Reincarnated Rainbow Lodge worth a stop
By Allen Pierleoni, Sacramento Bee
Next time you’re headed for Truckee or Lake Tahoe via Interstate 80, take a detour at Exit 168, Rainbow Road/Big Bend. Turn right at the stop sign to find the Rainbow Lodge & Tavern. It’s well worth a look, especially if you want to grab a bite; lunch and dinner are served from 11:30am to 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, with Sunday brunch 10am to 2pm.
The 33-room B&B was built from local granite and massive timbers in the 1800s, when it was a stagecoach stop. By the 1920s it had become an inn and mini-resort. It’s a familiar landmark to generations of Sacramentans who have stayed and played there over the decades, cross-country skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer.
After a series of dead-end trails (including years in receivership) and ownership changes dating to the 1990s, the lodge was purchased in 2013 by a Rocklin-based family, who refreshed it and installed a whole new kitchen.