Backroad Adventures - Tour from Bear Valley over Ebbetts Pass to Minden, Nevada. Return route past a Nevada Casino, over Monitor Pass and back to Bear Valley, California.

We recently went up to Bear Valley Lodge for a wonderful weekend with our Miata friends. This lodge looks inside like what you would envision the way a ski lodge should look. It has a huge fireplace in a big room full of soft seating. The walkways to the guest rooms look down on this Big Room. The Grizzly Lounge bar is directly off this room. Other guest comforts including a fair sized general store and ski shop provides all you need indoors.

We attended a weekend put on by the lodge called "Cruise to the Colors". They also have a similar weekend in the spring. There were over 30 cars on this run. Mostly Miatas. Also included Austin-Healy's, Fiats, a Jensen, a bug-eyed Sprite, a Sting Ray Corvette and a Camaro. The celebrity guest awarding plaques was Robert Conrad. (He lives in the area).

This route will take you along a winding, sometimes narrow, road up to Ebbetts Pass. You will come out of the beautiful forest onto a barren plain with its own style of beauty. This valley is picturesque with mountain peaks in the background. A short hop down an Interstate will give you the opportunity to get rich at a casino before starting up the mountain again. Stop at Monitor Pass and drink in the view before starting the leg back home.

Bear Valley Run

(Note: this route is closed in the winter. Verify the road is open past Alpine Lake before going.)

	Bear Valley Run. Closed in Winter!
Mileage	Directions	Comments
0	Set your odometer here if you wish to follow my (approximate) mileage markers.
4	Follow Hwy 4 NE to Lake Alpine.	A charming, clean picturesque little lake. While close to our start, it's a nice place for a picnic.
14	Hwy 4 to Ebbetts Pass, 8,731 feet, winds around many curves. Watch for oncoming traffic, lanes are not marked.	This pass became a heavily traveled supply route with the discovery of silver.
33	Stay to the left as Hwy 4 becomes Hwy 89.	On our circle trip, we will come in here from Topaz Lake.
38	Entering Markleeville. If you can wait until Minden, gas will be 50-75 cents cheaper per gallon.	Jacob Marklee, was the first to build a cabin here. By the time he was killed in a gunfight two years later, the town that bears his name had started to form.
45	Turn right on Hwy 88 towards Minden. If you want an interesting side-trip, follow Hwy-206 north to Genoa.	After you cross the Nevada border, you will see HWY 206. This is a backdoor into Stateline called Kingsbury grade. You can see it by the switchbacks and cuts into the mountain to make the road.. As you get closer to Minden, you will be able to look back and see some of the big lodges that look out over this valley.
	If you stopped in Genoa...	Genoa is the oldest settlement in Nevada, built in 1850 to supply the gold traffic. Some of the buildings still stand.
59	Watch for signs for Minden. If you miss a sign, turn south when you get to I-395.	There is a small airport at Minden. One of the attractions here is the opportunity to go "soaring" in a glider.
86	Following I-395 south, you will come to The Nugget Casino above Topaz Lake.	Some (myself included) found the slots liberal, especially the Wheel-of-Fortune machines in a corner. The coffee shop had very good food at a reasonable price.
87	Hwy 89 will be a right hand turn.
	At the top is Monitor Pass. There is a big pullout area here. Do so.	The views back toward the valleys and mountain ranges are spectacular.
108	Turn left onto Hwy 4.
113	Silver Mountain Ghost Town	You have to watch closely. Only a marker and the ruins of the county jail will bear evidence to this silver camp that thrived nearly 150 years ago.
141	Back to Bear Valley Lodge	Time for a hot toddy.

If you aren't tired of pictures yet, here are some more.

Introduction | Bear Valley Run | Mt. Madonna Run
Full Moon Fifties Fun Run | Mt. Hamilton Run | Books for Miata Enthusiasts