Yes
eBike Allowed

No
TTFs on Trail

Log Ride, Rock Garden
Global Ranking
#4668 in Mountain Biking [+]
- #25432 in Trail Running
- #21103 in Hiking
Local Popularity
90 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 50 in Trail Running
- 40 in Hiking
- 5 in Horseback
Land Manager

USFS

This is a quintessential Tahoe trail--rocky, periodically technical, and remote. The trail gets its name from the adjacent residential community and parallels a branch of the Upper Truckee River through mature pine forest except for a middle burn section. As a downhill trail it is fast, but punctuated with frequent stairs, tight turns, and rock gardens. For the more adventurous, the climb is a consistent but manageable slope with relentless small rock features. Those who conquer the length of trail are rewarded by two sublime alpine lakes. The first is shy of the Tahoe Rim Trail junction off a westward spur to Dardanelles Lake. The second is Round Lake another 0.7 miles south on the TRT.

To ride this trail as a loop, continue on South Upper Truckee up the steep switchbacks to SR-89. Cross SR-89 and continue on the forest access road 1.1 miles to the Big Meadow trailhead.

Access Info

The lower trailhead is off South Upper Truckee Rd just before the road climbs very steeply to SR-89. The trail terminates into the Tahoe Rim Trail near Round Lake. To access the upper end of the trail, park at the TRT Big Meadow Trailhead and follow the TRT 2.2 miles south through Big Meadow. At the bottom of the only switchback descent, the CVT takes off to the north (right turn).

Traditionally Indigenous Territory

Wašišiw Ɂítdeh (Washoe)

More Stats for Christmas Valley Trail multi-use trail trail

Altitude change

-1,378 ft
Altitude min

6,545 ft
Altitude max

7,938 ft
Altitude start

7,938 ft
Altitude end

6,558 ft
Grade

-6.4%
Grade max

-46.6%
Grade min

33%
Distance climb

2,851 ft
Distance down

3 miles
Distance flat

2,976 ft
Avg time

00:34:14
Avg reverse time

01:20:24
view trail stats

Status:

on Jul 3, 2022

Dry

Avg: 4.8 (20 votes)

Your vote: 0

view (980)

Directions to christmas-valley-trail trailhead (38.760190, -120.003400)

update trails status or condition

Christmas Valley... Trail Reports

status	date	description
	Jul 3, 2022 @ 7:07am Jul 3, 2022
	Jun 8, 2022 @ 11:34am Jun 8, 2022	No snow patches, incredible dirt from recent storms.
	Jun 2, 2022 @ 11:36am Jun 2, 2022
	May 23, 2022 @ 2:57pm May 23, 2022	Several rideable snow patches up top that will be gona in a matter of days.
	Aug 14, 2021 @ 3:26pm Aug 14, 2021	Large tree down across trail, blocking trail at 2.1 miles

view all reports »

Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

Past Week

10 rides
11 miles avg distance

6 Months

145 rides
17 miles avg distance

All

870 rides
Last: Aug 12, 2022

Photos

80 |

Sep 8, 2020 @ 1:03pm

Sep 8, 2020

68 |

Sep 8, 2020 @ 1:02pm

Sep 8, 2020

318 |

Mar 20, 2017 @ 11:23pm

Mar 20, 2017

289 |

Mar 20, 2017 @ 11:23pm

Mar 20, 2017

Routes with this trail

title	distance
Tahoe Triple Crown	25 miles
TAMBA Triple Crown - Freel Meadows to Armstrong Bypass	25 miles
Hawley - Christmas Valley Loop	13 miles
Christmas Valley to Toads	21 miles

7 Reviews & Comments

Score Time Post Comment

bkxc

(Jul 22, 2022 at 7:57)

Solid and surprising ride! 11 miles and 2,000 feet of climbing for the whole loop make for a nice little ride. Definitely worth going out and back to Round Lake and having a snack on the water. Surprised I hadn't really heard much about this one!

We found a killer private roadside spot at the Luther Pass campground area so we started and finished our ride there. But the parking lot at the bottom of Christmas Valley is where most will start / finish the ride.

[Reply]

ashort

(Sep 23, 2020 at 14:47)

Chundery and relatively technical. No real steep sections or features so rated a black for its rock gardens. It does a good job extending the 1,500 vert descent. I looped this going up South Upper Truckee Road and the TRT. Not a great climb with half on a paved road and some hike a bike stairs, but worth the fun descent on Christmas Valley.

[Reply]

astopeck12 (Jul 28, 2020 at 18:40)

The ideal loop is to ride up from Big Meadows. Riding up Christmas Valley would be for most mortals, a hike a bike.

[Reply]

agarbalosa (May 22, 2020 at 23:16)

Running great at low elevation but several snow patches to go thru as you enter the valley

[Reply]

roaminghazard (Oct 16, 2019 at 10:44)

This trail is an A+ mix of flow, low speed and high speed rock garden jank and steps. Extremely fun as a DH ride.

[Reply]

mtbingadventures

(Aug 13, 2018 at 15:39)

You can get going really fast down this trail even though it has lots of technical rocky sections. It seems to just have that natural fun downhill factor. I love doing this trail every year.

[Reply]

emilita (Aug 7, 2018 at 15:42)

We had a blast riding this trail, laughing all the way down. Trail varies from techy to flowy and offers a few truly stunning views. Really makes the most of the four miles. Added on an out and back to Scott Lake and an out and back to Round Lake before descending CV and it made for a really great day.