EXIT 168
RUEN
916-914-4407 Book your dates
A man stands waist-deep in the river below the sauna, steam rising off the water into the pines The cabin at night under a thick cap of snow, light in its windows, lit pines beside it

Feel reborn. A wood-fired sauna by a mountain river. No one there but you.

California, Sierra Nevada. An hour and a half from Sacramento.

$500 for a day, $1,000 for 24 hours, for your whole group of up to 10.

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The cabin and the sauna sit
in the same clearing by the river

Around them are 168 acres of pine forest, four parcels behind a private gate. It's about 5,900 feet up, so in summer it's cooler here than in Sacramento.

Aerial view: a cabin with a green roof on a paved clearing among pines; by the bridge over the river, the white sauna trailer with a deck and steps down to the pool The same view in winter: the clearing, the road and the bridge under deep snow, the cabin and the sauna buried to the roof, a trench dug to the cabin door

Tap or click a label to open the photoIllustrations based on a satellite image and photos of the property

Like your own cabin
in the mountains,
for a day or 24 hours

Nobody lives here and there's no staff. For that time the cabin, the sauna, the river and the forest are yours alone: you come with your own group and run things yourselves.

Inside the sauna: a wood-burning stove with a chimney pipe, a water tank on the stones, benches on two tiers
Wooden steps go down from the deck into a quiet pool between granite boulders

The sauna is right by the river

  1. A wood-burning stove
  2. You light the stove
  3. The stones heat up while you unpack
  4. You sit in the heat on two tiers of benches
  5. Then down the steps into the river

    The river is the South Yuba, cold snowmelt water. People swim in the pool from mid-July through October. In winter it's a quick dip and straight back into the sauna, if the river is calm that day.

A cabin that sleeps 12

The whole place,
for your group

$500Day visit
$1,00024 hours

If there are ten of you, that's $50 a person for a day and $100 for 24 hours

  • The price is for the whole place and a group of up to 10, children included
  • A day visit is 10 a.m. to midnight; 24 hours is 10 a.m. to 10 a.m. the next day
  • More than 10 people: we agree separately
  • The whole property for a month or longer: we agree separately
  • Same price on holidays. Over New Year and Independence Day the shortest stay is 2 × 24 hours
  • The deposit equals the rent and comes back after your stay
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How it works

  1. Arrival

    In summer and fall you drive right up to the cabin. In winter you leave the car by the road at the gate and walk the last two-thirds of a mile on snowshoes: nobody plows the snow here.

  2. While you're here

    The cabin and the sauna are clean and the firewood is stacked. You light the stoves in the sauna and the living room yourselves.

  3. Before you leave

    Clean up after yourselves and take your trash with you.

  4. The key

    Lock the cabin and leave the key where we tell you. We return the deposit in full. If we have to clean up or fix something after you, that comes out of the deposit.

What to bring

Food and drinks
For the whole group. The nearest big grocery store is in Truckee, twenty minutes by car. Keep food and anything that smells inside the cabin and don't leave it in the car overnight: there are bears here.
Sheets and towels
There are no bed sheets or towels here, so bring your own.
Water
Ask us before the trip whether there's drinking water here.
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In winter the snow can reach the roof

Interstate 80, Exit 168.
The sign says Rainbow Road.

Sierra Nevada, between Cisco Grove and Kingvale, about ten miles below Donner Summit.

Schematic map of Interstate 80 from San Francisco to Reno with Exit 168 marked Exit 168 sits on I-80 between Colfax and Truckee. Drive times from Exit 168: Sacramento 1 hour 25 minutes, San Francisco 2 hours 45, Nevada City 40 minutes, Auburn 50 minutes, Truckee 20 minutes, Tahoe City 40 minutes, Reno 50 minutes. LAKE TAHOE I-80 I-80 SAN FRANCISCO2 h 45 SACRAMENTO1 h 25 AUBURN50 min COLFAX35 min NEVADA CITY40 min TRUCKEE20 min TAHOE CITY40 min RENO50 min EXIT 168 · RAINBOW ROAD 5,900 FT · SOUTH YUBA RIVER SCHEMATIC, NOT TO SCALE Schematic map of Interstate 80 from San Francisco to Reno with Exit 168 marked Exit 168 sits on I-80 between Colfax and Truckee. Drive times from Exit 168: Sacramento 1 hour 25 minutes, San Francisco 2 hours 45, Nevada City 40 minutes, Auburn 50 minutes, Truckee 20 minutes, Tahoe City 40 minutes, Reno 50 minutes. LAKE TAHOE I-80 SAN FRANCISCO2 h 45 SACRAMENTO1 h 25 AUBURN50 min COLFAX35 min NEVADA CITY40 min TRUCKEE20 min TAHOE CITY40 min RENO50 min EXIT 168 RAINBOW ROAD 5,900 FT · SOUTH YUBA SCHEMATIC, NOT TO SCALE

