Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Paynes Creek, California

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…
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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 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 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…
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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 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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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

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,…
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Tight, windy trail that drops down into a small canyon. The original second half of the trail is washed away, so it now ends sooner, but it ends in a nice flat area to disperse…
Learn more about Oak Flat

This trail takes you up the side of the canyon on multiple different shelf roads, ending in trees and a wider trail. It stops at Butt Valley Dam/Reservoir. Looks to have a road around it…
Learn more about Caribou

This trail follows an easy ridge route with scenic views into the valley at several points. A wildfire in 2024 left areas with downed trees after storms, and a few small wash sections are present…
Learn more about Martin Creek

Single wide trail with multiple turnouts and areas to pass. There were a couple of areas to disperse camp. A couple of small washes, but easy to navigate, and some good views of the valley…
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The trail is wide with nice gravel. The entire route has road signs, so you can't really get lost. Up by the actual lake, the gravel road gets steep, but some pavement has been put…
Learn more about Crater Lake

Easy flat gravel trail taking you around the back side of Little Bald Rock. A couple of areas to turn out and hike up. Ended at a closed gate. There was a big fire in…
Learn more about Cross Up

This is a fun singletrack accessed from the west side of the trail system that goes through dry and grassy terrain. The trailhead is on the corner of a switchback on 25N14 road, and it…
Learn more about Lower Indian Falls Ridge

This trail is rated as a Level 1 difficulty. It offers a relatively easy experience, characterized by a flat, well-maintained road predominantly composed of gravel and dirt. However, it should be noted that during winter,…
Learn more about Sly Creek Trail

This is a 1-mile connecting piece of trail between the upper and lower segments of the Acorn Grotto Trail. This segment is easy, as it climbs up a hillside on a wide smooth path for…
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This is one of only a few ATV trails in the Mount Hough Trail System. It's primitive and overgrown, mostly following the path of an old forest road. It climbs up a hillside next to…
Learn more about Cashman Ridge

This is one of only a few ATV options in the Mount Hough Trail System. It starts near the Mount Hough Trailhead on the north end at a marked entrance, and descends down several wide…
Learn more about 10M29

Mount Hough is the longest trail in the trail system, at 11 miles long, and is popular with downhill mountain bikers as it is a fun and flowy descent, dropping almost 4,000 feet in elevation…
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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…
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Huffleberry is a short connector trail - 1 mile long - that connects the road 10M20 to the Berry Creek Trail. It's mostly a semi-steep descent from south to north, as it side-hills across some…
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This is a short connector trail in the Mount Hough trail system. The south end starts across from the Fireline trail, and after .6 miles it joins the Berry Creek Trail. It's overall very easy…
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This is how you will get from Spaulding Tract out to county road A1, also known as Eagle Lake Road. The route is dusty and a bit rocky, but not hard. Trees will be down…
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The west end of Fireline starts across the road from the Berry Creek Tie, and it makes a .7 mile long loop to the main road (403) just south of the 4 Corners staging area.…
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Mix of fire roads and old logging roads. The area has been scorched by fire recently. There are a lot of downed trees that cross the trail, be prepared with a chain saw or chain/rope.…
Learn more about Happy Valley Ridgeline

The MX track is located at the Four Corners Trailhead, and it makes an easy loop that is less than half a mile long. It's a more primitive track with a light layer of small…
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