Nestled between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe...
Alpine County is located between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe in the California Sierra Nevada mountains. The county is divided into three unique areas : Bear Valley/Lake Alpine, Kirkwood/Hope Valley, and Markleeville/Woodfords. These communities are connected by a network of high-elevation alpine highways.
The segment of Highway 4 between Lake Alpine and Markleeville Highway 89 is closed during the winter months (approximately mid-November to May). However, recently designated as a Federal Scenic Byway, Highway 4 is one of the most beautiful mountain passes in the country in the Spring, Summer, and Autumn. The road is narrow and winding, so allow plenty of driving time between your destinations!
CalTrans Road Information: Click Here
Alpine County Road Department Updates: Click Here
Winter Travel: Traveling during the months between November and May? The weather during this period is unpredictable! Therefore, we strongly encourage you to carry snow chains. Call our office to find out where you can purchase chains in Alpine County: (530) 694-2475.
Bear Valley & Lake Alpine
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into somet The Bear Valley and Lake Alpine region of Alpine County has a rich history, and today hosts thousands of visitors, many who take part in the wide recreational activities available throughout the year.
This area was originally named Grizzly Bear Valley by a survey party exploring the possibilities of a major highway and railroad line in August of 1855. The party was led by O.B. Powers, in his report, he says they named it Grizzly Bear Valley because of “an abundance of bear signs”. Highway 4 was designated a National Scenic Byway in October 2005 by the US Department of Transportation.
John Ebbetts is not known to have ever traversed Ebbetts Pass. He is said to have pointed in the general direction of Ebbetts Pass from Antelope Peak. But Ebbetts Pass is not visible from Antelope Peak. And if he was pointing in this direction, he was more likely referring to Border Ruffian Pass, which was the route of choice (called the Big Tree Road) until the silver rush made a new route necessary. A surveyor named Goddard was a friend of Ebbetts; after Ebbetts died in a boiler explosion during an illegal steam boat race, Goddard suggested naming the new route after Ebbetts.
Development of the Bear Valley Village and nearby ski area began in the early 1960’s. Located on the site of Blood’s Toll Station, homesteaded by Harvey Blood a hundred years earlier, development began with the purchase of 480 acres in 1952 by the Orvis family, prominent San Joaquin Valley ranchers.
In 1955, 20 acres on the north side of the valley were subdivided, marking the beginning of today’s Bear Valley community.
The Bear Valley Mountain Resort, originally named Mt. Reba, opened in December 1967, while the construction of homes, condominiums and commercial facilities began about the same time. Nearby Lake Alpine, a manmade reservoir, offers a rustic lodge, cabins, restaurant and store, as well as a large concentration of camping facilities.
Today, Bear Valley is a recreational paradise, offering a multitude of summer and winter sports, and is close to foothill golf courses and the Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The community is also home to the oldest cultural event in Alpine County, the Bear Valley Music Festival, held every July/August.
Hope Valley & Kirkwood
Alpine County’s northern region is a land of contrasts, from the alpine peaks of the Sierra crest to the sage covered ranges of the Great Basin. Linked by historic Highway 88, the route of explorers, emigrants and goldseekers, Kirkwood and Hope Valley offer Alpine County visitors an wide selection of recreation, scenic beauty and historical points of interest.
The modern day resort community of Kirkwood came into being with the land claim in 1855 of one Zachariah Kirkwood in a serene alpine valley near the summit of the range. One of the few settlers in this untamed land, Kirkwood grazed sheep and cattle in the nearby meadows, and with the opening of the new Amador-Carson Valley Road in 1862, operated a waystation at the present day Kirkwood Inn.
In the late 1960’s planning began in the valley on the newest ski resort in California, Kirkwood, which opened to the public in 1972. Along with an extensive lift and trail system, numerous custom homes and hotel and condominium units were constructed. Today, Kirkwood is home to a vibrant destination ski and summer resort, with a variety of amenities and services.
Hope Valley was probably first seen by John Fremont and Kit Carson in their mid winter trip across the Sierra in 1844, but it was members of the Mormon Battalion, returning from the Mexican War of ’46-’47 who named the lovely valley in 1848.
During the massive emigration to California which began with the 1849 Gold Rush, the valley’s tall grass was important, offering plentiful forage for cattle and horses for emigrants using the Carson River Route of the Emigrant Trail. From the late 19th century through the 1970’s, Hope Valley continued to be used by Carson Valley ranchers for their summer pasturage.
Threatened with development in the 1980’s, a coalition of Alpine County citizens and visitors successfully lobbied the State of California to purchase much of the undeveloped land in Hope Valley, forever protecting one of the largest alpine meadows in the Sierra Nevada for future public use.
During the winter months, Hope Valley is a popular cross country ski and snowmobile area, while fishing, hiking, camping and cycling are popular activities through the rest of the year. The valley is also well known for its Fall colors, with large groves of Quaking Aspen trees.
Markleeville & Woodfords
Separated from the rest of California by the imposing escarpment of the Sierra Nevada range, the county seat of Markleeville and nearby Woodfords have developed a close association with the communities of Western Nevada.
Just as many of Alpine County’s pioneer families trace their roots to the Carson Valley, today’s citizens depend on essential goods and services available from the Silver State.
Located on historic Highway 88 at the mouth of the West Fork of the Carson River canyon, Woodfords holds title as the oldest non-native settlement in the entire region. Mormon Battalion member Sam Brannan left supplies near a spring here in 1847 on his way to Salt Lake City, and Brannan Springs, as it was then called, was ideally positioned to take advantage of traffic on the booming road to California.
Located on historic Highway 88 at the mouth of the West Fork of the Carson River canyon, Woodfords holds title as the oldest non-native settlement in the entire region. Mormon Battalion member Sam Brannan left supplies near a spring here in 1847 on his way to Salt Lake City, and Brannan Springs, as it was then called, was ideally positioned to take advantage of traffic on the booming road to California. After a brief period during which the settlement was known as Carey’s Woodfords Canyon. Mills, the Woodfords name came into common usage following the establishment of an official post office near a hotel by Daniel Woodford in 1849.
Today, Woodfords continues to serve highway travelers, and is home to about 150 full time residents, while the Southern band of the Washo tribe has a small community in nearby Diamond Valley. Markleeville traces its beginnings to the land claim of Jacob Markley who established a toll bridge across a tributary of the Carson River in 1861 during the height of the silver mining boom at nearby Silver Mountain City. Markley hoped to prosper from the freight and supplies headed to the mining camps, but was instead killed in a gunfight in 1863, his killer going free on a plea of self defense.
When the mines shut down, Markleeville assumed the county seat and remains the center of government services for Alpine County. Serving as a supply and shipping center for the mining, lumber and Markleeville Courthouse ranching industries for the last one hundred years. Markleeville today is home to a mix of local, state and federal government employees, ranging from the U.S. Forest Service to the state highway department, and small businesses catering to the tourist trade and visitors to the nearby Grover Hot Springs State Park.
During the winter months, the community is only accessible from the north via Highway 88 & 89, as both Monitor Pass* and Ebbett’s Pass close for the season due to heavy snow.
*October 2006 – Dedication at Milepost 5.0 – the Robert M. Jackson Memorial Highway. Mr. Jackson a longtime Alpine County resident who was deeply involved in the development of the county’s roads over Hwy 89 Monitor Pass.