Riding the Marlette Flume Trail from Spooner Lake this month puts you back on the same singletrack, and the shuttle drops you at the same trailhead. The lake below you has changed. On October 6, the Tahoe Daily Tribune reported that the Marlette Lake Dam Rehabilitation Project was complete and that Nevada State Parks had reopened recreation access to the west side of the Spooner Lake backcountry.
The trail's reopening followed a construction calendar that ended this month. The lake refills on snowpack, and state modeling puts that at four to six seasons. A second dam project in the same water system has its own schedule, which runs into the summer of 2027. Reopening the Spooner backcountry is a three-part recovery, and only the first part is finished.
Eighteen months of detours, closed in two steps
The closures began March 31, 2025, and were announced to last through 2026. During repairs, Marlette Lake itself was closed to visitors. The Record-Courier's closure list covered most of the routes that make the area useful. It included North Canyon Road, the Marlette Lake Trail, the Marlette Creek Trail, Hobart Road from Laxalt Junction to the lake, the Marlette Dam Trail, the Marlette Flume Trail south from Rock Slide, Marlette Lake Road and Snow Valley Peak Road. North Canyon Campground and Hobbie Leonard Cabin were also on the list.
Riders felt it most. The Tahoe Daily Tribune reported in April 2025 that with the usual shuttle-to-Spooner access disrupted, Capital to Tahoe riders had to start from Highway 431. That stretched the ride from 25 miles to 31.
The reopening came in two steps. Flume Trail Bikes put the classic Marlette Flume shuttle back on a seven-day schedule starting September 26, 2026. The formal word that the dam was finished came on October 6. The Tribune's report says the project started in June 2025 and was completed on schedule this month.
Why a mountain bike trail waited on a water project
The Flume Trail follows the route of a water system, and the closures make sense once you remember that. The Marlette Lake Water System was built in the mid-1870s to carry water to Virginia City. Today it supplies Storey County and Carson City.
In 2017, the Nevada Division of Water Resources found seepage in the dam during an inspection. It determined that the seepage could eventually lead to a catastrophic failure. The FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund paid for the rehabilitation. Nevada State Public Works contracted Lumos & Associates and Granite Construction to engineer and construct the new dam. Crews removed the 150-year-old earthen embankment and replaced it, added seismic upgrades, improved the spillway, and replaced the discharge piping and outlet valves.
That history explains why the lake's recovery is slower than the trail's.
The lake is about half as deep, and winter decides the rest
According to the Tribune's October 6 report:
"Marlette Lake was drawn down approximately 20 feet, and approximately 20 feet of water remained in the lake during construction. The natural recharge process is ongoing and highly dependent on the snowpack received over the winter months. High-level modeling conservatively estimates it will take four to six seasons for the lake's water level to return to normal."
The report ties the pace to winter snowpack, so the snow that falls over the next several winters sets how quickly the lake comes back. Every rider who looks down at Marlette from the Flume over the next several years will see a lake that is still refilling.
The fish are on the same delay. The Nevada Department of Wildlife describes Marlette as a brood lake. Its rainbow and cutthroat trout supply offspring that stock waters around the state. NDOW's page lists the most recent stockings as 1,754 cutthroat trout on September 5, 2023, and 5,058 rainbow trout on July 31, 2023. The completion report says NDOW will stock Rainbow and Lahontan Cutthroat Trout when conditions allow.
Anglers have no decision to make this fall in any case. Nevada's adopted 2026–27 regulations set the Marlette Lake season at July 15 through September 30, with zero trout kept, so the season closed two weeks ago.
The second dam, a few miles east
The Marlette project is finished, but the water system's work is not. The Hobart Reservoir Dam is also part of the Marlette Lake Water System, and its rehabilitation is scheduled for completion in July 2027. The scope looks familiar. Crews will drain the reservoir, replace the earthen dam, add seismic upgrades and spillway improvements, build a new access bridge, and replace the discharge piping and outlet valves.
