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Eldorado National Forest
California
Northern California's Eldorado National Forest is situated just west of Lake Tahoe and includes the glacially carved granite peaks of the surrounding central Sierra Nevadas. The landscape, sculpted by the Ice Age, is barren and raw and recalls the austere black and white images captured by the photographer Ansel Adams. Desolation Wilderness is typical of the forest's stark beauty with its string of alpine lakes and the giant five-square-mile granite bowl at Desolation Valley.
Impressive sheer-walled canyons have been cut through mountainous topography by the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, American, and Rubicon rivers. The forest's vegetation consists largely of chaparral, conifer, fir, and subalpine. Elevations vary wildly, ranging anywhere from 1,620 feet to 10,380 feet.
Gold discovered on the American River triggered the 1849 California Gold Rush. And although you can still pan for gold, the true treasure is the abundant trout in the forest's 620 miles of rivers and streams. Fisherman can also try their luck on one of the twelve reservoirs, including the Hell Hole where kokanee salmon and mackinaw are pretty much a sure thing during the spring and fall.
Wintertime lures cross-country skiers to the Loon Lake Winter Recreation Area. Impressive backcountry ski trails traverse the lodgepole forest and granite bowls that surround the lake.
The forest is less than an hour's drive from Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley. If you're making the drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, you can do it in less than four hours. Major airports are located in Sacramento and Reno, Nevada.
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