Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Empire, 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…
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…
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…
Learn more about Lug Nut Ledge

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.…
Learn more about Stanislaus Forebay

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…
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,…
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…
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…
Learn more about Keltz Mine

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…
Learn more about Candy Rock Road

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…
Learn more about Candy Rock Road P.2

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…
Learn more about FS 2S37

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…
Learn more about Jordan Creek Road - FS 2S17

Discover an exciting off-road trail tailored to 4x4 vehicles, combining moderate terrain with thrilling elements. While mostly easy to navigate, you'll encounter occasional gentle inclines and 12-inch deep ruts, adding a dash of excitement without…
Learn more about High Times

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…
Learn more about Smith Peak Lookout - FS 1S16

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…
Learn more about Tolumne Road/120 Bypass

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…
Learn more about The Rut

This is a wide and easy ATV trail that goes through the southwest corner of the Interface OHV trail system for 1.7 miles. This one is mostly just a wide access corridor that accesses several…
Learn more about 15EV111

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…
Learn more about 16EV243

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…
Learn more about FS 1S15

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…
Learn more about 16EV251

This is a very easy ATV trail that is less than half a mile long, and has no technical elements. It is very wide, smooth, straight and fast, making it ideal for riders of all…
Learn more about 15EV65

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…
Learn more about 16EV407

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,…
Learn more about 16EV249

This is a short and easy trail in the Interface Trail System that winds through the forest. Its east entrance starts on FS 5N41Y and it zig zags west for 1.2 miles. The beginning has…
Learn more about 15EV63

This short trail goes into a thick forested corridor as it departs from trail 16EV407. The trail is covered in a lot of bony and sharp loose rocks, climbing up a dry and sun-exposed hillside,…
Learn more about 16EV258

This is a wide and easy ATV trail that starts out on the south end lined with small manzanita shrubs and under towering pine trees. It has small loose rocks and shallow ruts, gradually ascending…
Learn more about 15EV73

The east end of this trail starts at the intersection with 15EV56 and 15EV106, and goes across a sun-exposed and grassy hilltop with some flat layers of embedded rock in the trail, covered in small…
Learn more about 15EV55

This short dirt bike trail weaves between a tight corridor of oaks and shrubs, with towering pine trees. It meanders along the hillside through the tight bushes, often overgrown and whacking you in the face…
Learn more about 15EV58

This is a wide and easy ATV trail that cuts through the middle of the Interface OHV trail system, acting as an easy access route to access several other trails. It has minor loose rock…
Learn more about 15EV105

This trail climbs over 400 feet and drops almost 400 feet across almost 3 miles of forested terrain, starting near the junction of Forest Service Roads 2S28 and 1S15 and ending at FS1S29. The sandy…
Learn more about Smith Ridge - FS 1S28