The Rubicon trail is considered to be one of the most sought after 4×4 trails in the world. So, if your after a challenge this is the trail your after! The trail is located in the Sierra Nevada’s about 80 miles east of Sacramento. Highway 50 will take you through Placerville eventually bringing you to Ice House Road then continuing all the way to the Loon Lake trail head.
There are two entrances to the trail, Wentworth Springs or Loon Lake. The Wentworth Springs entrance is the original trail head, however, taking this entrance cuts out a portion of the trail. After you cross the Loon Lake spillway, you will be greeted with the once loved and feared Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper, in its prime, was the very first series of obstacles that would determine whether or not a driver and his vehicle would make it through the Rubicon trail.
Over the years, the Gatekeeper has been slowly broken down to a minimal challenge, only really requiring a set of 33″ tires and maybe a rear locker. After conquering the Gatekeeper the terrain opens up into a giant stretch of granite flats know as the Granite Bowl. The granite bowl is natural beauty in its rawest form. Eventually, you will find yourself at Walker Hill, this is where the trail starts to narrow down. Walker Hill is a hill climb accompanied by small to medium size boulders. Shortly after Walker Hill, you will come to the Soup Bowl which is a quick climb up a series of ledges, which is pretty difficult to rise to the top.
The Little Sluice is the next and largest challenge of the entire Rubicon trail. The Little Sluice is a section of the trail that is squeezed between two enormous granite formations, full of giant boulders. Due to the difficulty of this section of trail, there are two bypasses available to the lesser equipped vehicles. Whether you decided to test the capability of your vehicle on the Little Sluice or the beloved bypasses, you will come to Thousand Dollar Hill, a steep grade traveled downward, also bypass-able. Further down the trail splits, one route leading to The Slab, another granite flat, slightly off camber. The other route leading to the Old Sluice, which includes more small to medium size boulder crawling. Out of the rocks and into the woods, you arrive at the bridge leading to Rubicon Springs. Rubicon Springs is a privately owned plot of land with a cabin, outhouse, and campsites available to passers by to hunker down.
After spending the night in Rubicon Springs you arrive at the final test the Rubicon trail has to throw at you. Cadillac Hill is a freakishly steep hill climb, full of loose rocks, exposed tree roots, scattered boulders and a small waterfall, strewn across a series of switch backs. Once you make it up the steep and treacherous Cadillac Hill, you come to Observation Point, where you can view your great accomplishment from high above!
All in all, the Rubicon trail is an incredibly beautiful high sierra trail loaded with crystal clear blue lakes, a vast forest of dense green pine trees, breath taking granite flats, and many great 4×4 obstacles geared for the fearless!
~Justin Sorensen
CRUISIN 80
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