INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Infrastructure improvements to the Mt. Rose and Tahoe Meadows Trailheads to begin late summer of 2023. These two popular trailheads on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s Carson Ranger District are located off Mt. Rose Highway (Nevada State Route 431) between Reno and Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

“We are extremely excited to begin implementation of this long-awaited project,” said Carson District Ranger Matt Zumstein. “This would not have been possible without the funding from the Great America Outdoors Act that the Forest received to reduce deferred maintenance backlogs and enhance aging recreational infrastructure. At both trailheads, this funding will be used to repair and improve infrastructure for trail users.”

The $1.3 million contract for the Mt Rose and Tahoe Meadows Trailheads Maintenance Project was awarded to Ironwood Commercial Builders from Concord, California. The contractor plans to begin working on both trailhead within the next couple of weeks through October 2023 (as weather allows).

This summer, the contactor plans to repair the Mount Rose Welcome Plaza restrooms, sidewalks, curbs and walkways as well as repave and stripe the parking lot at Mt. Rose Trailhead. The work planned for the Tahoe Meadows Trailhead includes demolishing and removing the restroom building, grading of the building site and installing a new concrete storage building, and repaving and restriping the roads and parking lot. A new restroom building at Tahoe Meadows will not be installed until early summer of 2024.

The Forest Service may need to close parts or the entire trailhead to help ensure public safety while construction work is occurring. Project updates can be found by visiting the Forest’s website at  https://www.fs.usda.gov/htnf or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HumboldtToiyabeNF/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/HumboldtToiyabe) pages.

An unusually high snowpack in the winter of 2016-2017 led to an avalanche that damaged the roof of the Mount Rose Welcome Plaza building at the Mt. Rose Trailhead. The facility has been closed ever since, leaving many visitors at the trailhead without a functioning restroom. The same large snowpack damaged the restroom building at Tahoe Meadows, and drainage issues put three of the five toilets at the trailhead out of commission for several years.

Signed into law in August 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act provides funding that will improve conditions, update and repair aging infrastructure and enhance visitor experiences. This Act has been approved for funding through 2025.