Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Grass Valley, California

Shirttail Canyon is an easy, scenic loop ideal for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles and high-clearance SUVs looking for a relaxed journey through California's gold country. Starting just off Interstate 80 in Colfax, the route begins as a winding paved road that climbs into the Sierra foothills, passi...
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Elliot Ranch Road in Foresthill, California, is a rugged, unpaved route in the Tahoe National Forest, offering access to various recreational activities. It serves as the starting point for challenging trails like the Green Valley Trail, which descends steeply to the North Fork of the American River...
Learn more about Elliot Ranch Road

Towle Mill is a 10 mile long tight and winding singletrack loop in the Burlington Trail System. It is easily accessed south of the Skillman Campground off of FS 20-012. The terrain is very similar throughout the entire route, as it continuously winds throughout the rolling forest floor, curving arou...
Learn more about Towle Mill (#66)

This is a secondary entrance to the Shirttail Canyon trail. This trail meanders down the canyon, surrounded by mossy trees and waterfalls during certain times of the year. If coming from the Foresthill side, this is a great day venture down to the river. You can even take it out to the other side, H...
Learn more about Yankee Jims

This easy singletrack runs along the north side of the Burlington Trail System, north of Highway 20. The west end crosses the highway to access the rest of the Burlington Trail System, while the east end connects to the singletrack Last Chance #55. The Omega Observation Site/Scenic View Area is a gr...
Learn more about Omega Overlook (#54)

This is a long route that winds through the forest on a smooth dirt path with constant sharp turns. The terrain is very similar through the majority of the route, as the trail winds through the tall pine trees, constantly doubling back on itself with big switchbacks and hairpins like a turn track. S...
Learn more about Deer Creek (#25)

The majority of this trail is a tight and winding singletrack through a dry pine forest on dusty loose dirt. Some of the sections are tighter between the leafy dogwoods, and other sections are more open and sparsely lined with big pines and cedars. There was a lot of stick debris in the trail and lo...
Learn more about Stanton (#9)

This is a 4-mile-long easy singletrack in the Burlington Trail System. The entrance off of FS 32-004 starts out as a wide corridor between the trees, more like an old shelf road, as it gradually descends down to the intersection with #9. Continuing clockwise, it goes through a narrow corridor betwee...
Learn more about Omega (#5)

Tie 1-1 is a short 0.6 mile long ATV connector that links sections of Loop 1 and cuts off about a mile from the northwest corner of Loop 1. The route is straightforward and very easy, with mostly smooth ground and only a little bit of loose rock and sticks scattered along the way. The trail is gradu...
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Giant Gap (FS 26-006) is a beautiful 2.5-mile-long trail that starts and ends along Elliot Ranch Road (FS 26). It is part of the Foresthill OHV area and can be run in either direction. The trail is manageable in 2WD with all-terrain tires when dry. Cell service is intermittent along the trail, and u...
Learn more about Giant Gap (FS 26-006)

11E19 is a 0.7-mile-long ATV trail with a red dirt surface winding through a forest of sugar pines. The route is wide and mostly gradual, with only a couple of very small rolling hills. It includes a straight section along with a few twisting turns through the trees. The trail is obstacle-free aside...
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Loop 1 is a 6-mile-long ATV loop that begins directly from the Parker Flat Staging Area. The route is straightforward to follow with well-marked road crossings and intersections, and it offers several bailouts along the way. Riders can also shorten the loop by about a mile by using the Tie 1-1 trail...
Learn more about Loop 1

The trail begins just beyond the charming town of Washington, nestled among towering, lush green pine trees. Shortly after the town, the well-maintained gravel road winds through dense forests of pine and spruce trees, traversing the mountain slopes. Along the way, you will pass a few private proper...
Learn more about Washington Gaston

11E19-D10 is an easy ATV spur trail measuring just under half a mile long, often ridden together with 11E19 and D20 near Brimstone Campground. The trail allows two-way traffic with decent visibility, and it is covered in smooth red dirt with no real obstacles. It runs gradually overall, with only on...
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11E19–D20 is a 0.9-mile-long, easy ATV trail that runs mostly gradual with a few hairpin turns. The route passes through a mix of environments, with some sections more lush and lined with leafy Pacific dogwoods, and others drier with red dirt and tall sugar pines. The surface is smooth dirt and comp...
Learn more about 11E19–D20

