Signal Peak Information (Nor Cal)

[Curt_JK]

Howdy
New to off roading/overlanding. I was hoping to get some information on the Signal Peak trail off the 80. From what I've read, most drive it from west to east, and the west side is difficult. I haven't found much info on the east side, and was hoping someone could confirm that side would be possible by a beginner. My plan is to drive from Cisco Grove to the peak, and then retrace my route back to Cisco Grove. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[rochmpr]

Accessing Signal Peak from the Cisco Grove exit it very easy. It's mostly a fire road, with some slightly challenging spots, but completely passable in a stock vehicle without any spotting. Coming in from the other side it quite difficult. There are some large rock sections, off camber, steep climbs and one spot that incorporates all three in one spot.

The pictures below are at the tricky spot coming in from Eagle Lakes.





A view from the top

 

[Curt_JK]

Accessing Signal Peak from the Cisco Grove exit it very easy. It's mostly a fire road, with some slightly challenging spots, but completely passable in a stock vehicle without any spotting. Coming in from the other side it quite difficult. There are some large rock sections, off camber, steep climbs and one spot that incorporates all three in one spot.

Thank you for confirming this! Like the pics too, I hope to be able to do that someday.

 

[slomatt]

The west side has some nasty spots, one of which was a water pipe a sitting a foot off the trail that we had to get over. From what I remember the east side was an easy dirt road.

If you are looking for other trails in the area you could check out the following:

• Bowman Lake / Sawmill Lake
• Eagle Lakes
  
• Mt Watson trail from Truckee to Tahoe City

 

[Curt_JK]

The west side has some nasty spots, one of which was a water pipe a sitting a foot off the trail that we had to get over. From what I remember the east side was an easy dirt road.

If you are looking for other trails in the area you could check out the following:

• Bowman Lake / Sawmill Lake
• Eagle Lakes
  
• Mt Watson trail from Truckee to Tahoe City

Thanks for the info on additional trails, I'll add them to my list.

 

[slomatt]

@CDT_JK, no problem at all. If you want more information on those trails, or some other suggestions in the Tahoe area let me know.

 

[theoutbackdream]

@CDT_JK, no problem at all. If you want more information on those trails, or some other suggestions in the Tahoe area let me know.

Off topic, but would you have any suggestions for a nice solo run around Sac/Tahoe with good views and possible water crossing? Moving to Sac soon.. haha

 

[slomatt]

Off topic, but would you have any suggestions for a nice solo run around Sac/Tahoe with good views and possible water crossing? Moving to Sac soon.. haha

The "solo" part makes it tricky since it depends on your level of experience and the capability of your rig (or how good your self-recovery gear is).

Here are some ideas.

- The eastern side of Signal Peak like we've been discussing. There are a lot of easy dirt trails in that area that lead out to lakes.
- The Bowman Lake area.
- Mt Watson trail, though watch out for snow and the last part heading into Tahoe City can be a bit rough.
- There are miles of dirt roads on the north side of highway 4, Google Calaveras Dome for some ideas.

There are many others. You might want to get a copy of "Backcountry Adventures: Northern California", it has good reviews of a lot of trails and ranks their difficulty.

 

[v_man]

I just went up solo to Sierra Buttes off hwy. 49. From there it was north to Deer Lake and then Gold lake 4x4 campground. This route is listed in the Nor. Cal 4x4 guidebook referenced above. Here's a few pics...BTW the Tahoe National Forrest website says Signal Peak is "innaccesible" due to snow still...

 

[mtn_man]

How was the road to deer lake? Stock height worthy?

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[v_man]

How was the road to deer lake? Stock height worthy?

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The trail goes past Deer Lake, it is moderate and a stock 4x4 could make it fine. There is a short side road that goes down to Deer Lake and that road has one very difficult section. Not recommended for unmodified vehicles...

 

[mtn_man]

The trail goes past Deer Lake, it is moderate and a stock 4x4 could make it fine. There is a short side road that goes down to Deer Lake and that road has one very difficult section. Not recommended for unmodified vehicles...

Thanks for the response!

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[Garlic Overlander]

Keep in mind that you can still get down to Snake Lake without taking the "insanely" steep route Snake Lake trail. If you go down the Deer Lake trail you can bypass the black diamond for something most any stock rig can do so long as you take it easy. I have gone both up and down "Snake Lake Hill", and it gets your heart pumping.

http://4x4trailmaps.com/4x4Trails.php?Trail_ID=47

 

[Garlic Overlander]

My best suggestion for this area from personal experience, is the Gold Valley Trail. Longer at about 19 miles, it is easy to slightly moderate perhaps in a couple spots, the scenery is tough to beat and the trail will not wear your out. Great camping, hiking and other opportunity awaits.

http://4x4trailmaps.com/4x4Trails.php?Trail_ID=81

 

[mtn_man]

My best suggestion for this area from personal experience, is the Gold Valley Trail. Longer at about 19 miles, it is easy to slightly moderate perhaps in a couple spots, the scenery is tough to beat and the trail will not wear your out. Great camping, hiking and other opportunity awaits.

http://4x4trailmaps.com/4x4Trails.php?Trail_ID=81

Is there some pretty epic camping along this route?


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[Garlic Overlander]

Is there some pretty epic camping along this route?


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If you are looking for off the grid, back country stuff then yes. The closest official primitive camping is Gold Lake 4x4 campground.

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[billyballer]

The west side has some nasty spots, one of which was a water pipe a sitting a foot off the trail that we had to get over. From what I remember the east side was an easy dirt road.

If you are looking for other trails in the area you could check out the following:

• Bowman Lake / Sawmill Lake
• Eagle Lakes
  
• Mt Watson trail from Truckee to Tahoe City

Mt Watson is a great trail for a stock rig, and gets you to a fantastic Vista of Lake Tahoe. I've always run it from the Tahoe City side and have done it in both my CJ (trutrac and locker assisted), and bone stock Tacoma 4x4, the latter took a little more throttle for the initial climb out of Tahoe City. Took me about 2 hours from Tahoe City and back with a stop for a beer at the top.
Bill

 

[mtn_man]

Ended up below the buttes lookout tower on the last trip. There's a right hander with a great camp sight we missed on the way up because it was dark. I've used it before this trip and still missed it. So we camped at the top and caught sunset. Went toward gold lakes 4x4 but the entry had just that one sketchy spot for what I've got. Could've likely skirted it but decided to move in the plan b. Which since we've camped at sawmill a bunch this summer already was the little truckee river. Caught a nasty thunder storm that was off and on but got to do some shooting, play with the dog and get my butt kicked by the wife at cards. It was a good short one.

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