Tag Archives: high clearance

California 4×4 Club

4WD clubs / 4×4 off road / 4×4 vehicles / 4×4 club

California has no shortage of 4 wheel drive vehicles, but how many of them actually use them for what they were intended? If you’ve had your 4WD for a while and are itching to get to know the local trails, then grab yourself a few good OHV maps & head for the hills.
If you are a total novice and think you might want to get familiar with routes, what your vehicle can and cannot do, and learn the ropes from the pros, then you might want to discover the friendly folks in your local 4×4 club. Below we list as many legitimate groups we can find, with or without web sites. If your club is not listed, then please contact us & we might add it.
anzawashes
Anza Borrego Desert Washes

Off roaders (with running rigs) can enjoy pre-planned back road trips with various 4×4 Groups in California:

The very best place to start searching for 4WD routes inside California — is right here on Total Escape. After you’ve narrowed it down to a general location, then buying a decent topo map is a necessity. We have extensive sections devoted to California back roads, SUV interests, OHV Parks, off road tour guides, and of course, offroad trail maps.

califrepublic

Giant Sequoias
Hidden Sequoia Groves, Western Divide

 

4WD clubs
4×4 Camps @ Los Padres National Forest

DanaMite’s dirt roads list

4x4

Lake Davis

Baker Creek
Upper Baker Creek, Inyo NF – 4×4 Camp

Canyon Creek Campground

Tucked way back in the granite high elevations, near Donner Pass is a wilderness water flow called Canyon Creek. Connecting small lakes and big reservoir, this creek is part of the Nevada District water supply. The Sierra Nevada region is Tahoe National Forest and the terrain is abundant rock.

Campground is perched on the edge of rock overlooking the impressive whitewater; sounds of crashing water at certain campsites is deafening. Half of the campsites are located in a forest loop and the rest are out in the open, with much granite and fewer trees, perfect for star watchers.

Canyon Creek California

 

creekcanyon

Lake Faucherie is a mile up the creek and Sawmill Lake is a mile down stream, so it’s a great fishing location, as well as hiking, kayaking and canoeing destination. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is also routed close by. A hiking trailhead at the north end of Sawmill Lake leads to a loop hike of small lakes.

Tahoe Rd 843

roughest roads in the region

 

Campground loop is paved, but the 12+ mile access road is NOT.
Twenty plus miles of paved & gravel backroads in boulder-hopping bliss, leads to granite lined lakes and forested campsites. Two different driving routes into this canyon:

  • One is the longer way Road 18 – paved access off of Gold Country Highway 20, which becomes an 8 mile long, rocky, rough, one-lane road around Bowman Lake.
  • The other is slightly shorter, county road #843 that comes in the back way from Jackson Meadow Reservoir (off Hwy 89, N of Truckee).

Both of these primitive roads join at Jackson Creek Campground, a favorite among off-roaders.

Canyon Creek Campground is another few miles up Road ##843-037, a rugged canyon route towards Lake Faucherie, where the road comes to a dead end.

Don’t let the old maps fool you: these National Forest Roads are labeled as gravel roads, but boulders and rock slides are quite common. 4×4 would be nice, but high clearance is recommended.

Minimal signs designate trails, roads and lake access; What signs that do exist are old, faded and broken. No warning signage reading ‘high clearance’ or ‘4WD recommended’ – so obviously Tahoe NF won’t be installing new signs anytime soon.fish

  • backpacking

  • camping

  • canoeing

  • fishing

  • hiking

  • kayaking

  • stargazing

Grassy Picnic Faucherie Lake

Faucherie, Sawmill and Bowman Lakes are all along this waterway called Canyon Creek.

National Forest Campground
Latitude: 39.436863
Longitude: -120.579564

Canyon Creek Campground

• Elevation: 6600′
• Number of Sites: 20
• Toilet: Vault
• Vehicle Access: High Clearance Vehicle, no trailers
• Campsites Reservation: No
• Camp Fee: No
• Length of Stay: 14 Days
• Season: June – October
• Trailheads: Faucherie & Sawmill Lakes
• Managing agency: Nevada Irrigation District
530-265-5302

Small Site

Canyon Creek Campground is an excellent campground for staying away from the crowds, which seem to focus more around Bowman Lake & Jackson Meadows Reservoir.

check

All campsites at this campground have steel bear boxes – for proper food storage in black bear country.

granite camp

Prefer camping outside of developed campgrounds? then the primitive camp sites that line Canyon Creek will be a welcomed surprise. Most are clearly marked with small signs and some may require 4×4 to access. When fire restrictions are tight, campfires are only allowed in the developed campgrounds.

granite loop
Two paved loops at this small campground.

pinetree

Off-Road Maps PDF

Off Pavement California

PDF Off-Road Maps for California

Printable, downloadable
“Portable Document Forms” collected from various sources.

Anza Borrego Ocotillo Wells Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/ocotillowells.pdf

Burney Falls Back Roads
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/burneyfalls.pdf

Death Valley Overview Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/DEATHVALLEYmap.pdf

Eagle Lake Off Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/eaglelake.pdf

Hat Creek Off Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/hatcreek.pdf

Kern Plateau OHV Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/kernplateauOHV.pdf

Lake Almanor Off Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/almanor.pdf

Lake Mohave NRA Map (South)
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/LakeMohaveNRA_S.pdf

Lassen Forest Off Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/lassenpark.pdf

Pozo Off Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/pozo_map.pdf

Rock Front Ranch OHV Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/rockfrontOHVmap.pdf

Shasta Chappie Off Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/Chappie_Map_Side.pdf

Westwood Susanville Off Road Map
https://totalescape.com/tripez/PDFs/westwood.pdf

SUV Trail

Baker Creek
Baker Creek, Inyo NF

Since sport utility vehicles were invented for California yuppies, it makes perfect sense that this California market also has the awesome terrain to use these rugged rigs. After the first shopping cart door ding or windshield crack, most folks are open to taking their utilitarian vehicles on dirt roads, but some will only dream about it.

big bear joshua trees

Here at Total Escape, we are here to change all that. The fear of outdoors, the unknown, the capability, the driving skill. Your SUV is a good reason to be outdoors in the golden state, at bare minimum. No excuses. Enjoy the California you never knew – and sometimes that means getting off the pavement. Yes, more than 2 miles.

SUV trail – any path, dirt road or route that can be driven on; high clearance vehicle are often necessary, 4×4 needed on occasion. National Forests, canyons, deserts, mountains, country lane style drives, some classic routes skirt the wilderness boundaries. We have it all for ya here. Rock crawling Rubicon adventures, all the way down to the leisurely ‘Sunday drive’ thru a forest to a meadow for a picnic. 

Jeep trails, forest roads, graded roads, gravel roads, back roads, dirt roads, 4×4 routes, OHV (off highway vehicle) trails.

MAPS will get you out there!
suv road trip
Dust, dirt, mud, snow. Beyond the county line, way back there, where you can discover ghost towns, old mines in the desert, hot springs, historic lodges, petroglyphs, river gorges, fire lookouts, waterfalls, and so much more.

Get motivated and travel in your SUV:

cattle roads

SUV camping

sierra roads