cfforum

Does anyone know the status of Old Bass Lake Rd (from Bass Lake Rd to Tong Rd)? I've seen references in the El Dorado County Bicycle Transportation Plan to making it a Class III bike route, but it's currently gated/posted at Tong rd (although the gate is open) and blocked at the upper end by a trailer.

Would it be legal to use?

It would make a nice short cut from Cameron Park to EDH!

I know people who have used it but I don't think it's public property so I am guessing you do so at your own risk. Often using it requires jumping the gate, etc...
It is on the "proposed" list of bike lanes for El Dorado County but at the rate they are building these (seen any new ones recently?) I would not hold my breath.

Those who build roads in El Dorado County rarely think about bikes although it's getting better. The fact that there is no way from El Dorado Hills Blvd to Bass Lake without going up Serrano or Green Valley, and the fact that the only way to get from El Dorado Hills BLVD to Folsom is Green Valley or White Rock (or scale the roads of Ridgeview) is a testament to the lack of bike-centric planning.
The El Dorado County planning folks seem to assume that everyone can use Hwy 50 for everything. That is short-sighted and will cause more problems than it solves long-term.

Yes, you can ride Old Bass Lake Road. The gate on the Tong Road end usually is closed, but we just hop over it. It's a great shortcut, which is why Curtis "make the loop bigger" Taylor never rides it with us.

His maxims are:

Never ride around a hill that you could ride over
Never drive to what you could ride to