WILDERNESS AREAS
A footbridge on the Pacific Crest Trail.
COMPLETELY
Mark Kidder
Special wilderness areas of the forest are managed to protect and preserve their pristine natural values. These areas offer excellent hiking, backpacking and horseback riding in a primitive, completely undeveloped setting. In the Plumas National Forest, the 23,958-acre Bucks Lake Wilderness near Bucks Lake has a broad diversity of plant life, trees and landscape features. Ranging from 2,000 to 7,017 feet in elevation, Bucks Lake Wilderness includes gentle slopes, steep canyons and
sheer cliffs. Most of it is rugged with human access difficult. The Pacific Crest Trail crosses the wilderness, and Lassen Peak is visible on clear days, 40 miles to the north. The Caribou Wilderness area is located in the Lassen National Forest just north of the Almanor Basin. This is a gentle, rolling forested plateau dotted with mountain lakes, cratered peaks and cinder cones, evidence of Caribou’s volcanic past. Hiking here is generally easy.
Star Gazing and Cloud Watching Brilliant star-filled skies are one of the first things visitors notice about Plumas County, with its lack of city light glow. The county is located midway into the Northern latitude, and visitors can enjoy an amazing 360-degree view of the nighttime sky. The air in the remote Northern Sierra is also quite clear, making for better viewing overall. Plumas County’s varied microclimates and weather conditions also make for some dramatic cloud formations, sunrises and sunsets, attracting photographers and cloud spotters.
No permits are needed to visit these wilderness areas, but fire permits for primitive camping are required. Visitors to these areas are asked to tread lightly and leave nothing behind. Mechanical vehicles (including mountain bikes) are not allowed. Contact the Plumas and Lassen National Forest offices listed on page 10 of this guide for wilderness camping rules and to obtain maps.
Protecting the places that make the Feather River special 530.283.5758 75 Court St., Quincy, CA www.frlt.org • frlt@frlt.org
Christmas Tree Cutting Start an old-fashioned family tradition and come to Plumas County to cut your own Christmas tree! Bring your saw, your vehicle and the kids, and set out for the woods to find the perfect tree. You can make a weekend of it, playing in the snow, shopping quaint town stores, eating out, and relaxing in a cozy rented cabin in the woods. You’ll find a variety of aromatic evergreens on designated sections of the Plumas and Lassen national forests. Tree permits at $10 each are for sale at Forest Service offices and by mail. The tree-cutting season begins at the latest by Nov. 1. For more information contact the Forest Service offices listed on page 10 of this guide.
2017 – 2018 PLUMAS COUNTY VISITORS GUIDE
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