The US Forest Service recently announced that the El Burro and Donkey Town popular mountain biking loop will be closed for forest restoration work. Additionally, the US Forest roads will also be closed. Planned reopening for the trail is estimated to be summer of 2025.
“The implementation timeline is being prioritized to reduce impact to recreationists, residents and visitors as much as possible,” said National Forest Foundation Tahoe-area Program Manager Dan Alvey. “While implementing this project is critical to both community protection and forest health, our goal is to minimize impacts to traffic flow on Highway 89 and limit closures in the Donkey Town trail network to only the 2024 season.”
Cabin Creek Project
The trails will be closed to allow for work in the Tahoe National Forest, called the Cabin Creek Project. This is a plan for 1900 acres of forest restoration that began in June of 2024. Mastication and heavy equipment will be visible along Highway 89 from Truckee to Olympic Valley.
This is the first phase of the Tahoe National Forest’s 6,000-acre Five Creeks Project. Planned treatments include forest thinning, meadow restoration, aspen enhancement, mastication and prescribed burning.
“These projects will improve forest resilience and mitigate the risk of water quality impacts from wildfire,” Alvey said. “The Middle Truckee River Watershed Forest Partnership is prioritizing projects to protect communities and recreation. Many of the project areas are hubs for recreation drawing thousands of visitors annually. Our goal is to help restore and protect this beloved landscape.”
Middle Truckee River Forest Partnership
Over the next 10 years, the Middle Truckee River Watershed Forest Partnership will work to restore over 60,000 acres of Truckee-area forests. Learn more about the partnership and upcoming projects at www.truckeeforests.org.
These projects are being collaboratively undertaken through a partnership that includes the Truckee River Watershed Council, Truckee Meadows Water Authority, The Nature Conservancy, National Forest Foundation and Tahoe National Forest. Additionally, Cal Fire and the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation are also partners.
They are working together to restore the health of Truckee-area forests and the Middle Truckee River Watershed to enhance public safety, reduce potential wildfire severity, protect water resources and restore forest health in this area. For more information on this partnership, click here.
“After decades of fire suppression, the execution of responsible fuels reduction is crucial to the Truckee region,” said Tahoe National Forest Truckee District Ranger Jonathan Cook-Fisher. “The Middle Truckee River Watershed Forest Partnership is working to implement several projects to restore our landscape. Forest restoration is needed now to enhance the safety of residents and visitors, protect our communities and protect the infrastructure we all rely on.”
Open Mountain Biking Trails Truckee
There are still many mountain biking trails around the Truckee area that are open for riding. You can explore several of them here.
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