Nevada State Parks' Hobart project notice closes Lakeview, Franktown Creek and Pipeline roads to the public from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. It also says Hobart Reservoir would stay closed for fishing and recreation through the 2026 summer season. The state's posted trail map, revised September 28, says trails marked in red close on weekdays during construction hours. All trails open outside those hours, and the hours are subject to change. That map is dated before the Marlette completion announcement, so the signs at the trailhead are the better guide on any given morning.
| Area | Status as of mid-October 2026 | Source date |
|---|---|---|
| Marlette Flume Trail, classic Spooner Lake shuttle | Open, shuttles running daily | Sept. 26, 2026 |
| West side of Spooner backcountry | Reopened after dam completion | Oct. 6, 2026 |
| Marlette Lake water level | About 20 feet low; four to six seasons to refill | Oct. 6, 2026 |
| Marlette Lake fishing | Season closed Sept. 30; catch-and-release only | 2026–27 regulations |
| Lakeview, Franktown Creek, Pipeline roads | Closed weekdays 5 a.m.–6 p.m. for Hobart work | May 22, 2026 |
| Hobart Reservoir dam project | Scheduled completion July 2027 | May 22, 2026 |
The state did not publish an update on whether Hobart Reservoir reopened once summer ended.
The fall riding window is short
The Flume reopened late in the season, so this year's riding window is narrow. Flume Trail Bikes lists the classic shuttle season as June through November, weather permitting, and says it expects 2026 shuttles to run through November. The fare is $22 per rider. The route is the classic 14-mile point-to-point from Spooner Lake back to the shop, with 1,100 feet of elevation gain. Riders park in the shop lot behind Tunnel Creek Cafe in Incline Village and ride the shuttle out to the start.
The posted 2026 Spooner departures:
- Weekends: 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m.
- Midweek: 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m.
- After 2:30 p.m.: return shuttles and personal-bike shuttles only
The operator also runs afternoon returns for riders who park at Spooner Lake and ride north. Tunnel Creek Cafe's website lists daily brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which fits a ride that ends at its back door. Its site carries no date, so confirm the hours as the season winds down.
Two Tahoe Rim Trail rules still affect loop planning. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association's conditions page prohibits bikes on the TRT between Hobart Road and Spooner Summit. Between Tahoe Meadows and Tunnel Creek Road, riding is allowed on even calendar days only.
Other fall deadlines are close too. Nevada State Parks lists Spooner's two backcountry cabins as available May 1 through October 15, which closes that option this week. North Canyon Road has a long reputation as an aspen corridor, with the color starting around North Canyon Creek. The most recent local write-up of that drive dates to 2019, so it gives no peak date for this year.
Getting there, and what comes after the snow
The drive up to Spooner has been under construction as well. NDOT's U.S. 50 Stateline to Spooner Summit resurfacing was scheduled to run through October 2026. Its September update said dense-grade paving at Bourne's Meadow and the Cave Rock tunnel was nearly done, with the final open-grade layer to follow. Single-lane work zones ran from Sunday at 8 p.m. through Saturday at 5 p.m. NDOT has not posted an October update confirming the work is finished, so lane closures between Cave Rock and the summit are still possible this month.
When snow arrives, Spooner Meadow becomes a different kind of trailhead. Nevada State Parks names Nevada Nordic as its partner for free, donation-supported grooming at Spooner Meadow and up North Canyon toward Marlette Lake, snow permitting. That winter snowpack is also what refills Marlette, and the four-to-six-season estimate depends on it.
Living near Spooner Summit or Glenbrook means watching both dam projects, the trail reopening and the U.S. 50 work from the same stretch of road. To talk through how East Shore access and amenities fit your plans for a lakefront or backcountry-adjacent property, Tahoe Icon is glad to help. Schedule a private consultation with Lexi Cerretti.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
