LAKE TAHOE, Nev. – The Nevada Division of State Parks announced upcoming trail closures in the Spooner Lake State Park backcountry due to critical repairs on the Marlette Dam. These closures took effect Monday, March 31, and will remain in place through 2026.
As part of this essential infrastructure project, Marlette Lake will be drained and closed to all visitors for the duration of the repairs.
Trails leading to and surrounding the area will be closed to the public, including:
- North Canyon Road
- Marlette Lake Trail
- Marlette Creek Trail
- Hobart Road from Laxalt Junction to Marlette Lake
- Marlette Dam Trail
- Marlette Flume Trail South from the Rock Slide (see map)
- Marlette Lake Road
- Snow Valley Peak Road
- North Canyon Campground
- Hobbie Leonard Cabin
Additionally, existing closures remain in effect for the following trails due to gas line repairs:
- Franktown Creek Road
- Snapdragon Trail
- Hanna’s Cabin Trail
- Pipeline Road
- Red House Flume Road
- Lakeview Road
While construction is underway, the Tahoe Rim Trail and Capital to Tahoe Trail will remain open, as well as Hobart Reservoir and Ash Canyon Road.
Visitors are reminded that using closed trails and entering construction zones is strictly prohibited. Access for emergency personnel will remain open throughout the project.
The Marlette Lake Water System consists of Marlette Lake and Hobart Reservoir, a one-million-gallon storage tank. The historic system was constructed in the mid-1870s to provide water to Virginia City. Originally, water was conveyed via a wooden flume from Marlette Lake to a pipeline bored through the mountain and fed into Hobart Reservoir. Today, the water still goes to Storey County and Virginia City, but it is transported with an inverted siphon piping system that runs down from East Slope storage tanks, down under the I-580 freeway, up the east side of Washoe Valley to a reservoir near Virginia City.
Draining Marlette Lake and taking that water source out of the equation will not affect the water supply to Virginia City, as their main Eastern Sierra source of water comes from Hobart Reservoir and streams in the area. The only time Marlette is used is when water is pumped from there to Hobart, and Virginia City and Storey County will still get plenty of water from the sources not affected by the dam replacement.
