Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Cottonwood, California

This is a wide-open easy trail from the Chappie staging area, past Mammoth Mountain, to a lunch spot. It's easy for all riding abilities, with a ton of overlooks along the way. During the spring,…
Learn more about Mammoth Mountain Trail 1

This is a fun drive up through the mountains that will require 4x4 high clearance. However, it does not require lockers. Bring a lunch and enjoy the backcountry, with some great views of valleys and…
Learn more about Jack's Backbone

While the trail is an easy dirt road the real story is the river. The Lower McCloud River flows approximately 12 miles from Lake McCloud into Lake Shasta. It can have an emerald green color,…
Learn more about McCloud River 38N53

Pillsberry to Black Butte Trail is a calm, scenic gravel road with some campsites along the river. It's an easy driving, wide road, not normally passable in the wintertime because of snow. There is one…
Learn more about Pillsbury-Indian Dick Road

The Dill Scenic Trail is an out and back at Shasta National Forest in California. There are great views of Mount Shasta as well as the surrounding mountains. This trail is not difficult by any…
Learn more about Dill Scenic Trail

Willow Lake Road takes you to Willow Lake Campground where there are opportunities for fishing, hiking, hot springs, geysers and wildlife viewing. The road in is doable in any high clearance vehicle. When approaching the…
Learn more about Willow Lake Road 29N14

This trail begins at Highway 44, travels through Lassen National Forest into Lassen Volcanic National Park, and concludes at Butte Lake. The trail is not technical, but can be eroded and present long stretches of…
Learn more about Butte Lake

Hull Mountain is a dominant peak and rises over 5,000 feet above Lake Pillsbury in the southwest part of the Mendocino National Forest. This is a beautiful area for camping and other recreational activities. Relatively…
Learn more about Hull Mountain Trail

This is a short ATV trail in a remote and primitive section of the Plumas National Forest, accessed off of Four Trees Road. This area was damaged from a large fire in recent years. The…
Learn more about Magee Ridge

This is the beginning of the Letts Ridge trail. Past this is only for dirtbikes and other smaller OHV machines. This trail will also take you to the Champagne trail wh8ch also connects to Potato…
Learn more about Letts Ridge Trailhead Entrance

This trail immediately starts climbing. Has many rolling water drainages and rocky sections. Start to get good views of the canyon as well. Crossing a road and continuing on the other side, it's easy to…
Learn more about Champagne - FS 17N79

Mostly a wide fire road connecting the road to Potato Hill Trail. There are some small washes, and it narrows at a few sections to one vehicle wide. Good views from the top of the…
Learn more about Sanborn - FS 17N63

This trail takes you from deep in the canyon straight up to the top of the mountain. Some switchbacks and small washes. Goes from more forest to barren red dirt and rock. One section towards…
Learn more about Belden-Longville Burma Road

This trail takes you up to the Summit Springs trailhead. Gets steep in some sections, mixed with smaller washes. There is a section of the trail beginning to wash out, so use caution. Near the…
Learn more about Boundary Road - FS 17N06

This is an Out-and-Back spur trail that ends in a big flat open area perfect for dispersed camping. There is another small spur at the end for more dispersed camping. The trail ends at a…
Learn more about Belden-Longville

Single wide trail but smooth. This trail connects the main Letts Valley trail to Mill Valley Campground. If you miss it, you'll have to go way around and take a difficulty 4/10 trail to get…
Learn more about Mill Valley Spur C - FS 17N02C

This is more of a straightforward gravel fire road. It has most of the surrounding trails attached to it and is also the dirt way to Letts Lake and campgrounds. Some sections of the road…
Learn more about Letts Valley - FS 17N02

This trail begins at the end of the Fouts-Bear Creek paved road that comes from the Fouts Springs Camp Grounds and takes you to the Long Ridge and Bear Creek split. There is a campground…
Learn more about Fouts-Bear Creek Road M10

Erickson Ridge Loop is a relatively easy loop trail in Mendocino National Forest. From M1 (Elk Mountain Road) going north, the trail starts on your left, with a narrower dirt trail on the left and…
Learn more about Erickson Ridge Loop

This trail used to be longer, but erosion turned it into half just a dirt bike trail. This trial ends at a bit of a turn around that you could unload your bikes and hit…
Learn more about East Letts - FS 17N02k

The trail climbs a bit along the ridge. It's well-maintained, as the end of the trail leads to a large water pipeline. There are also rockfalls along the trail, so be cautious when coming around…
Learn more about Walters Slide

This trail is a little less than 4 miles and leads to Letts Lake and campground. As the only lake in the lower half of Mendocino NF, it is worth visiting. There are four campsites…
Learn more about Letts Lake

This route takes you through mostly wide gravel roads. There is a lot of moon dust/thick powder near the town of Westwood. You will be traveling through one of the largest burn scars in California,…
Learn more about Buffalo Chips

This is an out-and-back two-track style trail that goes along Bear Creek primitive campground and climbs up towards Potato Hill on some shelf roads. Unfortunately, the trail goes to a small corner of private property…
Learn more about Potato Hill - FS 17N33

Mainly a nice fire road with some small washes, unless you go early in the season. This trail rides the side of a ridge with good views occasionally, and it also has some spots to…
Learn more about North Branch

Single wide trail with one end being an out-and-back. The south end has dispersed campsites on the edge of the ridge, which are awesome but also very exposed. The trail has many washes and ditches,…
Learn more about Richardson Glade - FS 17N26

Out-and-back trail, big dispersed camp area at the end of the trail for multiple vehicles. There are a few spots to pass, and a dirt bike trail is towards the beginning. has a few ledges…
Learn more about Stony Slope - FS 17N89

This trail connects M10 to the main M3 route. Single wide with steep sections, off camber, and a water crossing. Multiple washes are about 12" deep and run long lengths of trail and change from…
Learn more about Grouse Springs-Bear Creek Connector

This route will take you from Upper Lake all the way to Eel River/Lake Pillsbury. It begins with great views of the valley, plenty of camping and resting spots in between, and ends with your…
Learn more about Eel's Cliff

Narrow trail connecting Mendocino Scenic Corridor and Richardson Glade. More of a tighter two-track section with lots of off-camber and washes to navigate through. You will encounter tough vegetation in some sections and get some…
Learn more about Wilblain - FS 16N18