NorCal places to offroad!

Anyone been up to Bear Lake near Tahoe? Thinking about heading up there Sunday night...

 

No, Mas. Never been there. But what is that spiral-bound map you have there?

 

I got the same book, it’s the “Guide to Northern California Backroads and 4 Wheel Drive Trails” by CharlesWells and Matt Peterson. Got mine through Amazon. He has a series of similar titled books for Arizona and Utah.

 

Yup!

 

I'll check it out--thanks, guys!

 

Also in North Bay and new to Tacoma. Would be down for a meet up and some easy trails when it dries up if anyone is thinking about it.

 

I would recommend Panoche Hills. Nice easy trails within striking distance of Bay Area, but this weekend may the lasts time you can get there before they close the area for Fire Seasons concerns.

 

List of places i have found in northern cali to go offroading
https://theadventureportal.com/californian-overland-trails/

 

Can you give me more info about these trails? I never knew there were any trails in those hills.

 

This is gold! Thanks for sharing

 

What ever happened to Google Foo?

 

You can google the directions. I came down I5 and got there pretty easily.
Once there, it's a gravel/washboard road for maybe ~5 miles or so that winds up into the hills.
A ton of people shoot there, so you will pass people target shooting and day camping.

The fun begins once you get up to altitude. There's a lot of semi-technical trails that you can take a wonder across ridge lines and up and down various mountains/hill ranges.
Its mostly steep, narrow climbing and maneuvering type stuff. No boulders or anything like that. There are no trees really. It is quite bare, other than tall grass, but the views are incredible.
One could probably wander for quite a ways.
No cel service.

I noticed when I was there that it looks like the area is closed from apr->sep due to fire season. It is a giant tinderbox for sure.

 

These guys also have some good trails in norcal: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/states/CA

 

Hey guys, new to Tacoma World! Have a 18 Tacoma that I just lifted and got a winch/bumper set up a few weeks ago.
Went and checked out Corral Hallow OHV just outside of bear valley yesterday with some jeep buddies. 13 mile trail. We started about 11 am and finished around 4. Took some stops for photos/breaks and packed a lunch in. Mostly fire roads but some mud/snow and tons of rocks. Some tight turns in a Tacoma with the rocks and trees but my jeep buddies made it through just fine. Made for a really fun day. Definitely would recommend.

 

Just got back from chappie shasta ohv. I'm all stock and did pretty well

 

Cow mountain has been a fun area to hit. Obstacle course area, with quite a few trails. Spent many days exploring around there. And whenever looking for more backcountry, there's always thousands a miles to run through in Mendocino Forest.

 

Hey guys. I just got back from Whiskeytown. Some of the off-road trails were closed but the area was a lot of fun. I was hoping to make it to Shasta Bally but the trail was gated off.
The water was great as it always is.

 

I’m considering coming down to check out the Tahoe/sierras region this weekend for about a week. Looking for “overland” adventures. Is the Lost Sierra loop worth the drive? I have an 18 TRDOR with skids and sliders but not chasing hard to get to scenery more than technical trail. Open to other suggestions as well. Looks like going down the 395 is popular.

 

There's a lot. My personal favorite is the 395 side of the sierras and into Nevada.
Patterson Peak (just outside of Bridgeport) is a really fun climb, and since nothing is on fire yet (afaik) it's probably worth it for some spectacular views.
Kavanaugh Ridge is another cool climb.
Depending upon how technical you want to go, you could try looking at the "2022 NorCal Wheeling, Camping, and Fuckery Thread" thread. There is quite a bit of talk on the Niagra Rim and a few more challenging spots on the west side of the Sonora Pass.

 

Thanks! I’ll look into all those. I may have bit off more than I can chew with my research time and how long I have to do this. Going to start with buck rock at kings canyon and then work my way back north.