The nearest gold rush or “boom” to Rubicon Soda Springs was based more on rumor than fact. It occurred 1862, and was called the Squaw Valley Stampede. The short-lived gold rush brought prospectors to within 12 miles of Rubicon Springs in an area west of Lake Tahoe between the Truckee and Rubicon Rivers now known as Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Very little gold was found and the gold seekers moved on in just a few months without establishing a permanent mining camp.