Top Trails in America – Rubicon Trail

Jeep JK Rubicon Hard Rock on the Rubicon Trail
Jeep JK Rubicon X on the Rubicon Trail
The Rubicon Trail
The Rubicon Trail

Rubicon Trail

The Historic Rubicon Trail is a 22-mile long rock-crawling offroad adventure consisting of some of the most challenging and rugged 4-wheeling on the planet.  Expect long, intense days traversing  extremely difficult rocky terrain.  

The Rubicon Trail is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California due west of Lake Tahoe and about 80 miles east of Sacramento.  

The trail begins in Georgetown, California with a western maintained section of the route named the Wentworth Springs Road.  

Jeep JK Rubicon
The Rubicon Trail is used as a testing ground for Jeep and the development of the Jeep Rubicon.

From an intersection with State Route 193, it continues towards Wentworth Springs to where the trailhead begins bordering Loon Lake and leads for 12 miles through the unmaintained stretch of this infamous trail.  Offroaders are lead through the El Dorado National Forest, the Tahoe National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit in this section. The last and eastern-most maintained portion of the trail is called the McKinney Rubicon Springs Road and leads to Lake Tahoe.

A portion of the Rubicon Trail is used by Jeep as a testing ground for development of their Trail Rated vehicles including their variant of the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, which is not surprisingly named after the trail.

The Rubicon Trail
The Rubicon Trail

Many large events take place along the trail including the Jeep Jamboree, Marlin Crawler Round-Up, Jeepers Jamboree, TLCA’s Rubithon and a whole host of organized events.

Summertime weather along the 22-mile trail is typically clear with mild temperatures with a high of about 80º F (27 C).  Night-time drops down to about 50º F (10 C). Rain is not common in the summer months but not unheard of with occasional thundershowers.      

Rubicon Trail Map
Rubicon Trail Map

Rubicon Trail Coordinates:
Lake Loon – N 39 00.214 W 120 18.756,  
Wentworth Springs – N 39 00.769 W 120 20.372

Climate: Summertime high  80º F (27 C), low 50º F (10 C)

 

 

1 Comment

  1. It was about 23 years ago that I did the Rubicon Trail in my 1973 International Scout II pickup built for the rocks. One of the most difficult yet exhilarating trails I had ever been on in my life. Someday I’ll get back there.

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  1. Edward Kaven

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