Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near East Oakdale, California

Red Hills Recreation (BLM) area is a scenic day use only location. There are tons of hiking trails in the area, as well as the Serpentine Loop Trail which is a mild to moderate trail with tons of seasonal water crossings and picnic areas near the water. Accessible to most 4x4 and AWD vehicles, small...
Learn more about Red Hills Road/Serpentine loop

This is a super pretty drive as it descends into the canyons and back up to the mountaintops. On your way to the lookout, you will drive through the Italian Bar/Lost Dutchman Mining Camp, which is a cool place to either pay to camp or you can pay and go gold panning in the river. After leaving there...
Learn more about American Camp Lookout

Lug Nut Ledge is a short but fun trail with moderate obstacles, including rocky sections, rutted sections, and water crossings. The namesake Lug Nut Ledge features a mild rock step that requires good tire placement but is manageable for most high-clearance vehicles. Water crossings can reach up to a...
Learn more about Lug Nut Ledge

This trail is a connector between the American Camp Lookout and the Forebay trail. Connect all these 3 trails for a fun weekend or day trip full of adventure and fishing/exploring! There is a creek crossing as well as a bridge crossing with some swimming holes. Be prepared for some mud and ruts, es...
Learn more about Forebay to American Camp

This trail starts just off Highway 120, located 2.7 miles east of the Groveland District Ranger Office, and begins as a 1.5-vehicle-wide gravel trail with some sand sections. Lined with Ponderosa pine trees and bushes, the route provides a pleasant forest driving experience within the Stanislaus Nat...
Learn more about Boneyard Road - FS 1S07

This trail climbs over 600 feet and drops almost 1,200 feet across just over 5 miles of diverse terrain that spans BLM land and Stanislaus National Forest, though it begins on private land requiring respectful passage. Starting at Smith Station Road and ending on Wild Rose Road, the route begins as ...
Learn more about Wagner Ridge Road - FS 2S08

This trail is steep, overgrown, and narrow. Typically home to lots of poison oak and fallen trees but the reward at the end is totally worth it! Keltz Mine road takes you down to the South Fork Stanislaus River and ends at a camping area. There are fish and swimming holes and slippery rocks so bewar...
Learn more about Keltz Mine

This a very easy trail and is mostly forest roads that zig-zag up the hill to the Forebay. This can be accessed from many ways whether it be from Columbia, Twain Harte, or Camp 9. The Camp 9 entrance is the fastest way in and is a pretty drive looking over the Stanislaus River. Fishing? Try the Fore...
Learn more about Stanislaus Forebay

This trail is a 3.5-mile out-and-back trail that drops almost 700 feet and climbs over 100 feet in just under 2 miles. The trail sometimes runs along shelf roads lined with trees and brush, providing natural corridors and periodic exposure as it descends toward the valley floor. Pleasant views of fa...
Learn more about FS 2S37

As of May 26, 2023. This road is accessible by vehicles of higher clearance than sedans. This is due to the fire road are not as flat and maintained as Google Maps makes it out to be. When driving on the road, there will be moderately size ruts, and bumps running across the width of the road due to ...
Learn more about Candy Rock Road

This 5-mile point-to-point trail runs along HWY 120. The trail runs along the ridge of the Tolumne River Valley and gives excellent views of the valley below. The trail is mostly one vehicle with shallow mud holes less than 12" in depth. There is a short section of HWY 120 which must be traveled. Th...
Learn more about Tolumne Road/120 Bypass

This trail drops over 800 feet in just over 4.5 miles, starting on Smith Station Road (FS J132). The route begins in a neighborhood area requiring respectful behavior, initially following a crushed granite gravel road surface. After the first mile, private land ends and the trail continues through t...
Learn more about Jordan Creek Road - FS 2S17

As of May 26, 2023. This road is accessible by vehicles of higher clearance than sedans. This is because the fire roads are not as flat and maintained as Google Maps makes them out to be. When driving on the road, there will be moderately size ruts, and bumps running across the width of the road due...
Learn more about Candy Rock Road P.2

This is a short dirt bike only trail that connects the ATV trail 16EV223 with the singletrack 16EV407, near the Deer Creek Staging Area. Taking this trail cuts off having to go back to Italian Bar Road and reenter the trail system. It’s a pretty gradual grade throughout the quarter mile, as it climb...
Learn more about 16EV243