Loop 7 is a very easy ATV loop in the Foresthill OHV System near Foresthill, California. The loop is just over 4 miles long, and remains wide and obstacle-free for the entire route. The trail winds along the hillsides through a dry and open forest of cedars, dogwoods, ferns, and manzanita bushes. So...
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Tie 3-4 is a 1.1-mile-long dirt bike–only trail that maintains a fairly wide path as it cuts through a dry pine forest. It connects Loop 4 to Tie 3-1. The terrain is dominated by dusty red dirt, loose rocks, and frequent rock features, including embedded ledges and foot-tall stair steps. Riders cro...
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Loop 2 is a long, but easy, single track within the Foresthill OHV System. There aren’t any major rock obstacles throughout the 7-mile route, but there are lots of tight twisty turns, a few logs down that you have to ride over, and some small climbs and easy switchbacks that keep it interesting. The...
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Brimstone (FS 24) is a fairly well-maintained road that connects Finning Mill Road, and Elliot Ranch Road. It is an easy route with multiple dirt-bike trail crossings, and access to three separate staging areas (Brimstone, Sugar Pine, and Parker Flat). It is an easy trail for new off-roaders to acce...
Learn more about Brimstone - S24

East Excelsior Point is a wide, single-track dirt spur that runs out-and-back to the southeast, part of the Burlington OHV Trail System off Highway 20 in Tahoe National Forest. The route holds a flat, easy grade for its full 2.1 miles, opening into occasional clearings with room to pull off along th...
Learn more about East Excelsior Point - FS 20-017-04

Elliot Ranch Road in Foresthill, California, is a rugged, unpaved route in the Tahoe National Forest, offering access to various recreational activities. It serves as the starting point for challenging trails like the Green Valley Trail, which descends steeply to the North Fork of the American River...
Learn more about Elliot Ranch Road

Tie 1-1 is a short 0.6 mile long ATV connector that links sections of Loop 1 and cuts off about a mile from the northwest corner of Loop 1. The route is straightforward and very easy, with mostly smooth ground and only a little bit of loose rock and sticks scattered along the way. The trail is gradu...
Learn more about Tie 1-1

11E19 is a 0.7-mile-long ATV trail with a red dirt surface winding through a forest of sugar pines. The route is wide and mostly gradual, with only a couple of very small rolling hills. It includes a straight section along with a few twisting turns through the trees. The trail is obstacle-free aside...
Learn more about 11E19

Loop 1 is a 6-mile-long ATV loop that begins directly from the Parker Flat Staging Area. The route is straightforward to follow with well-marked road crossings and intersections, and it offers several bailouts along the way. Riders can also shorten the loop by about a mile by using the Tie 1-1 trail...
Learn more about Loop 1

Elliot Ranch Road in Foresthill, California, is a rugged, unpaved route in the Tahoe National Forest, offering access to various recreational activities. It serves as the starting point for challenging trails like the Green Valley Trail, which descends steeply to the North Fork of the American River...
Learn more about Elliot Ranch Road

The trail begins just beyond the charming town of Washington, nestled among towering, lush green pine trees. Shortly after the town, the well-maintained gravel road winds through dense forests of pine and spruce trees, traversing the mountain slopes. Along the way, you will pass a few private proper...
Learn more about Washington Gaston

East Excelsior Point is a wide, single-track dirt spur that runs out-and-back to the southeast, part of the Burlington OHV Trail System off Highway 20 in Tahoe National Forest. The route holds a flat, easy grade for its full 2.1 miles, opening into occasional clearings with room to pull off along th...
Learn more about East Excelsior Point - FS 20-017-04

Milk - FS 19N00 is a peaceful woodland connector branching off Plantation Road - FS 19N16 and descending through the hills toward lower Forest Service corridors near Bullards Bar Reservoir. Managed by Plumas National Forest, the track traverses a lush, dense mountain environment sheltered beneath to...
Learn more about Milk - FS 19N00