The Flume Trail in Incline Village, Nevada
To describe the Flume Trail as breathtaking is more than hyperbole. At over 8,100 feet at its highest point, this 14-mile route can overwhelm the lungs and senses. Perched 1,600 feet above Lake Tahoe’s eastern shore, the views are like no other in the region.
The sheer beauty of this route belies the historical, life-giving significance it once provided to the miners of the Comstock Lode. The prosperous mining district of Virginia City and Gold Hill was abundant in silver and gold ore, but it lacked potable water.
Although the water-rich Tahoe Basin is nearly 20 miles away, the differences in elevation allowed engineers to build an inverse siphon. Virginia City’s elevation is 6,100 feet. The basin which now holds the Marlette Lake reservoir resides at 8,200 feet. Under the direction of Hermann Schussler, teams of men and mules completed the system in 1873. A wooden flume carried the water to a 4,000-foot tunnel, then down through the Washoe Valley and up again to Virginia City.
This trail was carved into the rock to carry the original water flume. The wood is long gone, but the system is still in use today. Pumps deliver water to the siphon, replacing the flumes and tunnel.
In 1983, professional mountain biker Max Jones cleared the way and reopened the Flume Trail.
