SACRAMENTO TO TRUCKEE
105 MILES / 9,300 FEET

TRUCKEE TO SACRAMENTO
110 MILES / 4,315 FEET

TRUCKEE TO RENO
42 MILES / 4,010 FEET

RENO TO TRUCKEE
42 MILES / 5,450 FEET

• Travel between Sacramento/Truckee and Truckee/Reno.

• SETTING

  •  Eastern Sacramento Valley, Sierra Foothills, Sierra Nevada Mountains.

• START / END

  • Sacramento:  mile 13.5 of the American River Bike Trail, William Pond Recreation Area, Carmichael, CA

    • Travel to the intersection of Arden Way and Fair Oaks Blvd in Carmichael, CA (immediately east of Sacramento).  Park in the Five Points parking lot (SE corner of Arden Way & Fair Oaks Blvd, away from retail outlets) or on Arden Way, west of restricted parking.  Mile 13.5 is at the intersection of the American River Pkwy Bike Trail and the Arden Way access path.
       

  • Truckee:  intersection Donner Pass Road and Highway 267, Truckee, CA.

    • Take I-80 to the Highway 89/Highway 267 Truckee exit and Highway 267 south to its intersection (in downtown Truckee) with Donner Pass Road.
       

  • Reno:  intersection South Virginia Street  and Arrow Creek Parkway, Reno, NV.

    • This location was selected as convenient to the Reno area (via South Virginia Street) and to Highway 431.

• RIDE CHARACTERISTICS

  • Climbing

    • Sacramento to Truckee:  9,300 feet - a significant climb!

    • Truckee to Sacramento:  4,315 feet - lots of downhill!

    • Truckee to Reno:  4,050 feet.  The climb up Route 431 to the Mount Rose summit is remarkably steady and not terribly difficult.  The descent to Reno is fast and rather curvy, and the road is narrower than on the Lake Tahoe side.

    • Reno to Truckee:  5,450 feet.  The climb up the backside of Route 431 definitely is more difficult than that in the opposite direction:  steeper, more climbing, not as nice a road.  The descent down Route 431 toward Lake Tahoe is fast, fun, and enjoys a wide shoulder.
       

  • Difficulty

    • Sacramento to Truckee:  although there are not any terribly difficult sections, total climbing is substantial.  The I-80 section is wearing:  noisy, uphill, slow, areas of poor shoulder surface.

    • Truckee to Sacramento:  much easier than the opposite direction (lots of downhill!).  The I-80 section goes very much faster Westward than Eastward, but in both directions the road surface quality intermittently is poor.

    • Truckee to Reno:  neither the climb up Highway 267 to the Brockway summit nor the climb up Route 431 to the Mount Rose summit should be terribly difficult for an experienced rider.  I find both climbs enjoyable.

    • Reno to Truckee:  I have found the climb up this side of Mount Rose somewhat harder than that in the opposite direction.
       

  • Risks

    • This ride is snowbound in the winter.  Check road conditions.

    • Sacramento/Truckee

      • I-80 is the most dangerous section (biking I-80 between Gold Run and Cisco Grove is legal).

      • the road shoulder surface intermittently is terrible:  gravel, sand, large surface cracks and fissures.

      • very high speed traffic:  traffic moves very much faster than we're used to:  be exceptionally careful crossing on/off ramps.

    • Truckee/Reno

      • Hwy 28 (N Lake Blvd): the shoulder narrows and disappears on the downhill section about one mile east of the California/Nevada border (Truckee to Reno); it is less dangerous going in the slower, uphill direction (Reno to Truckee).

      • Hwy 267: from Lake Tahoe to Truckee the initial descent off Brockway summit is steep and can be dangerously fast:  control your speed!