State Parks and National Parks

The Modoc National Forest offers outstanding camping, fishing, hiking, cross-country skiing and backpacking. Medicine Lake, a 600-acre, natural alpine lake at 6,700 feet elevation, is a major drawing card.

Modoc is the most remote national forest in California and offers excellent opportunities for wildlife watching and undisturbed wilderness backpacking.

The South Warner Wilderness is a rugged land of expansive vistas, hills, mountain meadows, clear streams and the highest peaks in northeastern California.

Lakes in the South Warner area offer prime fishing for rainbow, eastern brook, redband and brown trout. There are 79 miles of maintained trails suitable for horses and 23 additional trail miles that are not maintained.

There are 22 campgrounds. With the exception of those at Medicine Lake, they are rarely filled to capacity except on holiday weekends. Many campgrounds are adjacent to some of the best fishing in California.

The Emigrant Trails Scenic Byway is the newest addition to the Forest Service Scenic Byway system. The byway connects to the existing Outback and Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byways in Oregon and California, and the Modoc and Shasta Volcanic Scenic Byways in California. The Emigrant Trails Scenic Byway serves as a connecting route for a future scenic byway to Lake Tahoe.

The route starts in the northeast corner of Modoc County at New Pine Creek, where the Outback Scenic Byway ends. The route travels south down U.S. Hwy. 395 to Alturas and then heads west on State Hwy. 299 to Canby, Calif. At Canby, the route turns northwest along State Hwy. 139 to Tulelake, where it will connect with the existing Modoc Volcanic Scenic Byway and Shasta Volcanic Scenic Byway.

Photo credits in order: Courtesy of Modoc National Forest.