Events - Event View

This trail begins only a half hour from Truckee. All types of high-clearance vehicles can have a great day here because there are two routes to the top. One route is fairly easy with the first five miles being a well-graded dirt road. The other route is much more challenging and is not recommended for stock vehicles. Modified rigs with the right setup, however, will enjoy the challenge.

We will divide into two groups, one for each route. Both groups will meet at the top for one of the most spectacular views in our spectacular mountains. To the east you can see the Carson Range in Nevada. To the west you can see the coast ranges on the far side of the central valley. (Your air quality may vary, of course.)

Red Mountain, or Signal Peak, is a 7840' mountain on the north side of I80 near Cisco Grove. In modern times it has hosted a big crop of radio antennas, but the original signals were from a lookout trying to spot railroad fires. Most of the original Central Pacific track was covered in wooden snow sheds, but steam engines had a tendency to set the snow sheds on fire. The railroad built a lookout on Signal Peak where about thirty miles of track were visible--from Nyack to Norden. The lookout was equipped with a telephone (only one year after its invention!) so the lookout could call an operator in Cisco who would telegraph the fire's location and dispatch a fire train.

What to bring for trail runs (pdf)

Trail Leader Pre-Run Checklist