Omega Loop
From Nevada City: Take Hwy. 20 north towards Truckee for 19 miles
to the Omega Rest Stop. Park here for this ride.
On the trail: From the Rest Stop cross Hwy.20. On the other side
of Hwy 20 the Pioneer Trail parallels the road [The trail is approximately 60
From Nevada City: Take Hwy. 20 north towards Truckee for 19 miles to the Omega
Rest Stop. Park here for this ride.
On the trail: From the Rest Stop cross Hwy.20. On the
other side of Hwy 20 the Pioneer Trail parallels the road [The trail is approximately
60 ft. from the road]. Head east on the Pioneer Trail. This single track crosses
Hwy 20 [If you take the first crossing you stay on the Pioneer Trail but it
turns into a dirt frontage road. If you prefer more single track take the second
crossing. They both end up in the same place]. It's approximately 1.5 miles
to Diamond Creek Road from the Rest Stop. The dirt road tees into Diamond Creek
Road. Take a left here.{ Note, Diamond Creek Road is also called Last Chance
Road...}
There is 500 ft. elevation gain as you climb Diamond Creek Road to the top of
Last Chance Mountain [el. 5747']. Keep to the left here. Vista views of the
S. Yuba canyon are your reward as well as the descent into the Diamond Creek
watershed.
After a few miles of descending you come to a 4-way intersection, continue straight
through. After a couple of small creek crossings [Diamond Creek] the road becomes
Omega Road [FS-20]. The elevation here is about 4400 ft. Omega road continues
rolling through a beautiful forest. After riding about a mile look for a small
concrete bridge over a creek. On the north side [right] is a spring
barrel with delicious cold water. Less than a half-mile further you pass
a gated main road on the right. This is the road to Omega [early nickname was
Delirium Tremens City] and the Omega Diggings. This area is private property.
Big update... This area on the road near the Omega area was heavily
logged in 2004. That was sad enough but then someone burned the few buildings
in Omega town down that winter too. Very sad... I haven't riden this area recently
because of the logging and the mess they made of the road.
Continue a few yards pass the Omega turn off and take the next right. This dead-ends
in about 50 yards at the small Omega Cemetery.
This was logged too. Continue heading west on Omega Road. It's about 5 mile
ride, with a gentle climb, to Hwy 20. On the way you pass the "Old Omega
Road" on the left. This one-mile road will also take you to Hwy 20. This
road is only signed, "dead-end" and is blocked to vehicular traffic
at the top. This route eliminates some steep climbing on the Pioneer Trail and
has a nice view of Omega Diggings. Cross the Hwy. here and the Pioneer Trail
is just a short distance from the road. Head east [left] and it's about one
mile with 150 ft. of gain back to the rest stop.
If you take Omega Road to Hwy 20 then take the Pioneer Trail instead, it's about
2 miles and 600 ft. of gain to the Rest Stop
Enjoy, TheFish