3.4 miles
Distance
252 ft
Climb
-414 ft
Descent
00:22:40
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Powerline Trail

  • USFS
    Land Manager

Powerline Trail Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Horse
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Powerline
    South Lake Tahoe, California
  • Ref Number
    #18E33
  • Difficulty Rating
    Green rate
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC, Fat, Adaptive MTB, Gravel
  • Direction
    Both Directions
  • Climb Difficulty
    Green
  • Physical Rating
    Easy
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Season
    May-November
  • Family Friendly
    Yes
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • Global Ranking
    #43208 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #44589 in Trail Running
    • #68668 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    75 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 65 in Trail Running
    • 65 in Hiking
    • 5 in Horseback
  • Land Owner
    USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Smooth rolling single track takes you from town near Heavenly Cal Base up and along the forest above the neighborhoods of South Lake Tahoe. Easily accessible from many points in town. Very suitable for beginners to intermediates — and everyone can use it to connect to other trails, such as Cold Creek, and Corral and Incense Cedar (via the Moto Trail). West of High Meadow Road this trail ostensibly continues as the Moto Trail which morphs into Powerline Road that connects to Fountain Place Road and the Corral area.

Access Info

Head to the top of Ski Run Blvd and take a right onto Saddle Road, this dead ends after about a block where the trail begins. There is limited on-street parking immediately adjacent to the trailhead. However there is generally plenty of parking at the other end of the trail. To access, drive up High Meadows Road off Pioneer Trail. Park on the pavement at the end of the road or continue another mile up the forest access road to the terminal parking lot. The trail starts north out of the parking area.

Adaptive Bike Info
aMTB Blue Rating: Intermediate features and steeper terrain.

Rated a 2 due to bridge crossing at Cold Creek trail intersection which has a 8" lip to navigate over

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Powerline Trail multi-use trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -162 ft
  • Altitude min
    6,478 ft
  • Altitude max
    6,641 ft
  • Altitude start
    6,641 ft
  • Altitude end
    6,480 ft
  • Grade
    -0.9%
  • Grade max
    -20.6%
  • Grade min
    13.5%
  • Distance climb
    1 mile
  • Distance down
    2 miles
  • Distance flat
    2,887 ft
  • Avg time
    00:22:40
  • Avg reverse time
    00:29:49
  • view trail stats
Status:
on May 2, 2025
Dry
Avg: 4.06 (10 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
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  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
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      Directions to powerline-trail-24359 trailhead (38.895550, -119.948270)
      update trails status or condition

      Powerline Trail Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      May 2, 2025 @ 12:27pm
      May 2, 2025
      Jul 22, 2023 @ 11:08pm
      Jul 22, 2023
      May 29, 2023 @ 6:13pm
      May 29, 2023
      		 All good with the exception of a bit of forest clearing around the last few hundred meters of the southern end…obscures the trail a little and...
      May 23, 2023 @ 6:51am
      May 23, 2023
      		 reporter Pretty much clear of snow but wet
      May 9, 2023 @ 1:06pm
      May 9, 2023
      		 lots of snow near cold creek. patches throughout trail.
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 1 rides
      • 14 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 3 rides
      • 16 miles avg distance
      All
      • 152 rides
      • Last: May 8, 2025

      Technical Trail Features (TTF)

      Photos

      more »
      39 |
      Sep 30, 2023 @ 2:23pm
      Sep 30, 2023
      70 |
      Jun 27, 2023 @ 7:12pm
      Jun 27, 2023
      77 |
      Jun 27, 2023 @ 7:12pm
      Jun 27, 2023
      76 |
      Jun 27, 2023 @ 7:11pm
      Jun 27, 2023

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      Cold Creek-Star Lake-Freel Peak-Mr. Toad's26 miles
      Iron Butterfly20 miles
      Stagecoach to Star Lake to Heavenly CA base24 miles
      TAMBA Rose to Toads bail at Van Sickle Trail49 miles

      1 Review & Comments


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      Videos

      more »
      Squirrel flies again!
      0:17 | 523 | Nov 14, 2009 , South Lake Tahoe

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      Powerline

      • By TheAngryTomatoTF Pro TRAILFORKS & contributors
      • #24359 - 11,185 views

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