Once you’ve dropped into the South Fork American River canyon on Highway 50, Kyburz is the first community of note that you’ll find as you head east into the Sierra Nevada. Now you’re in the heart of the Sierra Nevada.
Kyburz Lodge has been operating for a respectable 120 years. As early as 1858, its predecessor, the Sugarloaf Hotel, was established when the owner expanded a cabin, added a fireplace, and was in business as a hotel.
Strawberry Lodge brags on a lineage of innkeepers providing comfort for travelers for 146 years. There has been a predecessor of the Strawberry Lodge operating in this valley since 1858.
Several businesses are spread along the Highway for several miles within the Kyburz ZIP code area. Kyburz Resort and Kyburz Lodge lay in the western suburbs and Strawberry Lodge sets on the upper eastern end of the area. That’s a lot of “Main Street” for community with a population of 167. Trees far outnumber houses.
Kyburz Lodge has been operating for a respectable 120 years. As early as 1858, its predecessor, the Sugarloaf Hotel, was established when the owner expanded a cabin, added a fireplace, and was in business as a hotel. Today, the Lodge is considered one of the historically classic Highway 50 Roadhouses still operating.
Strawberry Lodge brags on a lineage of innkeepers providing comfort for travelers for 146 years. There has been a predecessor of the Strawberry Lodge operating in this valley since 1858. Strawberry Lodge was a prime location along the Carson Pass Road especially for miners and wagon masters heading with heavily laden wagons to the Comstock Load in the 1860s. It also served as a Pony Express Station.
The current lodge was built in 1937 and after a series of additions and remodels took on a Sun Valley, Idaho look. With a backdrop of the massive granite structure known as Lover’s Leap plus the big, old trees and the river in the foreground, the photogenic stop at Strawberry Lodge is often the most memorable along Highway 50.
Additional lodging and restaurants are scattered nearby along the highway, but dwellings are hidden well within the imposing forest. Any excuse for a stop and spending time here is worthwhile.
The area is only a few miles below the Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort and just above is an outstanding cross-country skiing trail complex at the Echo Lakes-Johnson Pass Area. However, in Strawberry Canyon sitting a snowball’s throw from the Lodge, the Forest Service developed three loop trails totaling 11 miles of cross-country or snowshoe trail opportunities.
Summer fishing begins in May and fly fishing in the South Fork American River improves as waters clear up after spring runoff.
A Forest Service campground and a couple of picnic sites are located nearby along Highway 50. The Silver Fork of the South Fork of the American River dumps into the main river at Kyburz. A good road traveling up the Silver Fork offers access to excellent fishing as well as a couple of remote campgrounds. The headwaters of the Silver Fork offer both hiking trails and OHV routes. Several connect south and east to Highway 88 near Silver Lake or curve north to link to the Cody Meadows and Strawberry Creek areas. The scenic area is tucked quietly below the Sierra Crest and between the hectic, and at times overly popular, recreation areas located at Echo Summit or Carson Pass.
Lover’s Leap towering above the Strawberry Lodge can be climbed by following OHV and hiking trails up the backside or, if you prefer, straight up the granite cliff. Rock climbers rank Lover’s Leap as one of the premier locations in California; nearby Sugarloaf and the Phantom Spires are even more challenging. Guide services are based at Lover’s Leap.
About mid-way along the Kyburz area, the Wrights’s Lake Road rapidly climbs north out of the river canyon and heads to that popular recreation area.
| Population: | 167 | Links: | Chamber of Commerce: www.eldoradocounty.org Visitor Center: www.visit-eldorado.com |
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Kyburz lies about midway along Highway 50 between Placerville and South Lake Tahoe. From Placerville travel east on Highway 50 for about 30 miles. From South Lake Tahoe travel west on Highway 50 for about 29 miles.