Twin Peaks OHV

I was up in Tahoe this weekend visiting some friends.  I wanted to get my wheels dirty with some mild off roading (I was alone, so I didn't want to do anything too crazy) before heading back down the mountain so I headed over to Twin Peaks OHV.  I hadn't heard about this place before, so I thought I'd post a bit of a description. 

There is a small motorcross area called The Sand Pit and a small network of fire roads.  I took what seemed to be the main trail.  There were some off shoots of this trail, but I pretty much stayed on the main one.  The trail starts at a small fishing pond, just minutes from the Y in south lake.  It winds through some trees before heading up the hill.  At the first fork in the trail, you can go right to go through a pretty difficult rock garden which is probably 50-60 yards long and pretty steep.  The rocks ranged in size from bean bags to sofas.  Would have been fun with a spotter but I decided to play it safe and took a left instead, to the bypass.  After the rock garden, the was about 100-200 yards more of trees then it opens up.  The trail gets steeper and granite becomes more prevalent.   A second rock garden is encountered just before the top of the mountain.  This one is shorter than the first but equal in difficulty.  Again, I opted for the bypass.  There's a nice 360 degree view when you get to the top of the mountain.  The trail seems to continue down the other side of the hill.  I decided to go back the way I came up. 

If taking the bypasses, this is a very easy trail.  I actually did the whole thing in 2wd except for the very last section before the top, which was steep with loose gravel.  The two rock gardens would add some fun difficulty to the trail, making it moderately difficult.  It is not a long trail, took me about 30 minutes to get up (again using the bypasses, add some time if you plan on doing the rocks) and about 15 minutes to get down.  One cool thing is the trail's proximity to south lake.  It is VERY close! 

To get there take Hwy 50 into south lake.  At the Y (where 50 heads to stateline and 89 heads up the west side of the lake) take a left.  After 2-3 miles you will see the main entrance to the park on the left.  There is a sign that reads Twin Peaks OHV.  Don't enter here, it just leads to the sand pit.  Instead, continue on the paved rd another mile or so.  You will see a fishing pond on the left.  Take a left turn immediately after the pond.  From this rd (sorry, I didn't get rd names) you can pull into the parking lot for the fishing pond.  The trail leaves from the back of this lot.  I would not have found the trail without a little help from some local motorcross guys.

I wouldn't recommend making this trail your destination, as it is rather short.  But if you are already in Tahoe and looking to get off the pavement for a bit, check it out.  If anyone knows more about this OHV park, please feel free to post!