Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Phoenix Lake, California

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 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 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 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, over all the loose rock, making it hard to maintain traction and not get pinged around. It goes through a re...
Learn more about 16EV258

The east end of this trail starts on the forest road 3N63, and it goes west for 1.5 miles, meandering through gradual hills and descents in a pine forest. There are a lot of downed logs that have been cut and are now lining the trail, so you want to watch your pegs on all the downed trees. It winds ...
Learn more about 16EV257

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...
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Forest Service 3N90 winds deep into the timbered backcountry of the Stanislaus National Forest, serving as a scenic out-and-back spur through active forest management country. The track rolls beneath a towering canopy of ponderosa pines, incense cedars, and firs, flanked by thick green underbrush on...
Learn more about FS 3N90

This is a short and easy trail that is easily accessible near the Deer Creek Staging Area, making it a good option for beginner riders not too far from the staging. It’s only .6 miles long, connecting two forest roads. The west end starts on a shelfy hillside elevated above the forest road, winding ...
Learn more about 16EV272

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 starts on the west side with a semi-steep hill climb up into the forest, then winds on a narrow path between a tight corridor of manzanita trees. It turns right at an intersection, and steeply descends down a curvy path that keeps winding through the oak trees. There’s a couple big logs d...
Learn more about 16EV136

This trail starts on FS 3N35, climbing up onto a hill of tall pine trees on a narrow path that is a mix of loose rock and soft dirt. There are lots of small, loose, volcanic-looking rocks as it goes through grassy and dry hillsides. It winds through the sparse forest, with very gradual curves and sm...
Learn more about 16EV236

This short and easy trail starts on the Forest Service Road 4N16 and goes north, passing the intersection with 16EV136 in a dry and grassy meadow with loose rock. It continues into the forest of pines and oaks, winding on a smooth dirt path with not many rocks, but roots here and there. A lot of dow...
Learn more about 16EV244

The north end of this 1.9-mile-long trail starts out climbing up from the Forest Service road, up a steeper slope with loose rock, narrowing up between lots of scrub oak and manzanitas. There are several downed logs sticking into the trail that you have to skirt around. It curves gently through the ...
Learn more about 16EV101

Forest Service Road 3N69 begins directly off Highway 108, passing through an open, lockable gate along the boundary between Sierra Pacific Industries land and the Stanislaus National Forest. This route serves as a key woodland connector, offering dependable throughput deeper into the forest and link...
Learn more about FS 3N69

This is a short and easy dirt bike trail that winds through a dry forest of pine trees, on a smooth dirt path covered in pine needles. There aren’t many rocks, and it is consistently fast and flowy through the trees. The biggest concern on this trail is watching your head on a lot of thick spiky dea...
Learn more about 16EV141

FS 2N06 branches east off FS 3N07 within the Stanislaus National Forest, serving as a primary backcountry artery that provides access toward Thompson Peak and numerous side spurs. The surrounding landscape features a classic Sierra woodland environment that alternates between dense conifer canopies ...
Learn more about FS 2N06

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

Forest Service 3N90 winds deep into the timbered backcountry of the Stanislaus National Forest, serving as a scenic out-and-back spur through active forest management country. The track rolls beneath a towering canopy of ponderosa pines, incense cedars, and firs, flanked by thick green underbrush on...
Learn more about FS 3N90

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

Forest Service 3N90 winds deep into the timbered backcountry of the Stanislaus National Forest, serving as a scenic out-and-back spur through active forest management country. The track rolls beneath a towering canopy of ponderosa pines, incense cedars, and firs, flanked by thick green underbrush on...
Learn more about FS 3N90