California · Mountain biking · Near Sunnyside-Tahoe City

Big Chief Trail (Upper)

1.2 mi
round trip
409 ft
climb
Singletrack
surface
Out and back
route
May–Oct
best months

Is Big Chief Trail (Upper) open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists an alert for Tahoe National Forest.

  • Camping and Campfire Restrictions-Truckee and Sierraville Districts

    Agency alert covering Tahoe National Forest · Order 17-25-05 · USFS · Tahoe National Forest

As of · Source: USFS · Tahoe National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Big Chief Trail (Upper) is a mountain biking route in California's Tahoe National Forest, within the Truckee Ranger District. It is a short, out-and-back ride of about 2.3 miles, with a one-way elevation gain of 409 feet, taking you from a low point of about 7,105 feet to a high of about 7,533 feet. Summer is the most comfortable time to ride. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Tahoe City show July highs around 78°F with lows near 46°F and only about one wet day in the month. That station sits roughly 1,300 feet below the trail, so temperatures on the route run cooler. The Deer Creek hike starts about 0.3 miles away, and the Big Chief Trail (Middle) is about 0.7 miles off. Climbers can head to Light Deprivation Buttress, about 1.9 miles away, and the Silver Creek-Truckee campground is about 2.7 miles away.

Around this trail

Add any of these when you start a trip
  • Sleep close

    Watson Lake Campground

    Campground

    Campground · 1.5 mi from the trail
  • Eat after

    The Outpost

    Restaurant

    On your way back · 1 mi

Places © OpenStreetMap contributors

More in Sunnyside-Tahoe City

Local outfitters

Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.

  • Best time to go · May–Oct

    Best time to visit Big Chief Trail (Upper)

    Best months: May–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

    1. Jan

      40° / 21°

      11 wet · 7 snow

    2. Feb

      40° / 21°

      10 wet · 7 snow

    3. Mar

      45° / 24°

      10 wet · 7 snow

    4. Apr

      50° / 28°

      8 wet · 4 snow

    5. May

      59° / 34°

      7 wet · 1 snow

    6. Jun

      69° / 40°

      3 wet

    7. Jul

      78° / 46°

      1 wet

    8. Aug

      77° / 45°

      2 wet

    9. Sep

      70° / 41°

      2 wet

    10. Oct

      59° / 33°

      4 wet · 1 snow

    11. Nov

      48° / 26°

      7 wet · 3 snow

    12. Dec

      40° / 21°

      10 wet · 6 snow

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Tahoe City, CA, 5 mi away at 6,230 ft. The station sits about 1,300 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

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0.57-mile easy singletrack out-and-back on Tahoe Rim Trail with 76 ft gain

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Big Chief Trail (Middle)

~1 min drive

2.71-mile out-and-back singletrack with 522 ft gain in California.

Tahoe Rim Trail (Painted Rock North)Photo: AT2663, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

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Big Chief Trail (Lower)

~4 min drive

2.64-mile out-and-back singletrack with 282 ft elevation gain in California.

Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors