Late March backpack 3 hours from Sacramento?

[Saxon]

Does someone have suggestions for a three day out and back or loop trip below 4,000 feet and about 3-4 hour drive from Sacramento please?
My partner and I are level 2 experience backpackers and not off trailers yet.
15-20 miles for the three days is ideal.

[balzaccom]

Look at Henry Coe State Park as an option. Lots of hike there, lakes, Coast Range scenery.

[dave54]

Ishi Wilderness.
But it burned last year, so you may want to wait another year. The wildflowers should be fantastic then.

[c9h13no3]

Big Sur & Point Reyes are worthy of a mention. They’re both ocean scenery but total opposites. Point Reyes is heavily visited and well maintained. Big Sur… you’ll want to wear pants.

Boronda Ridge or Post Summit in Big Sur has the classic ocean views.

[FrankPS]

You could go to Rancheria Falls at Hetch Hetchy.

[balzaccom]

Just an FYI, but here are some photos and a bit about the Coast Range right now:

Now that the weather is getting better, it's time to get back to work on the trails. I spent Saturday working on the Soscol Headwaters trail system--fourteen miles of new trails in a wonderful area in the hills above southern Napa. Terrific views, great people, and a nice sense of accomplishment. And a big project to manage with a very small budget. Volunteers are making this whole thing possible.

We repaired some of the damage done by recent storms and marauding cattle, grading the trail for better drainage, installing a couple of stone drains, and generally making the trail more secure against future problems. We're keeping an eye on the big storm forecast for next week, but we think we've resolved most of the cattle issue. And once these trails get a chance to settle in a bit, they should be good to go for the summer, and many summers beyond.

Here's a link to some photos of the crew at work, including a few beauty shots of what the views and terrain up there are like. Wonderful spot.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FfL18aPBLURwAPru9

[wildhiker]

Not much at lower elevations in the Sierra. More in the Coast Ranges. Check out the Cache Creek wilderness area (BLM). Lots of trails in the corner where highways 16 and 20 meet, downstream from Clear Lake. About 1 hour 15 minutes from Sacramento, according to Google Maps. The Tuleyome group has trail guides for some of these trails on their website: https://www.tuleyome.org/trail-guide Use Caltopo.com maps with the Mapbuilder Topo base layer to see all the trails.
-Phil

[Saxon]

Hey to all the suggestions, thanks so much, these all look like excellent opportunities. Note that last year at this time in March, we did an out and back on the South Yuba River from the trailhead at the town of Washington. There were limited camp sites along the way but the trail is gorgeous and few if any people along the route (18 total miles).