Close by

Loch Leven Lakes trail
1 mile
Gas, Cisco Grove
Exit 165
Gas, Kingvale
Exit 171
Groceries
Truckee
Pacific Crest Trail
15 min
Ski areas
7 to 10 miles
Interstate 80 sign reading Exit 168 Rainbow Road, three quarters of a mile
Exit 168 · Rainbow Road

From the exit to the gate is a couple of minutes. The drive times on the map are for a dry road with no traffic.

Morning on the deck above the river: mist over the water, a woman sits on a yoga mat by the railing with her back to us, granite boulders and pines across

A place to be alone
with nature

Yoga and retreats

You can come here for yoga, for a retreat, or just to spend some quiet time by the river. You rent the whole place, so there's no one here but your group and the schedule is your own. A retreat can run for several days in a row, for a group of up to 15. After practice there's the wood-fired sauna and the river. There's no internet. Bring your own program, teacher and mats.

Walks and hikes

You can walk straight from the cabin: there are 168 acres of private forest around it, and the river runs through the property. The Loch Leven Lakes trail starts a mile from the exit: three and a half miles uphill to granite lakes, with a season of roughly June to November. The Pacific Crest Trail crosses I-80 at Donner Summit, fifteen minutes east.

Fishing

There are brown and rainbow trout in the South Yuba. Trout season in California runs from late April to mid-November, and from age 16 you need a fishing license.

Dirt bikes and quads

There's room to ride on 168 acres of private land, and a paved area by the cabin to unload. We'll agree on where to ride beforehand. California requires a spark arrester on forest land and Placer County limits noise, so bring quiet exhausts.

Motorcycle touring

I-80 over Donner Summit and Highway 49 through Gold Country are close by. You park the bikes right by the cabin and warm up in the sauna after a cold pass.

Camping

Tents, vans and RVs can go on the land, by arrangement. Public campgrounds in the mountains book up months ahead, and here there'll be no one but your group.

You book the cabin and the sauna, but the forest and the river around them are yours too. Write what you have in mind in the notes when you book, and we'll tell you if it works.

Questions

How many people can come?

Up to 15, children included. The price is for the whole place, not per person: up to 10 people, $500 for a day and $1,000 for 24 hours; 11 to 15 people, $750 and $1,500.

Can we rent it for a month?

Yes, the whole property, for a month or longer. We agree on the price and terms separately: message us on Facebook.

Do I need a 4WD or chains?

Not in summer and fall: the road is paved from the gate to the cabin. In winter you can't drive past the gate, and on I-80 chain controls start at Kingvale, a few miles east.

Is there phone signal or Wi-Fi?

There's no Wi-Fi or internet at the place, only mobile signal. Coverage is patchy; people say AT&T works best. Before you drive up, leave the address and your plans with someone.

Is the river safe for kids?

It's a mountain river: the water is ice-cold, and there's current under the calm surface. In spring runoff, from May to early July, it's dangerous and nobody swims. In summer the pool below the deck is quiet, but kids need life jackets.

Can we bring a dog?

Yes, but dogs stay outside: they aren't allowed in the cabin or in the sauna.

Can we make a fire?

Yes, outside fire season. From late June to October open campfires are banned here and across the Sierra. Then you still have the sauna stove, the wood stove in the living room and the grills on the deck.

Can you hear the freeway?

The exit is a couple of minutes away, so at the gate you can. How much reaches the cabin and the water depends on the wind and the river.

Pick your dates

How long
Whole place · up to 10, day visit$500

The request is copied for you: paste it into the chat with our page. Nothing is charged on this site.

How booking works

Now
You pick your dates and send the request.
Within 24 hours
We hold the dates for 24 hours and message you on WhatsApp where to send the deposit. It equals the rent and goes by Zelle. Once it's paid, the dates are yours.
Three days before you arrive
You pay the rent, also by Zelle.
After your stay
We return the deposit.
If you change your mind
If you book more than 14 days ahead, you have 7 days to cancel and get the deposit back. After that, or if you book 14 days ahead or less, the deposit isn't refundable.

Call or message

Call or text 916-914-4407. On Facebook, message the Exit 168 page. We answer about dates and anything else.

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