• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Tahoe Running

Sharing the beauty of running Lake Tahoe & Truckee, California

  • Race Reports
  • Blog

Run Martis Creek Trail Loop

October 17, 2012 by Helen 5 Comments

Take in panoramic mountain views as you run on dirt trails around the Martis Creek Wildlife Area just south of the Truckee-Tahoe Airport. A 3.75-mile-loop meanders through and around this gorgeous meadow, with numerous bridges crossing Martis Creek.

Panoramic view of the Sierra Crest from the Martis Valley Trail

Best for:

  • Mostly flat dirt trail
  • Beautiful meadow and panoramic mountain views

But watch out for:

  • Full sun in the summer
  • Popular area – time your run accordingly

Getting there:

Take Highway 267 / Brockway Rd. south-southeast from Truckee. The trailhead parking is 1 mile south of the traffic signal at Truckee-Tahoe Airport Rd. You will first notice Martis Dam Rd. on the left (east) side of Highway 267. The dirt trailhead is on the right (west) side of Highway 267, at the brown sign for “Martis Creek Wildlife Area.” Drive down the dirt/gravel road through the open gate to the dirt parking area.

At the trailhead you will find a map kiosk, picnic table, and porta-potty. Additional maps are posted at almost every trail intersection.

Martis Creek as seen from “Frank’s Fish Bridge”

Route:

Click here for an interactive map and GPS data for the Martis Creek Trail Loop.

To run the loop in a clockwise direction, start out on the wider dirt trail that goes south beyond the kiosk, roughly parallel to Highway 267. The trail is generally easy to follow as it takes you over a number of bridges and raised boardwalks. Go right at every intersection and you will find yourself back at the trailhead 3.75 miles later. Keep a close eye for the final single track just before mile 3 – this trail takes you along Martis Creek back to the trailhead. If you happen to miss it, you will simply return back to the trailhead on the dirt road.

Alternately, you can run the loop counter-clockwise, starting from the singletrack the heads straight out, perpendicular to Highway 267. Keep left at all intersections.

Trail maps are posted at almost every intersection

Filed Under: Runs

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darlene says

    September 16, 2013 at 11:08 am

    Thanks for posting this run. Ran the loop 3 times yesterday – beautiful run. I didn’t take every right though and ended up running 4.3 with every loop.

    Reply
  2. Maria says

    May 29, 2014 at 10:19 am

    Wanting to run this trail but have a jogger to push…is this trail stroller friendly? If it isn’t, any recommendations on ones that are? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Helen says

      May 29, 2014 at 4:27 pm

      Hi, Maria,
      Yes, it is good for a single-wide stroller. There is a raised boardwalk that may not accommodate a double stroller. Enjoy!
      BTW, other options include the (paved) Legacy Trail along the Truckee River, and the small trail network in Donner Memorial State Park. Another hillier option that has lots of wide trails (i.e. dirt road) is Tahoe Donner at the end of Alder Creek Rd. You can go down into Euer Valley on dirt roads and it is not too steep.
      -Helen

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

© Copyright 2012 - 2018 · Helen Pelster · All Rights Reserved