Soda Creek Logging Camp

Soda Creek Logging Camp offers an engaging and scenic all-day offroad adventure through historic timberlands, making it perfect for beginners and families seeking a beautiful mountain drive with deep historical roots. Running approximately 18 miles between Highway 108 and Highway 4, this route climbs from 3,380 feet to a peak elevation of 5,815 feet, accumulating over 2,430 feet of total elevation gain. Traversing ungraded logging roads, drivers will experience a mix of pavement, deep dust, and occasional rocky patches that require a basic high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle. Because this remains an active timber harvesting area, travelers must drive slowly and remain alert for oncoming logging trucks. The journey highlights the beauty of the Sierra Nevada, passing near Beardsley Lake and winding through the scenic Stanislaus National Forest. Accessing the trail from the Highway 108 side involves driving down to the Beardsley Reservoir, crossing the dam, and navigating up through the Peeled Onion, which typically takes one to two hours to reach the main route. For a longer and more immersive journey, starting from the Highway 4 side near Dorrington and Sourgrass along Forest Service Road 5N02 extends the drive to at least four hours and showcases more of the surrounding backcountry. Along the way, offroaders can appreciate the rich heritage of the area, which was once part of the Sugar Pine Railway where steam trains hauled timber from the Soda Creek Camp. Rated a 2 on the technical difficulty scale, the route is highly accessible during the dry season but is completely closed to vehicle traffic after the first winter snowfall.