Looking For Extremely Low Mile Overnighter?

[giantbrookie]

Lot's to choose from close to Fresno. I will list some from N to S:
Hwy 41/Beasore Rd. etc.
Jackass Lakes. This is something like 2 mi in from the Norris Trailhead.
Lady/Madera Lakes etc. This is something like 4 mi in.

Hwy 168 (Fresno's High Sierra backyard)
Kaiser Wilderness.:Twin Lakes is popular at about 3 mi in from Sample Meadows; George L. in a mile further is better.
168 toward Florence & Edison.
Cunningham L. is nice (3 mi therabouts)
Crater (about 4 mi or so) is really nice (from Florence).
168-Dinkey Cr. Road Dinkey Lakes Wilderness, Dinkey Lakes trailhead (high clearance best for final two miles to trailhead). First Dinkey, Mystery etc. are within 3 mi of the trailhead with elevation gain <1000'.

168-Courtright Res. Hobler L. is about 3.5 mi in but this is with a bit of 4WD assist. I think it's more like 5 mi w/o the 4WD takeoff.

168-41 area notes: With 4WD a number of other possibilities present themselves. One doesn't necessarily have to 4W to the destination (commonly requires a high degree of vehicular and driver capability) but this can cut some hikes down to very short distances (many destinations will come in at <3 mi).

Hwy180. Jennie Lakes Wilderness, Weaver L. about 2 mi from Fox Mdw trailhead.

[rlown]

I'd say the Chain Lakes but after the road and trail melt so it's passable to get there.

[InsaneBoost]

Lot's to choose from close to Fresno. I will list some from N to S:
Hwy 41/Beasore Rd. etc.
Jackass Lakes. This is something like 2 mi in from the Norris Trailhead.
Lady/Madera Lakes etc. This is something like 4 mi in.

Hwy 168 (Fresno's High Sierra backyard)
Kaiser Wilderness.:Twin Lakes is popular at about 3 mi in from Sample Meadows; George L. in a mile further is better.
168 toward Florence & Edison.
Cunningham L. is nice (3 mi therabouts)
Crater (about 4 mi or so) is really nice (from Florence).
168-Dinkey Cr. Road Dinkey Lakes Wilderness, Dinkey Lakes trailhead (high clearance best for final two miles to trailhead). First Dinkey, Mystery etc. are within 3 mi of the trailhead with elevation gain <1000'.

168-Courtright Res. Hobler L. is about 3.5 mi in but this is with a bit of 4WD assist. I think it's more like 5 mi w/o the 4WD takeoff.

168-41 area notes: With 4WD a number of other possibilities present themselves. One doesn't necessarily have to 4W to the destination (commonly requires a high degree of vehicular and driver capability) but this can cut some hikes down to very short distances (many destinations will come in at <3 mi).

Hwy180. Jennie Lakes Wilderness, Weaver L. about 2 mi from Fox Mdw trailhead.

Is there anyway to find the exact locations of these trailheads? Normally I can find some info on some of the hikes via alltrails and what not, but not coming up with anything.

Also, I have a CR-V. Will that have enough clearance for these roads that would be best used with 4WD? Or are those roads legit offtrail kind of stuff where I'd want a Jeep at minimum?

[AlmostThere]

You can get to Maxson trailhead and Cliff trailhead at Courtright Reservoir on paved roads. Getting to the easier trail into Dinkey via Rock Creek or Tamarack requires a little bravery with 2wd or a high clearance vehicle, particularly the final mile to the trailhead, but that would be the easiest of the hikes to First Dinkey lake.

Kaiser from Sample Meadows is the simplest hike ever. Just a bit of hill climbing to the Twin Lakes.

Another option - hike from Maxson TH (this is the east shore of Courtright) a few miles on the Dusy Ershim to the Voyager Rock campground and you can take a campsite with a bear locker, and let everyone play on the shores of Courtright Lake itself. Rent a boat from Herb Bauer in Fresno and take it up there with you to haul in all the gear and stuff, or drive in with a high clearance 4wd with it (the DE is much more OHV and not a Jeep road at all north of Voyager but F150s and the like make it as far as the campground). You do not need a wilderness permit. You can day hike to Hobler, go up Maxson Dome, walk the shores of the lake fishing, go boating, have a nice campfire ring and ice chests, etc.

