The Carson Valley Trails are a diverse cluster of expertly built and maintained trails in the Carson Valley. I spent the most time on the Pinyon Trail, the only Carson Valley Trail east of Gardnerville. It was carved into the side of the desert mountain with stunning views of the Sierra Nevada range. The trail wound around the side of the mountain with lots of turns, elevation gain, and elevation loss. It is the best Carson Valley trail for mountain biking if you want something manageable and not too dangerous. It has the most "flow" of any of the trails for biking.
The best overall trail for mountain biking was the Clear Creek Trail. It started in a fire scorched desert section near a school and slowly wound its way up into the dense pine mountains. I could tell how much effort it took to build the trail because some sections hung on to the side of the mountain. Maybe I was overly cautious, but I slowly crept up each bend in the trail, cognizant of a potently biker whizzing down from above. The trail wasn't big enough for two bikers unless one biker was hugging the mountainside. I made it up to Knob Point before I was thoroughly exhausted and turned around. This was only about half of the trail. It's hard to explore all of the trails and still have a full time job. Fortunately, when I turned around I didn't have to exert much energy besides slamming on the brakes and guiding the bike down the mountain. It's a trail that one could push to their limit, then turn around and the let gravity bring them back. read more