2004 Spring/Summer/Fall Series Historical SUV Trips
With the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs
The California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs and many of its clubs annually host narrated backcountry historical trips that are tailored for famlies with sport utility and other four-wheel drive vehicles. Typically, these are one and two-day trips to visit scenic and historical sites in California and Nevada. The trips are carefully planned with safety being paramount and require occasional mild four-wheeling. The following list of events is not meant to be all-conclusive. As other trips are added, we will get information to you. Here are the trips that we have planned so far:
May 15 - SUV Tour of South Cow Mountain near Ukiah: Hosted by the Mendocino 4X4 Club, this trip affords participants to travel over many of the 200 miles of trails and unimproved roads in the 23,000-acre South Cow Mountain park, operated by the Bureau of Land Management. $30 per person, which includes a trail lunch. Contact Jim Looney at (707) 462-3281 or Mike Woll at (707) 485-0346.
May 22 - 2nd Annual Gold Country Historical SUV Run: Hosted by the Sierra Treasure Hunters four-wheel drive club, this annual trip takes participants into the high Sierra to various historical gold rush towns and scenic sites. The trip will begin at the Empire Mine in Grass Valley and include a continental breakfast and gourmet trail lunch. Cost is $50 per person and children ages 12 and under are welcome free of charge. Contact Ron Kellogg for more information at (916) 714-3230 or email kelloggr@saber.net.
July 16-19 - Lassen-Applegate Historical Trail Ride: Retracing the historical trail used by more than 8,000 early pioneers in 1,500 covered wagons during the 1849 to 1852 gold rush period. The trip begins in Lovelock, Nevada and concludes in Surprise Valley, California, located near Cedarville in California in northern Modoc County. Cost is $250 per adult; $125 for children age 11 and under. Cost includes all meals. Contact Ron or Carole Vance at (775) 246-4099 or email vance@intercomm.com.
July 17 - Cody Meadows SUV Run: Hosted by the Capital City Mountain Goats four-wheel drive club. Attractions on this trip include a visit to an active line cabin used by cowboys driving cattle, the “Devil’s Garden,” scenic overlooks viewing Cody Lake, Horseshoe Falls, Strawberry Canyon, Kirkwood Meadows Ski Ranch and Caples Lake. BBQ lunch, trail snacks and drinks provided. Cost is $55 per adult; $25 children seven through 17 years of age and children under seven are welcome free of charge. Contact Dennis Bartholomew at (916) 421-7788.
August 5 - Historical SUV Tour of Lake Tahoe area: This trip is part of the 38th annual Sierra Trek, the largest all-volunteer 4X4 event in the U.S. The trip begin at the Meadow Lake base camp and takes participants to the Donner Memorial, Blackwood Canyon and Ellis Peak, where you will have a 360 degree panoramic view of Lake Tahoe, the eastern portion of the famous Rubicon Trail, Desolation Wilderness and many other points of interest. Cost is $130 for adults and $35 for children, which includes all meals from Thursday breakfast through Sunday breakfast. Contact Bob Reed at (925) 447-3142 or email robertreed5@comcast.net.
August 7 - Narrated SUV Tour of Meadow Lake area: This Sierra Trek SUV trip will afford participants the opportunity to visit historic mining camps, portions of the famous Henness Pass Road, a stacked masonry dam and a journey to the top of the Sierra Divide, where on a clear day you have magnificent views of Mt. Lassen, Castle Peak, Old Man Mountain, Signal Peak and the Sierra Buttes. Cost for this trip is $110 for adults and $35 for children. Cost includes all meals from Friday evening dinner through Sunday breakfast. Contact Bob Reed at (925) 447-3142 or email robertreed5@comcast.net.
August 7 - Bear Valley Trip: Also part of the annual Sierra Trek event, this trip is organized for SUV and other four-wheel drive owners looking for something a little more challenging. Cost for this trip is $100 for adults and $35 for children and includes all meals from Friday night dinner through Sunday breakfast. Contact Bob Reed at (925) 447-3142 or email robertreed5@comcast.net.
September 11 - Mormon Emigrant Trail Ride: Hosted by the Flat Fender Jeep Club, this narrated trip begins in Placerville and ends in Genoa, Nevada. Participants will learn about the early Mormon pioneers’ travel, when they were called back to Salt Lake City. Participants will hear quotes from their diaries and visit locations where there are still visible ruts left by their wagon wheels and explore their old campsites. Cost for this trip is $75 per vehicle. Guests will furnish their own food and beverages. Contact Kate or Oly Olson at (530) 622-1117 or email canvsnowmobile.com.
September 18-19 - Bodie Ghost Town Loop near Bridgeport: This trip into the rolling Bodie Hills is being hosted by the California Assn. of Four Wheel Drive Clubs The trip takes in the remains of an old mining region, including the ghost towns of Masonic and Bodie. For trip prices and more information, contact Oly or Kate Olson at (530) 622-1117 or email canvsnowmobile.com.
October 16 - Slate Mountain Trail Trip: Hosted by the Capital City Mountain Goats 4WD Club, this trip takes participants from Placerville into the high Sierra to an old suspension bridge across Mosquito Canyon, an old forest service lookout atop Slate Mountain and the ruins of a 1920’s, six-story hotel hidden in the forest over growth. Cost for the trip is $55 for adults, $10 for children seven through 17 years of age and children six and under are free. Cost includes a gourmet hot lunch, outhouse trailer, booklet for the trip, trail snacks and soft drinks, and a dash plaque for each vehicle. Contact Dennis Bartholomew at (916) 421-7788 for reservations or more information.