This is a short spur off of 16EV223. It winds through the forest, and has a couple of downed logs on the trail. It probably doesn’t get ridden as much since it’s just a short spur very close to the Deer Creek Staging Area. The trail is closely lined with lots of small young pines. Some of the downed...
Learn more about 16EV251

This trail starts right near the Deer Creek staging area, behind a gate that gets closed for seasonal use. It starts off pretty easy, being a decently wide single track, weaving between tons of cut logs, with lots of loose rock. The grade is pretty gradual as it parallels a ravine and winds through ...
Learn more about 16EV407

This trail climbs over 1,200 feet and drops 100 feet across just over 4 miles, creating a sustained and challenging ascent from Smith Peak Lookout Road 1S16 to Jordan Creek Road. The sandy surface varies from one and a half vehicles wide to single vehicle width, surrounded by dense forests that some...
Learn more about FS 1S15

This is a quarter-mile-long spur that starts and ends off of the ATV trail 16EV223. The north end starts out in a dry grassy hilltop, then it descends through a forest of tall pines, manzanitas, and shrubs. The trail was clear of any logs. It’s a very easy trail as it was essentially rock free, down...
Learn more about 16EV249

This is a lightly traveled trail with a dirt floor. Uneven, rutted dirt trail with erosion. Potential water crossings up to a foot deep, in the winter, and in some spots the rut is 3ft deep steep grades. Roads are typically one vehicle wide with places to pass. The wet season sky rockets the rating ...
Learn more about The Rut

This trail climbs almost 500 feet in just under 3 miles, though the entrance on the Smith Station side is now closed due to private land restrictions. Access is available behind the Groveland Ranger Station at the Pines Campground, transforming this into an out-and-back trail configuration unless yo...
Learn more about Smith Peak Lookout - FS 1S16

This is a super pretty drive as it descends into the canyons and back up to the mountaintops. On your way to the lookout, you will drive through the Italian Bar/Lost Dutchman Mining Camp, which is a cool place to either pay to camp or you can pay and go gold panning in the river. After leaving there...
Learn more about American Camp Lookout

This trail is a connector between the American Camp Lookout and the Forebay trail. Connect all these 3 trails for a fun weekend or day trip full of adventure and fishing/exploring! There is a creek crossing as well as a bridge crossing with some swimming holes. Be prepared for some mud and ruts, es...
Learn more about Forebay to American Camp

This trail starts just off Highway 120, located 2.7 miles east of the Groveland District Ranger Office, and begins as a 1.5-vehicle-wide gravel trail with some sand sections. Lined with Ponderosa pine trees and bushes, the route provides a pleasant forest driving experience within the Stanislaus Nat...
Learn more about Boneyard Road - FS 1S07

This trail is steep, overgrown, and narrow. Typically home to lots of poison oak and fallen trees but the reward at the end is totally worth it! Keltz Mine road takes you down to the South Fork Stanislaus River and ends at a camping area. There are fish and swimming holes and slippery rocks so bewar...
Learn more about Keltz Mine

This is a super pretty drive as it descends into the canyons and back up to the mountaintops. On your way to the lookout, you will drive through the Italian Bar/Lost Dutchman Mining Camp, which is a cool place to either pay to camp or you can pay and go gold panning in the river. After leaving there...
Learn more about American Camp Lookout

This trail is a connector between the American Camp Lookout and the Forebay trail. Connect all these 3 trails for a fun weekend or day trip full of adventure and fishing/exploring! There is a creek crossing as well as a bridge crossing with some swimming holes. Be prepared for some mud and ruts, es...
Learn more about Forebay to American Camp

This trail starts just off Highway 120, located 2.7 miles east of the Groveland District Ranger Office, and begins as a 1.5-vehicle-wide gravel trail with some sand sections. Lined with Ponderosa pine trees and bushes, the route provides a pleasant forest driving experience within the Stanislaus Nat...
Learn more about Boneyard Road - FS 1S07

This trail is steep, overgrown, and narrow. Typically home to lots of poison oak and fallen trees but the reward at the end is totally worth it! Keltz Mine road takes you down to the South Fork Stanislaus River and ends at a camping area. There are fish and swimming holes and slippery rocks so bewar...
Learn more about Keltz Mine