What a strange way to open this 2026-2027 mud season in the Truckee meadows. After a record number of human caused fires on and around our favorite mountain, we are counting the days until the Forest Service re-opens our trails. At the time of this writing, the Hawk Fire closure has 9 more days (Oct 31) and there is no word from the USFS about if they are extending or ending early.
Thank you to all who have been patiently riding and running elsewhere. Once the closure is lifted, lets get some eyes on the upper mountain so we can share the stoke of what trails survived and what needs repair. Photos and reports from fire recovery work suggest that Mahogany Forest, Golden Fleece, and Scrub Brush got scorched. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that this doesn’t translate to major damage as these rains start to move mud around.
Off Peavine, there is some absolute hero dirt to be had now that we’ve had some measurable moisture. South Reno trails including the Dry Pond loop, Callahan Ranch, and Tamarack all do really well with moisture so go have fun! South Carson and Truckee similarly rip once the dust is knocked down. Snow is gathering in the highest altitude areas like the top of Tamarack and trails out of Tahoe Meadows. Nothing that will shut down the trails yet, but be mindful of slippy conditions up there. Speaking of up high, Sky Tavern mountain bike park is closed for the season. Please respect the closure. They have to move heavy equipment around the get ready for winter mountain operations and don’t want to have a random rider pop out in front of them with no warning.
On a personal note, I’m stoked to be back at the keyboard for the site and am also multitasking on life hard right now. If you are interested in becoming a regular site contributor, have an active knowledge of the mountain trails and the wider region, and want to share the stoke on a small and mighty team, email me and we can take it from there.
Cheers,
Patrick Smith