Poker Flat Trail

midniteT4Rtrail

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Hey all! I'm heading to Downieville and the Sierra Buttes. I'm looking to hit Poker Flat trail and Sierra Buttes trail. Has anyone else been through there ? Thanks for the feedback.
 
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Yes several times its a great camping spot and a fun drive through to La Porte with cemeteries, historic buildings and good camping. Unless you explore off the main road the trail can be done in a stock suv. It is also worth stopping at the look out even if the gate is locked its a short walk with amazing views. I would check the snow levels before you leave just to make sure its passable. I have not explored the surrounding OHV roads.
 
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I was up at Sierra Buttes last weekend. Trail up to the lookout tower still had a ten foot snow drift covering it blocking access. Fun trail still though - can't wait to go back after some more warm weather melts the snow!

Thanks for the 411. Was that on Poker Flat or Sierra Buttes trail? Easy to turn around?


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While I have yet to wheel the Poker Flat trail, I organized and lead a run in the Lakes Basin last year. There are a bunch of really fun and scenic trails from mild to extreme in the area. My crew from ClubFrontier.org came up and camped for the weekend and had a blast. I am hoping to get back up there later this year after the snow melts.

Here is a link to the picture thread: http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/...uttes-nor-cal-trail-run-august-2016-a-252514/

Here is a link to a thread on IH8Mud that has an excellent map and more info: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/northern-ca-gold-valley-snake-lake-deer-lake-sierra-buttes.775565/

There are a couple events that happen in that area every year that can cause problems with trail access and should be avoided, 8/3-6 is the Downieville Downhill mountain bike race and 8/10-13 is the Sierra Trek 4X4 run with Cal4Wheel.

Post up or PM me when you determine when you are going and maybe I'll join you. I do not recommend wheeling on the trails we ran last year alone.... Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
 
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Thanks for the 411. Was that on Poker Flat or Sierra Buttes trail? Easy to turn around?


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Sierra Buttes trail. I have not run Poker Flat (we considered it though). Easy enough to turn around. Tight trail at that point but I could back up and turn around my TJ without issues. Please note that the part I'm referring to is just the spur up to the tower where, eventually, you have to park and hike up to the tower. The rest of the trail should be passable (we approached from the north side so I can't speak to the southern portion with the switchbacks coming up from Sierra City, CA).
 
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Sierra Buttes trail. I have not run Poker Flat (we considered it though). Easy enough to turn around. Tight trail at that point but I could back up and turn around my TJ without issues. Please note that the part I'm referring to is just the spur up to the tower where, eventually, you have to park and hike up to the tower. The rest of the trail should be passable (we approached from the north side so I can't speak to the southern portion with the switchbacks coming up from Sierra City, CA).

For reference, here is the spot where we turned around last weekend.
 

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