Wildlands of Upper Carpenter Valley Protected Forever

Looking toward Upper Carpenter Valley from Red Mountain

Last October, the Truckee Donner Land Trust (TDLT) acquired 691 acres in Upper Carpenter Valley, the latest in series of strategic acquisitions to protect one of the wildest and most untouched natural areas in the Northern Sierra. Surrounded by other recently protected lands – including Castle Peak, Carpenter Ridge, Red Mountain, and Frog Lake –  the new acquisition strengthens a vital ecological corridor spanning mixed conifer forests, alpine meadows, riparian zones, and dramatic granite outcrops.

Privately owned by a single family for more than a century, the land has remained remarkably intact. Today, it provides critical habitat and a movement corridor for a wide range of wildlife. Recent sightings include wolves, wolverines and the elusive mountain beaver. The property’s two streams flow into Prosser Creek, a tributary to the Truckee River and source of water for the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. Prosser Creek is also a potential recovery site for Lahontan cutthroat trout, a federally threatened fish documented in the creek as recently as the late nineteen eighties.

Today, access to the property is limited to those willing and able to travel cross-country from Warren Lake in summer or ski down from TDLT’s Frog Lake Backcountry Huts in winter. The property cannot be accessed from Lower Carpenter Valley because the neighboring property is privately owned.  Please help TDLT be a good neighbor by strictly respecting all private property boundaries.

TDLT looks forward to welcoming more visitors to Upper Carpenter Valley in future years via a new trail (exact route TBD). In planning the trail, the Land Trust is committed to balancing recreation with ecological integrity, ensuring that this wild and storied landscape remains a haven for wildlife and a source of inspiration for generations to come.