Butte Meadows Outdoor Adventurer Biking Hiking Trails

Get Outside in Butte Meadows

Get your wheels dirty in a pris­tine, high-ele­va­tion Sier­ra Neva­da set­ting, by head­ing up High­way 32 from Chico and explor­ing the lakes, dirt roads and trails of Butte Mead­ows. The area is pocked by Sier­ra lakes, mead­ows and streams, and open for explo­ration by off-road­ers with a sense of adven­ture (so make sure you’re dri­ving an appro­pri­ate vehi­cle!). Expe­ri­ence the pine and gran­ite envi­ron­ment of upper ele­va­tion Butte Coun­ty by nav­i­gat­ing the roads and trails through­out Butte Meadows.

Hik­ing

The Cher­ry Hill Hike is a 1.31 mi with a total ascent of 773.76 feet and has a max­i­mum ele­va­tion of 5,745.93 feet. There are oth­er hik­ing paths in the area to enjoy!

Bik­ing

The Col­by Moun­tain Look­out Area offers a vari­ety of snow-cov­ered cross-coun­try ski­ing and snow­mo­bil­ing trails (60 miles over three trails!) in the win­ter that are just as fun when explored on two wheels in the sum­mer! Dur­ing warmer months, there are flow­ing creeks and lush green mead­ows that may be very marshy. The trails have great foot­ing but some roads can be a lit­tle rocky. Col­by Moun­tain has a fire look­out that affords a panoram­ic view of Lassen Nation­al For­est. This ride offers soli­tude and good odds of see­ing wildlife such as bears and deer.

Dri­ving Directions

Approx­i­mate­ly one hour dri­ving time from Chico. Take Hwy 32 head­ing east. About 15 miles beyond For­est Ranch, turn right on Hum­boldt Road. About five miles past Butte Mead­ows turn left into the Jonesville Snow­mo­bile Area park­ing lot. Head back along the road to pick up the trail through some wood fences, cross the creek, and you will come to one of the marked trails.