The Flume Trail follows the route of an old flume and tunnel system that carried water from Marlette Lake to Virginia City. Originally built in 1877, the tunnel eventually collapsed and the route was abandoned. The trail follows the original flume from the dam to the tunnel, a route once traveled by caretakers who rode atop flume boxes on bicycles. In the early 1980s, the old route was choked with fallen trees, boulders, and sections of abandoned aluminum pipe left from a failed attempt to reopen the tunnel in 1963. Max Jones, a professional mountain bike racer, spent two years clearing the trail, and by 1987 the route was passable and use increased dramatically. As its popularity grew, Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park staff and volunteers continued clearing it. In 1993, National Guard helicopters voluntarily flew out the abandoned pipe, and recycling it netted $7,000 for trail improvements and education.