Gold Valley OHV Trail

What might be the Holy Grail of the Gold Lakes area's scenic trails, 11E67, aka Gold Valley OHV Trail, is a wonderland for the eyes and soul. This trail takes you up on the ridges of some of the tallest mountains in the Tahoe National Forest area. From there, you can see hundreds of miles off in every direction. You can see Mt Shasta, Rainier, and many more snow-covered peaks in the distance. Not only are there never-ending views, but you also pass through Tahoe National Forest's dense pine forest, which makes you feel tiny in comparison. Once you drop down the southern half, you zig-zag the Pacific Crest Trail, pass by Hawley Lake, a troubled youths camp, and even over a massive abandoned gold mine with relics still sitting there as though the mine was active yesterday. Near the overlook, you pass through what feels like a haunted forest with odd-looking trees created from the overabundance of snow in the winter.  

This connector trail is a moderate-difficulty offroad trail. It is full of moderate rock crawling obstacles up to a couple of feet tall, making it ideal for keeping the crowds away and creating that secluded experience you dream of. Because of the many rock obstacles on the route, a stock high clearance 4x4 will be needed to complete this trail. Rocker guards are not a bad idea to avoid any possible body damage.

You are allowed to disperse camp in the area. Although most people camp at Snake Lake due to the ample tent camping and wind break from the hills, one fantastic spot on this trail is up on the overlook. The only drawback is that the area might be too windy. Due to that, a rooftop tent would be the ideal camping for this location. Because of the size of the turnout, a group of a dozen vehicles or so could use this area.