Hi all, last weekend I ventured out and did portions of the Tahoe BDT. I only had two days (3 nights), which I learned is not even nearly enough time to do the whole route.
I arrived to the area on a Friday night and camped just a little ways off the start of the route on a forest service road east of Camptonville.
On Saturday I started early and followed the route, with a slight detour to visit Forest City, population 4. This was the highlight of this western portion of the route. I was lucky enough to meet one of the four residents, who took me into the 1888 Dance Hall building on main street to give me a tour. If you are lucky enough to visit when this little museum is open, it is worth the stop for anyone interested in history. My tour guide was a real local gem and expert historian. Some buildings in this tiny town date back to the 1860's. There is also a rustic cemetery on the edge of town dating back to the mid 1800's.
However, as much as I enjoyed visiting Forest City, if you are short on time I would recommend skipping the whole western portion of the route. Most of the western parts of the route is just driving through forests, without impressive views or features. Portions of the decent from Allegheny to the Yuba River are slow going, and some of it is becoming overgrown with brush, making pin stripping a real risk even for a narrow vehicle like a Wrangler. After crossing the Yuba River, I had enough of this part of the route and bailed by exiting the trail on the first paved road. I drove pavement to Nevada City and across Hwy 20 to reconnect with the planned route at the intersection of Hwy 20 and H18 (aka Bowman Lake Road).
This middle section of the route that takes you past many Sierra lakes is the part of the route that I would recommend anyone with limited days should focus their time. The drive is scenic, and the lakes are beautiful. When I think of the Sierras, these are the types of mountains that I imagine. Once the paved section of H18 ends, the trail is quite rocky and slow going at times. Any vehicle with clearance and AWD/4WD should be able to handle it in good weather and by choosing lines around the bigger rocks, and I saw plenty of Subarus. As the route guide says, don't expect to show up on a Saturday afternoon to get a camp site with epic lake views, because this area is very popular and those epic spots are all taken on the weekend. However, most people were clearing out by midday Sunday, so I'd expect that Sunday night and mid-week should have much more availability. I was exhausted by driving all day and found a spot in Jackson Creek Campground. No views, but has roomy spots with a pit toilet and bear-proof boxes.
I awoke on Sunday and drove up to Sawmill and Faucherie Lakes. This short out-and-back road is slow going, but very much worth it. This road is probably too rugged for Subarus or vans, but any high clearance 4wd should be capable enough. Both lakes were stunning. This was the highlight of the whole trip. Then I retraced my steps back to Hwy 20, drove pavement to Soda Springs, and followed the route south down to the North Fork of the American River. The river is small and not very impressive in this area, and is on private property with no parking available. However, the short drive from the trailhead in Soda Springs to where the private property started was scenic, the road is smooth, and there are several nice camping spots on spurs in that stretch. That's where I spent my last night on the trip.
I hope to return in the future to finish the middle portion of the route to see the rest of the lakes.
I arrived to the area on a Friday night and camped just a little ways off the start of the route on a forest service road east of Camptonville.
On Saturday I started early and followed the route, with a slight detour to visit Forest City, population 4. This was the highlight of this western portion of the route. I was lucky enough to meet one of the four residents, who took me into the 1888 Dance Hall building on main street to give me a tour. If you are lucky enough to visit when this little museum is open, it is worth the stop for anyone interested in history. My tour guide was a real local gem and expert historian. Some buildings in this tiny town date back to the 1860's. There is also a rustic cemetery on the edge of town dating back to the mid 1800's.
However, as much as I enjoyed visiting Forest City, if you are short on time I would recommend skipping the whole western portion of the route. Most of the western parts of the route is just driving through forests, without impressive views or features. Portions of the decent from Allegheny to the Yuba River are slow going, and some of it is becoming overgrown with brush, making pin stripping a real risk even for a narrow vehicle like a Wrangler. After crossing the Yuba River, I had enough of this part of the route and bailed by exiting the trail on the first paved road. I drove pavement to Nevada City and across Hwy 20 to reconnect with the planned route at the intersection of Hwy 20 and H18 (aka Bowman Lake Road).
This middle section of the route that takes you past many Sierra lakes is the part of the route that I would recommend anyone with limited days should focus their time. The drive is scenic, and the lakes are beautiful. When I think of the Sierras, these are the types of mountains that I imagine. Once the paved section of H18 ends, the trail is quite rocky and slow going at times. Any vehicle with clearance and AWD/4WD should be able to handle it in good weather and by choosing lines around the bigger rocks, and I saw plenty of Subarus. As the route guide says, don't expect to show up on a Saturday afternoon to get a camp site with epic lake views, because this area is very popular and those epic spots are all taken on the weekend. However, most people were clearing out by midday Sunday, so I'd expect that Sunday night and mid-week should have much more availability. I was exhausted by driving all day and found a spot in Jackson Creek Campground. No views, but has roomy spots with a pit toilet and bear-proof boxes.
I awoke on Sunday and drove up to Sawmill and Faucherie Lakes. This short out-and-back road is slow going, but very much worth it. This road is probably too rugged for Subarus or vans, but any high clearance 4wd should be capable enough. Both lakes were stunning. This was the highlight of the whole trip. Then I retraced my steps back to Hwy 20, drove pavement to Soda Springs, and followed the route south down to the North Fork of the American River. The river is small and not very impressive in this area, and is on private property with no parking available. However, the short drive from the trailhead in Soda Springs to where the private property started was scenic, the road is smooth, and there are several nice camping spots on spurs in that stretch. That's where I spent my last night on the trip.
I hope to return in the future to finish the middle portion of the route to see the rest of the lakes.
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