Ebbetts Pass

This was the scariest drive I have ever taken, worst 2 hours ever on a road.

8,700 feet, hairpin BLIND turns, locals or out of towners who drive too fast and don't share the road. The road is NOT two lanes, it's one and a half with traffic in both directions and no center divider. Steep drop off cliffs with zero guard rails

I cannot believe the state allows people to drive on this road. It should be motorcycle only and they should put warning signs leading up it so people can turn around.

Oh yeah - my husband told me to edit this and add that if your heading EAST and you get to the yellow lines after no yellow lines, you've gotten through "the worst" of it but there is more scary stuff to come and those lines are going to disappear again. If your headed WEST then after the yellow lines you have also gone through your worst but more scary to comes it just depends on which side of the highway the sheer drop offs are on and either way, it's sucks. A lot. Get a puke bag ready or better yet just don't take this road.

They also need to rename it "call your loved ones now pass".

DONT DO IT

Ebbetts pass is an amazing part of the Sierra Nevada. I've gone through the Sierras on this road many times on the motorcycle and am in awe each time I ride through.

This is the road that you will need to take your time on, especially if you come up from the east side of the sierra out of Markleeville.
It will definitely take you at least a couple of hours and I would be without making stopped taking some of the beauty of the area.

One good thing about the passes that so narrow that you don't have to deal with all the campers and trailers because they're just too big to get over the road. The best itself is about 8000 foot elevation and of course the roads are closed during the winter time due to the heavy snowfall.

The vistas and seeing it these are just breathtaking and almost every turn. On the California side of the pass is Lake Alpine Resort and Mosquito Lake. Both lakes were full when we went through last week. Kayaks and boats were on Lake Alpine, looks like a great place to spend some time.

One of the attached pictures is of the Markleeville fire that went through this earlier this summer. It is pretty amazing to see how destructive a forest fire can be up in those mountains. I don't think the pictures really do it justice.

When we rode back down towards Markleeville there were cows and deer actually on the road, good thing you have to ride slow!

If you decide to drive through this pass be sure to allow plenty of time, it's worth t to take in the natural beauty. Also go slow so you don't drive off a cliff

"Driving back from Genoa (Nevada, not Italy) and we brilliantly decided to try a new route home. Never again! Love scenery but two extra hours in mountains with whiny dog is no way to spend a Sunday"

The above was Gayle's mobile Facebook post as we traveled back to the Bay Area over the Ebbetts Pass. We often go home via Highway 88, but on a whim decided to take the Markleeville turnoff and try Highway 4. Actually there are 2 passes, one named after John Ebbetts (at 8730 feet) and the Pacific Grade Summit afterwards (at 8050 feet). The Pacific Coast Trail also crosses over Ebbetts Pass.

Gayle has vowed that we will never pass this way again. However, after driving this stretch with white knuckles (and fully understanding why this road closes early in the winter), I'm itching to come back. It's like the feeling you get when you ride a roller coaster and you immediately get back in line for another ride. And what a wild, woolly, and gorgeous ride this pass can be. An extensive section of highway over the passes is less than two lanes with no dividing line. The East side in particular has very steep sections with blind hairpin corners. We were in first gear and inches from the edge most of the time
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And of course we actually lost time by traveling this way. However, "The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination."