Trestle Tours
Trestle Tours are guided, self-driven tours of the old railroad lines in the Truckee area. On the tours, you’ll see old railroad grades, ties, rail, logging camp sites, collapsed trestles and other artifacts. At each stop, your guide will explain what we know about railroad operations in that area and its historical significance. At some stops, there are short hikes along the old railroad grades. Mostly it is an enjoyable few hours in the beautiful Truckee area, exploring and talking about railroads, logging, and local history.
Trestle Tours are free, but donations are greatly appreciated and pre-registration is required.
Our tour schedule for 2025 hasn’t been determined yet, but to give you an idea of what these outings entail, here are some notes from our three 2024 tours.
Lake Tahoe Railway & Transportation Company (LTR&TC) and Tahoe City Waterfront Walking Tour
Sunday, June 23, 2024
In 1898, Duane L. Bliss barged his two narrow-gauge locomotives, track, and other railroad materials across Lake Tahoe from Glenbrook and began construction of a railroad from Truckee to Tahoe City. The Bliss family operated the railroad from 1900 to 1926, at which time Southern Pacific purchased it, converted it to standard gauge, and continued to operate it until 1943.
Bo Grebitus, historian and author of Touching History: Rediscovering Tahoe City’s Hidden Waterfront led our walking tour of LTR&TC grades and building locations and other points of interest on the Tahoe City waterfront. Along the route, we saw the grades serving the luxury Tahoe Tavern hotel, steamer pier, engine house, and a trestle along the shore to the car barns that still stand today, converted to house modern commercial businesses.
Hobart Estates Driving and Hiking Tour
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Sierra Nevada Wood & Lumber Company, later known as Hobart Estate, operated a company mill town called Hobart Mills north of Truckee from 1900 to 1936 and logged thousands of acres in the Little Truckee River drainage. The company built a network of narrow gauge rails to move rough logs from the forests to the mills, and a standard-gauge railroad called the Hobart Southern to transport lumber from the mill to the transcontinental railroad at Truckee.
This tour started at Hobart Mills for an overview of the SNW&L / Hobart Estate lumbering operation and moved on to more remote areas where logs were loaded and transported to the mill. Since many of the more interesting sites are deep in the forest, this tour included quite a bit of hiking and exploring on foot.
Verdi Lumber Tour & Exploration
Saturday, September 21, 2024
The Verdi Lumber Company built a standard gauge logging railroad from its mill and box factory in Verdi to Dog Valley around 1900 and expanded into adjoining valleys to the north and west in the subsequent two decades. Over a 25-year period, Verdi Lumber cut over 14,000 acres in eastern Sierra County.
This tour started in Verdi at the site of the Verdi Lumber mill, then headed up the hill to Dog Valley. We did a 6-mile hike on a logging grade to see the Verdi Lumber grade, two fallen trestles, a turning a wye, remnants of logging camp buildings, and a spur where logs were cut and loaded.