Dirt Bike 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

Looking for a nice day trip? Paper Cabin is a decently long drive and can get pretty rough at times. This trail switchbacks up the canyon and to the top of the ridge where it then drops back down to an old mining cabin. There are tons of mines in the area including Buchanan Mine and others, with ple...
Learn more about Paper Cabin Ridge Trail

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 is the only ATV trail near the Deer Creek Staging Area, and is probably mostly used by dirt bikes to access the trail system. It’s a short trail, only 1.4 miles long, and it mostly climbs up from Italian Bar Road to FS 4N16 on a semi-steep path with sections of loose rock. It’s pretty narrow be...
Learn more about 16EV223

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 west end of this 0.7-mile-long trail starts at an intersection with 16EV258 and winds through the scrub oak and tall oak trees. It’s pretty tight in sections between the trees, but the trail stays relatively easy, without much rock. There are lots of cut logs and stumps hiding within the bushes ...
Learn more about 16EV254

Starting from the intersection with 16EV254, this trail is marked as "Most Difficult". It winds through the scrub oak on a dry hillside, weaving tightly between lots of scraggly branches that grab you and sometimes block visibility. There is a moderate rock obstacle between the oak brush that is a s...
Learn more about 16EV253

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

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 climbs up from 16EV54 and connects north to FS 3N63. As of September 2025, there were tons of large logs down that hadn’t been cleared, which will have to be ridden over or cut. Some are skinnier logs elevated above the trail, making it even more difficult to jump or lift over. Some will ...
Learn more about 16EV248

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

The southern end of this trail is marked with a trail sign at the entrance, but it immediately goes through a forested area that has been logged, so the hillside is mostly full of mulch and debris, which makes the trail difficult to follow. The hillside is extremely loose, silty, and hard to maintai...
Learn more about 16EV109

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 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

Looking for a nice day trip? Paper Cabin is a decently long drive and can get pretty rough at times. This trail switchbacks up the canyon and to the top of the ridge where it then drops back down to an old mining cabin. There are tons of mines in the area including Buchanan Mine and others, with ple...
Learn more about Paper Cabin Ridge Trail

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 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

Looking for a nice day trip? Paper Cabin is a decently long drive and can get pretty rough at times. This trail switchbacks up the canyon and to the top of the ridge where it then drops back down to an old mining cabin. There are tons of mines in the area including Buchanan Mine and others, with ple...
Learn more about Paper Cabin Ridge Trail

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