1.6 miles
Distance
-801 ft
Descent
00:14:44
Avg time
Trail Supporters, Builders & Maintainers of Cold Creek (Upper) Trail

Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
    • Horse
  • Riding Area
    South Lake Tahoe
    , California
  • Ref Number
    #18E06
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond rate
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T2 Mountain Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Trail Usage
    Multi-use
  • Direction
    Both Directions
  • Climb Difficulty
    Black Diamond
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Season
    May-November
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • TTFs on Trail
    Drop, Rock Face
  • Global Ranking
    #1118 in Mountain Biking
  • Local Popularity
    100 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 60 in Trail Running
    • 100 in Hiking
    • 5 in Horseback

Upper Cold Creek Trail begins easy and gets progressively more challenging until the final problem is unrideable (in the uphill direction). But along the way, riders get to see amazing rock work, an aspen grove, ferns, and small waterfalls. The real treat is coming down where expert riders can clean the entire trail, but beginners will want to walk.

This trail terminates in the aptly named High Meadow with views of Monument Peak to the north, and Freel Peak and Job's Sister to the south. The meadow itself was the object of a multi-million dollar, multi-year restoration to remove artifacts from cattle grazing operations.

Access Info

Upper Cold Creek Trail is a continuation from Lower Cold Creek Trail and terminates in High Meadow.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Cold Creek Trail (Upper) bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -801 ft
  • Altitude min
    6,953 ft
  • Altitude max
    7,754 ft
  • Altitude start
    7,754 ft
  • Altitude end
    6,952 ft
  • Grade
    -9.4%
  • Grade max
    -44.4%
  • Distance down
    1 mile
  • Distance flat
    597 ft
  • Avg time
    00:14:44
  • Avg reverse time
    00:46:33
  • view trail stats
Status:
on May 11, 2021
Ideal
Avg: 4.85 (15 votes)

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  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Ridden Direction
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The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
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  • less popular
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ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches

Radar Time
      Directions to cold-creek-trail-upper trailhead (38.901960, -119.905170)
      update trails status or condition

      Cold Creek Trail... Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      May 11, 2021 @ 11:42am
      1 day
      		 No more snow! Get after it!
      May 6, 2021 @ 6:45pm
      May 6, 2021
      		 Few patches rideable at top
      May 1, 2021 @ 10:44am
      May 1, 2021
      		 Still pretty snowy near the top. Downed tree has been cut.
      Apr 18, 2021 @ 3:58pm
      Apr 18, 2021
      		 Lots of snowy spots and a downed tree near the top rock garden
      Nov 14, 2020 @ 8:35am
      Nov 14, 2020
      		 Likely covered in snow for the winter
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 20 rides
      • 10 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 33 rides
      • 10 miles avg distance
      All
      • 1,232 rides
      •  

      Photos

      more »
      27 |
      Jul 11, 2020 @ 6:19pm
      Jul 11, 2020
      162 |
      May 25, 2020 @ 2:02pm
      May 25, 2020
      38 |
      May 1, 2020 @ 1:53pm
      May 1, 2020
      30 |
      May 1, 2020 @ 1:52pm
      May 1, 2020

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titleratingdistance
      Cold Creek-Star Lake-Feel Peak-Mr. Toad's
      		26 miles
      Iron Butterfly
      		20 miles
      Power line to Star Lake
      		10 miles
      Saddle TRT loop
      		18 miles

      2 Reviews & Comments

      • + 1
      deln78 (Aug 5, 2019 at 8:25)
       Very cool trail (in the downhill direction, does not make sense to ride uphill). Most of it is fast, flowy, and easy, but it is interrupted by some rocky sections, and one particularly difficult rock jumble (shown in some photos on this page), though this is easy to walk over.
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      brattydan (May 6, 2021 at 18:43)
       May 5,2021 good to go up to high meadows.
      [Reply]

      Post a Comment



      Videos

      more »
      How To Mountain Bike Cold Creek Trail
      20:42 | 205 | Jul 6, 2020 , South Lake Tahoe
      Lake Tahoe - Monument and TRT High Meadows
      13:22 | 189 | Sep 15, 2019 , South Lake Tahoe
      youtuber Star Lake and Freal Peak Adventure Day (South...
      13:06 | 267 | Aug 13, 2018 , South Lake Tahoe
      Cold Creek and Star Lake Connector (South Lake...
      482 | Aug 14, 2017 , South Lake Tahoe

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