4,373 ft
Distance
9 ft
Climb
-346 ft
Descent
00:14:20
Avg time

Mother Lode (Upper) Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
    • Horse
  • Riding Area
    Tahoe Donner
    Truckee, California
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond rate
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T2 Mountain Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC, Fat
  • Direction
    Downhill Only
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Black Diamond
  • Physical Rating
    Hard
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Alpine Trail
    Yes
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • Global Ranking
    #23257 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #18593 in Trail Running
    • #16105 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    95 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 75 in Trail Running
    • 90 in Hiking
    • 5 in Horseback
  • Land Manager
    Tahoe Donner Association

New for 2018, the upper section of Mother Lode drops from the top of Hawk's Peak along steep trail and some very tight, rock-armored switchbacks.

Local Trail Association
  • trail association logo
  • Please consider joining or donating to the local trail association to support
    trail development & maintenance.
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Mother Lode (Upper) bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -337 ft
  • Altitude min
    7,377 ft
  • Altitude max
    7,718 ft
  • Altitude start
    7,715 ft
  • Altitude end
    7,379 ft
  • Grade
    -7.7%
  • Grade max
    -30.2%
  • Grade min
    6.4%
  • Distance climb
    282 ft
  • Distance down
    3,957 ft
  • Distance flat
    135 ft
  • Avg time
    00:14:20
  • Avg reverse time
    00:30:08
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jun 26, 2022
Ideal
Avg: 3.85 (6 votes)
Your vote: 0

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  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
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.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
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Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
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      Directions to mother-lode-upper-141855 trailhead (39.359560, -120.276330)
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      Mother Lode (Upper) Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jun 26, 2022 @ 2:20pm
      Jun 26, 2022
      Jun 18, 2022 @ 4:46pm
      Jun 18, 2022
      		 Just one short patch of snow
      May 27, 2022 @ 8:38pm
      May 27, 2022
      		 Cannot be ridden. Trail is lost in snow. Needs another 2-4 weeks
      Nov 28, 2021 @ 4:14pm
      Nov 28, 2021
      		 Too wet. Snow. Mud. Standing water. Not recommended.
      Sep 11, 2021 @ 9:58am
      Sep 11, 2021
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 22 rides
      • 15 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 66 rides
      • 14 miles avg distance
      All
      • 1,329 rides
      •  

      Photos

      more »
      2 |
      Jun 27, 2022 @ 8:19pm
      2 days
      1 |
      Jun 27, 2022 @ 8:18pm
      2 days
      101 |
      Sep 7, 2020 @ 9:00pm
      Sep 7, 2020
      140 |
      Jul 22, 2019 @ 8:24am
      Jul 22, 2019

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      Long Loop at Tahoe Donner13 miles
      True Grit to Motherlode to Hidden Gem to Cinnamon Twist9 miles
      Up White Lightning Down True Grit8 miles
      Hawk Hill Loop5 miles

      Trail Products

      Reviews / Comments

      No reviews yet, be the first to write a review or ask a question.
      Use trail reports to comment on trail conditions.






      Videos

      more »
      Tahoe Donner Trails: Mother Lode & True Grit
      11:24 | 371 | Aug 9, 2020 , Truckee
      Mother Lode Lower - Tahoe Donner Mountain Bike...
      3:38 | 617 | Jul 24, 2019 , Truckee

      Nearby Trails

      Tahoe Donner

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