This summer I discovered a gem of a hiking trail that has been hiding in plain sight. The Clear Creek Trail heads from a junction with the Tahoe Rim Trail at the top of Spooner Summit down to Jacks Valley Road just outside Carson City. Primarily, I’ve known it as a popular springtime mountain bike route from the Jacks Valley side, with only the strongest riders making it all the way to the top of Spooner: 15 miles and 2,000 feet of climbing away. But if you start from Spooner, it makes for a great, fairly easy 6-mile roundtrip hike through groves of aspen trees to a nice view of the high desert far below.
Download the trail map for Clear Creek
The Clear Creek Trailhead at Spooner Summit starts just to the west of the Tahoe Rim Trailhead on the south side of Highway 50. The trail is well marked, starting on a dirt road, then in just a short distance it becomes single track and climbs away from the road to the right. Here, a map of the trail gives you the lay of the land. The trail was built with mountain bikers in mind which means the grade is not steep and there are lots of twists and turns to keep that grade to a minimum.
THE TRAILS
Five Valleys View overlook 6 miles RT | Moderate
Jacks Valley Road 15 miles one way | Moderate-Strenuous
Spooner Summit is at the crest of the Carson Range, which gets quite a bit more moisture then just a few miles to the east. This hike, therefore, provides a good education on the transition from mountains to desert. It starts out in a deep forest and ends up in the open sage country of the high desert, although if you are just hiking 3 miles out and back, you will never leave the forest.
At first, Highway 50 is a loud presence to the north, but the trail quickly rounds the ridge and moves away from the highway. Then, it’s a pleasant, mostly quiet walk on a smooth tread that is a pleasure to walk on. This trail is well suited for almost any level of ability, there is not a ton of climbing or descending in those first few miles. The most challenging aspect of the hike might be dodging the regular parade of mountain bikers rolling by.
A highlight of the hike to the Five Valleys viewpoint are several large aspen groves, especially in the fall when the deep green leaves turn into a blaze of yellow. The trees are a welcome contrast with the brown dirt and gray trunks of the white fir and Jeffrey pine that are the predominant trees on the higher altitude portions of the trail. Take a sit on a log near the aspens and enjoy the sound of the quaking leaves and the singing birds. Also entertaining are several interesting granite rock formations.
Keep your eyes peeled for snapshots through the trees of Snow Valley Peak, the East Shore’s highest peak at 9,214 feet, 6 six miles to the north. It is the bald peak topped with a radio antenna hiding behind a gray granite rock pile in the foreground. The Tahoe Rim Trail heads just to the left of that gray rock, and then follows the ridgeline up to the saddle below Snow Valley, enjoying stunning views of Lake Tahoe that last mile.
At Five Valley’s View – Jacks Valley, Carson Valley, Eagle Valley, Dayton Valley and Stagecoach Valley – you can see, from left to right, Highway 50 rolling down toward Carson City, which is hiding behind a knoll. In the foreground at the edge of the forest is Clear Creek, a luxury home development. Then to the right, Jacks Valley Road and the roof of the Jacks Valley Elementary School can be seen, which will help you to realize if you hike this whole trail, you have a long way to go.
The trail was built by the Carson Valley Trails Association in cooperation with both public and private landowners. It is popular with mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians. On my Saturday trip, I saw walkers, runners, horseback riders, dogs and a ton of mountain bikers. If you are looking for a more solitary experience, try midweek. The fall is a good time to check out the trail as the aspen groves should be sporting yellow leaves. | carsonvalleytrails.org
