Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead & Link Proposal

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

Eldorado County, CA

Prepared by the Tahoe Rim Trail Association Organization Contact: Chris Binder Director of Trail Operations 128 Market St. Suite 3E Stateline, NV 89449 775.298.4494 [email protected]

Sunrise view from Echo Summit.

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

SUMMARY

This document, prepared by the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, outlines a proposal for improving access to the collocated Pacific Crest Trail and Tahoe Rim Trail (PCT/TRT) in the Echo Summit area. Specifically, this plan proposes to officially open and sign the Echo Lake SNO-PARK at the junction of Echo Lake Road and Johnson Pass Road for summer use. In addition, this plan proposes to build a natural surface trail to connect the Echo Lake SNO-PARK to the collocated PCT/TRT. This plan is meant to alleviate parking pressure on the Echo Lake trailhead, reduce traffic congestion on Echo Lakes Road, and to provide a method for trail users to access the PCT/TRT from the SNO-PARK that does not require them to hike or ride on roads. This plan would open 75 additional parking spaces for PCT/TRT summer trail users, including plenty of space for equestrian trailers to park and turn around, and calls for the construction of approximately 1300 feet of natural surface trail (700 feet of which would be collocated with existing winter recreation trails).

Summary Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION

INTRODUCTION

As the collocated Pacific Crest Trail and Tahoe Rim Trail pass through the Echo Summit area several access points are available to trail users, including a trailhead at Echo Lake. This trailhead is extremely popular throughout the summer, and parking at the trailhead is limited. There are 60 lined spaces in the upper Echo Lake trailhead parking lot. At best, there is also additional space for one or two equestrian trailers. Parking at the lower Echo Lake trailhead parking lot requires a permit that is not available to the general public. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the parking at the upper lot reaches capacity very early in the day during the summer months, and many vehicles remain parked in the same location for several days as their occupants backpack in Desolation Wilderness. Finding parking at Echo Lake trailhead is difficult, especially for equestrians, and traffic along Echo Lakes Road is heavy as vehicles drive up to the trailhead only to drive back when parking proves impossible.

Trail counter data from recent years suggest that this trailhead is one of the most popular in the entire Tahoe Rim Trail system and is growing in popularity each year. In 2014, an infrared counter along the trail at Lower Echo Lake logged an average of over 334 daily trips during the high season (July-September). In 2017, a counter in the same location logged an average of over 398 daily trips in the same period, an increase of nearly 20%. During 2017, counters at Lower Echo Lake and just north of the Upper Echo Lake taxi dock recorded two of the three highest average daily trips of all the counters deployed on the TRT (the third counter was located in Van Sickle Bi-State Park, easily accessible on foot from downtown South Lake Tahoe and the casino corridor). These numbers are indicative of the crowded conditions at the Echo Lake trailhead, and speak to the difficulty many trail users experience trying to find parking to access the PCT/TRT in this area.

The Echo Lake SNO-PARK is located approximately 1.4 trail miles south (counterclockwise) from the upper Echo Lake trailhead parking area. Currently, the SNO-PARK is signed only for winter use, though the gate restricting access to the lot during the summer months is not regularly closed and locked. The lot is not visibly lined but has space for approximately 75 vehicles including 3 signed disability stalls as well as room for half a dozen equestrian trailers. There is a one-stall drop toilet facility. This parking lot goes largely unused during the summer months. This is likely because the lot is not signed or advertised as an access point to the PCT/TRT and because there is no direct access to the PCT/TRT from the lot – trail users must walk along Johnson Pass Road or Echo Lakes Road to reach the trail. The SNO-PARK is approximately 1,300 feet from the PCT/TRT.

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

PURPOSE AND NEED

The purpose and need for action reflect the difference between the existing condition and the desired condition of trail access in this area. In its existing condition, trail access is limited to the Echo Lake trailhead, and many trail users are unable to access the trail because the popular trailhead has limited parking. Traffic congestion is caused by trail users attempting to park at Echo Lake trailhead, but finding the lot full, must return back to the highway on Echo Lakes Road. While additional parking is located nearby at the Echo Lake SNO-PARK, that facility is not signed or advertised as a summer use trailhead and there is no direct trail access from the parking lot to the trail.

There is a need to provide summer trail users with additional parking facilities, to reduce traffic on Echo Lakes Road, and to provide direct access to the trail from alternative parking facilities. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to officially open and sign the Echo Lake SNO-PARK as a summer trailhead and to provide a natural surface trail to link that facility directly to the PCT/TRT.

Aerial images of Echo Lake trailhead upper parking lot (top row) and Echo Lake SNO-PARK (bottom row) taken on the same dates (from the left, July 2010; June 2016; July 2016) demonstrate that while the Echo Lake trailhead is completely full, the SNO-PARK only a little over a mile away remains almost entirely empty.

ECHO SNO-PARK PROJECT LOCATION TRAILHEAD AND LINK PROPOSAL EXISTING CONDITIONS MAP

ECHO LAKE TRAILHEAD

ECHO LAKES ROAD

LEGEND

PCT/TRT JOHNSON PASS ROAD Winter Use Trails ECHO LAKE SNO-PARK Future PCT/TRT at Echo Summit

Pony Express Trail Roads

20' Contours HWY 50 Tahoe Basin 0 400 800 Feet ¸ Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

EXISTING CONDITION PHOTOGRAPHS

The existing sign on Johnson Pass Road can be modified to indicate summer trail access. Additional signs indicating Echo Lake do not indicate summer trail access.

