stanislaus national forest

Not nationally known, the Stanislaus National Forest has some of the finest hiking trails in the United States. Get a map at the ranger station. Chat with them. Some of the rangers are very knowledgeable, others are pathetic. Consider a walk in Bell Meadows, a bike ride up to Dodge Ridge from Pinecrest Lake, a high altitude hike to Blue Canyon Lake and Deadman Lake, a four mile hike to Boulder Lake (the last mile is straight up) , another hike to Bear Lake & Camp Lake, bushwack around the Dardanelles, or use the same parking lot and trailhead to hike to Sword Lake, and don't forget the walk to Eagle Peak, or more than a walk to Granite Lake, or to Powel Lake & Chewing Gum Lakes (one of my favorite hikes), and don't miss hiking from Kennedy Meadows to Relief Reservoir, and lastly consider the hike to Waterhouse Lake & Adele Lake.

We decided to take the long route back home to include this in our trip; SO GLAD WE DID! Some of the most beautiful forest my husband and I have ever seen!!!

Love this area with all the forest, lakes and rivers. Fresh air, friendly people and great hiking for all!

What a gorgeous place. Really enjoyed Pinecrest Lake and the drive along the Sonora Pass. There is an amazing vista called Donnell - great place to take a little stroll down to an amazing view.

We stayed at Dimond O campground for a couple of days in late June. When we made our reservations for Yosemite, we were unable to get into any of the camp grounds on the valley floor inside the park, so we settled for Dimond O. It was a very rustic campground. Other than some community water and very clean vault toilets, there are no amenities here. It is a beautiful place, nestled several miles off the main road, along the middle fork of the Toulumne River. However, it will take you 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes to travel to the Yosemite Valley Floor from Dimond O. When I made the reservation on the NPS website, it listed Dimond O as 5 or so miles from the entrance to the park. What we didn't know was that the valley floor is another 24 miles from the entrance to the park. Dimond O is 8 miles from the entrance to Yosemite so 32 miles in total to the valley floor where the central activity for Yosemite takes place. I think as long as you are aware how far you are from the "activity" of Yosemite, if that is what you're there for, then it is fine. If you're going to Hetch Hetchy, you're in a great location with Dimond O. Would recommend as this is a beautifully peaceful place.

We went to a Rainbow Pools and what a beautiful sight to see! Fun and safe natural swimming pool for families. My husband and some of the other people we were with did some cliff jumping off into the pool below. You can also hang out above the waterfall at the top in another pool. It is rocky so wear some good shoes but it is very very pretty! Mother Nature at its best!

What is there to say about a National Forest? We stayed in Pinecrest for a few nights and went to the lake, saw the eagles, hiked around the dam, and enjoyed the vastness of it. We have been to Columbia hundreds of times. Yosemite is breathtaking....Lucky to have such a place so close to home.

Such a big big forest... so many places to see, campgrounds, snowmobiles inthe winter, horses in the summer. Mountain Passes, logging roads in the middle of nowhere. And its all in California. May as well be in Montana or Colorado! No, this is better.

There is a wild river that remains in these parts...the Staislaus has three forks but the one I know can be reached by descending from the neighborhood after the Calaveras Big Tree park...ask the locals and be aware of the rules and wild life.One of the clearest and beautiful when you hike in about a mile...

This is not a bit different but SO much less crowded than Yosemite. It is very cool on the mountain during the summer and trees and scenery are awesome. Not to be missed! If you are still for a bit you will see some animals, mostly deer...the bear are usually shy and so are many of the other little animals. Tons of things to see.

Views are wonderful & stunning, checkout the Sonora pass

This is one of the most beautiful places in the world, I wish we had planned more time to explore and soak it all in. Beautiful beautiful.

Beautiful and not crowded this time if year. Fall colors and some snow.

I recently camped at Pinecrest Lake with friends. It was wonderful. The campgrounds are well-maintained, the bathrooms were "do-able," the hiking had wonderful views and the lake was wonderful to swim in. Overall, a great experience. Just know that there aren't any lights inside the bathrooms so as long as you have a flashlight, you should be fine. I was also able to enjoy the outside amphitheatre and watched a movie there. It was nice to watch a movie under the stars and for $6.00, you can't beat that!

Sonora Pass: Wir mussten den SOnora Pass (Route SR 108) nehmen, da die Straße durch den Yosemite (SR120) wegen Schnee gesperrt war (13.Juni!!!!)Zuerst haben wir uns sehr geärgert, weil es auch ein Umweg von ca 50 Meilen war, aber dann waren wir begeistert!!! Die Straße durch den Stanislaus National Forest ist landschaftlich so schön, dass der Weg durch den Yosemite dagegen verblasst (nicht Yosemite Valley, sondern die Straße über den Tioga Pass).Herrliche Flüsse direkt neben der Straße, schöne Wanderwege und Vulkanische Besonderheiten wie Basaltpfeiler, sowie Schneebedeckte Viertausender und blühende Frühlingswiesen im Vordergrund.Jede Menge naturintegrierte Campingplätze an landschaftlich schönen Stellen und überhaupt nicht überlaufen.Wir hatten leider nicht viel Zeit, weil wir eigentlich nur von Westen nach Osten kreuzen wollten und ein Hotel in Bishop vorgebucht hatten, aber diese Strecke werden wir sicher mal mit mehr Muse wieder angehen.