[InsaneBoost]

Anyway to see what these roads look like?

[AlmostThere]

I don't stop to take pictures on them, sorry. In our mere 2wd we dare not lose any momentum.

That last mile to Willow Meadow has one turn that has roots and rocks to beat the band -- no planning the approach, just bruting your way up and hoping you don't get stuck is all you can do. It's a bouncy ride. That's if the one section does not wash out completely when the snowmelt hits it.

The problem will be timing. If the Four Wheel Drive Club does not go in til late July to chainsaw all those dead trees out of the road, no one is getting to Dinkey via Willow Meadow in July at all. They'll go when the snow melts. PG&E will happily fix the paved roads to Courtright, no problem, they'll keep those open no matter what. The Forest Service doesn't do anything out there - all volunteer work and the power companies.

Our trail crew will probably be busy in Dinkey in late July, but not from Willow Meadow until the FWD club gets out there. We'll go do the Cliff Lake trail section first, most likely. Work the trails over the ridge to Rock and Second Dinkey Lakes from that direction, if not the whole loop. But it's a ways to haul rock bars and saws.

A CRV would probably do all right on the Forest Service roads into Willow Meadow. But that bit between Maxson TH and Voyager Rock would high center you for sure. Regular vehicles need not apply - you need some really good clearance.

[InsaneBoost]

No worries. Photos just usually help me estimate. Wonder if there's any YouTube videos I can find on this place. Are they just called Rock Creek Road and Tamarack Road?

I'm pretty good on backroads, but you definitely seem to know the areas so I'll take your advice.

[AlmostThere]

There are youtube videos about the rock-crawling four wheel drive routes and hiking to the lakes themselves.

Here are the motor vehicle use maps for Sierra National Forest:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sierra/m ... rdb5414896

You will want to look at Dinkey East and Tamarack. (Hope you have broadband.)
The roads are marked for varying levels of vehicular travel.

As you look at the Tamarack map, note 168 in the left side of the map. Note 9S14A, the first turnoff - I take the second turn on the 9S09 and follow it back to 9S69 and then 9S10. That is the Tamarack Route. I can get to the junction of 9S10 and 9S62 in my Mazda 3. Going the last leg on 9S62 to Willow Meadow I either ride with someone with a Jeep or truck, or walk.

The Rock Creek Road route comes up from the bottom of the map and is the southern portion of 9S10. If you look at Caltopo that is easy to eyeball however it is incorrectly labeled Red Creek Road (Caltopo is wrong A LOT and I consider it unreliable unless you use the Forest Service overlay). Turning off Dinkey Creek Road you go north on 9S09 and continue on 9S10. The road is variably paved -- if you are good at dodging bathub sized potholes one can maintain the blistering pace of 30mph otherwise plan for a full hour driving from Dinkey Creek Road to the trailhead.

[AlmostThere]

Another easy hike would be to park at the gate on the Brewer Lake OHV route and walk it to Brewer Lake. Not shown on the map is Tocher and Beryl Lakes, which are between Brewer and Coyote Lake. Short hiking, though there are some areas of rocky loose terrain. Not many people in this area and no wilderness permit needed, and the 4WD clubs have an outhouse and established campsites at Brewer.

[AlmostThere]

By the way... if you don't want to cross the creek at Willow Meadow, instead of going the official trail, follow the railing away from the trail sign and walk away from the parking lot into the trees until you find the old but usable trail that starts, and stays, on the northern side of the creek. It completely avoids two deep wades across the creek in the first half mile. The trail is a little rocky in places but a lot of trails are in this area. This trail is depicted on Tom Harrison's Dinkey Wilderness map. On CalTopo, click the Aerial Topo Hybrid layer to see this option. On that layer there is also visible the trail from Brewer to Coyote Lake -- I've taken backpacking newbies to Coyote Lake that way, it's about six miles with decaying trail and sections of easier cross country.