The existing sign westbound on Highway 50 can be modified as well (there is no SNO-PARK sign eastbound on Highway 50, but one can be added).

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

The SNO-PARK has a restroom facility and winter use signage.

Winter trail markers indicate snow trails originating at the Echo Lake SNO-PARK.

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

PROPOSAL

Volunteers and staff of the TRTA carried out extensive on-site evaluations of potential solutions to the trail access issues presented in this proposal. Multiple factors including cost, feasibility of construction, environmental impacts, and user experience were considered in developing this proposal.

TRTA PROPOSED ACTION

The proposed action would establish the Echo Lake SNO-PARK as a summer trailhead, add and modify road and other signs to direct trail users to the trailhead, and to construct a direct natural surface trail connection between the trailhead and the PCT/TRT.

Little needs to be done to the physical property to establish the Echo Lake SNO-PARK as a summer trailhead. The lot is already paved and has an existing restroom facility. Lining the lot and including designated equestrian parking would be beneficial. In addition, it would be prudent to rename the trailhead to avoid confusion with the nearby Echo Lake trailhead at Echo Lake. Naming the Echo Lake SNO-PARK the Johnson Pass trailhead would clearly indicate both its location on Johnson Pass Road, and would distinguish it from the trailhead at Echo Lake proper.

Signs should be considered on Highway 50, Johnson Pass Road, and within the Johnson Pass trailhead. These signs would alert and orient motorists to the existence and location of both the Echo Lake trailhead and the Johnson Pass trailhead, and would provide trail users with information and orientation as they begin their hike or ride from the Johnson Pass trailhead.

Signs on Highway 50 should indicate both the Echo Lake trailhead and the Johnson Pass trailhead for east- and westbound motorists. Signs can be utilized in addition to the existing signs for Johnson Pass Road and the SNO-PARK.

A potential sign for westbound motorists on Highway 50 (an identical sign with the arrow reversed can be used for eastbound motorists).

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

Signs on Johnson Pass Road should indicate both the trailheads in the area, and should warn trail users that there is limited parking at Echo Lake. This will encourage trail users to utilize the Johnson Pass trailhead lot, and should help reduce congestion on Echo Lakes Road.

A potential sign for eastbound motorists on Johnson Pass Road (an identical sign with the directions reversed can be used for westbound motorists).

Signs at the entrance to both the Echo Lake and Johnson Pass parking areas should indicate that the facilities are trailheads and summer use access points to the PCT/TRT. Similar signs exist throughout the Tahoe Rim Trail system, and the entire National Forest system as well. Below is an example of a sign that would match trail user expectations and convey the desired message.

Signs of this general description are common at US Forest Service recreationfacilities and clearly identify trailheads.

E c h o L a k e T R A I L H E A D

L A K E T A H O E B A S I N

L A N D S

J o h n s o n P a s s T R A I L H E A D E c h o L a k e S N O - P A R K E L D O R A D O Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

The proposed link trail between the Johnson Pass trailhead leads from the western side of the parking area to the PCT/TRT just south of its crossing of Johnson Pass Road. A kiosk with a map and other wayfinding information can be placed at the junction of the link trail and the parking area. Additional wayfinding signs with destinations and mileages can be placed at near the kiosk and at the intersection of the link trail with the PCT/TRT.

The sign on the left can be placed near the kiosk at the Johnson Pass trailhead. The sign on the right can be placed at the intersection between the PCT/TRT and the proposed trail linking with the Johnson Pass trailhead.

The proposed link trail between the Johnson Pass trailhead would be approximately 1,300 feet long. Approximately 700 feet of the trail, the eastern part of the link that connects to the parking area, would follow a portion of the existing “Big Shorty Loop” winter use trail that is marked with large blue diamonds. This trail is designed for snowshoeing, skiing, and dog sledding and does not currently have any built trail on the ground as it is intended for use over snow. The proposed trail crosses nearly level ground and would therefore need to remain at extremely low grades, likely no more than 2-3%, to achieve drainage. The proposed trail alignment crosses through relatively open forest and does not cross or approach any water bodies, streams, or significant drainages. There are no areas of highly technical construction through cliffs, large rocks, or other challenging geography and the proposed route stays well within the borders of Forest Service owned property on the Eldorado National Forest. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association can complete the construction of the proposed trail through the use of volunteer trail crews with minimal US Forest Service assistance, though hazard tree mitigation and other tree removal would be required.

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

PROPOSED TRAIL PHOTOGRAPHS

The proposed trail would leave the parking lot here, the same place as the “Big Shorty Loop” marked with blue diamonds and a blue sign.

The alignment travels through open forest through level ground.

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

The trail link would join the PCT/TRT at approximately this location, just below the climb up to the crossing of Johnson Pass Road.

Echo SNO-PARK Trailhead and Link Proposal November 2018

CONCLUSION

The realignment outlined in this proposal would significantly improve the experience and safety of hikers, bikers, and equestrians who travel on the Tahoe Rim Trail in the Echo Summit area. If approved by the US Forest Service, the TRTA would pursue funding to support volunteer trail crews who would perform the vast majority of the work necessary to complete the reroute. Assistance would be required in mitigating hazard trees in the area and in cutting standing trees in the trail alignment. In addition, the Tahoe Rim Trail Association is committed to maintaining the new trail indefinitely, as it would be an integral part of the Tahoe Rim Trail System.