State Parks and National Parks

More than 1,000 developed campsites serve visitors who come to hike, backpack, fish, swim, ride horseback and ski in the Stanislaus National Forest.

Created in 1897, it is among the oldest national forests in the country.

Hikers, horseback riders and backpackers have 480 miles of trails to explore and more than 1,000 miles of abandoned roads to use. Mountain bikers have 2,000 miles of unsurfaced roads and 150 miles of trails.

The popular Emigrant Wilderness covers 112,000 acres of the 899,000-acre forest. Broad expanses of glaciated granite, towering lava-capped peaks, alpine lakes and deep, granite-walled canyons fill the wilderness. Elevations range from 6,000 to 12,000 feet.

The Kennedy, Emigrant, Deer, Wood and Buck lakes and the Kennedy Meadows, Gianelli, Crabtree and Bell Meadow trails are the most popular.

The Stanislaus also provides access to the south side of the rugged Mokelumne Wilderness. A visitor permit is required to hike in this wilderness from late May to mid-September.

Photo credits in order: Courtesy of Stanislaus National Forest.