Established Camping
Snow Mountain Wilderness
About
USDA Forest Service
The Wilderness Act of 1984 established 23 new wilderness areas including the 60,000-acre Snow Mountain Wilderness in the Mendocino National Forest. The Snow Mountain Wilderness straddles the summit of the North Coast Range within Colusa, Glenn and Lake counties. The area is less than a four-hour drive from San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Sacramento. The central feature of this wilderness is the large broad topped Snow Mountain, which drains water toward the Sacramento River on the east and the Eel River Basin on the west. The wilderness also has the largest known waterfall on the forest. Elevations range from 1,800 feet in the gorge of the Middle Fork of Stony Creek to 7,056 feet on the summit of East Snow Mountain Peak. The deep canyons skirting the Wilderness compress ecological life zones creating a unique biological sky-island. Forty miles of trail are located in the wilderness. This leaves a vast amount of acreage very remote and highly conducive to cross-country exploration. The moderate hike to the top of East Peak affords visitors a magnificent view of the Sacramento Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east, Clear Lake to the southwest, the Coastal Mountains to the west, and the timbered mountains of the Mendocino National Forest to the North. Good drinking water is scarce in the Snow Mountain Wilderness during much of the summer. Plan ahead and refill canteens at every opportunity. Mountain streams may look inviting but they may not be safe for drinking. Treat all water for drinking and cooking by either processing through a portable water filter or by boiling over a portable cook stove.
Access
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
Features
For Campers
- Drinking Water
Snow Berryessa Wilderness - Cache Creek
Easy to reach, great in beauty backpacking trip. Wildflowers are plentiful in the spring.
Hike into campsites right on Cache Creek. If flow allows you can continue on after fording the creek into the Cache Creek WIlderness are where there is a resident herd of elk.
No services. Water can be obtined from the creek but needs filtering. Campsites are delineated and many have rock fire rings. I have not fished here but have seen many others coming in to do just that. Have seen eagles in the canyon everytime I have hiked in.
- (5) View All
Location
Snow Mountain Wilderness is located in California
Coordinates
39.41570279 N
122.738228 W