Wet Weather Closes Some Forest Roads For Winter

Sonora, CA — Beginning next week some roads and trails in the Stanislaus National Forest will be off limits.

With the recent stormy weather bringing rain and snow forest officials have decided to shut down seasonal roads and trails starting Dec. 15 and running through April 14th of next year. Forest spokesperson Diana Fredlund explains, “The Stanislaus National Forest does not maintaine the roads for winter or wet weather use. What happens is the wet saturated road beds can easily be damaged and that costs a lot to repair so they are able to be used in the spring time and summer.  In order to protect them and because the weather can just turn so quickly, we close off most of the roads and the trails to motor vehicles.”

To view the Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map showing the closures, click here. However, Fredlund also recommends calling the local Ranger District office for the most up to date information on roads and conditions before traveling on the Forest.  The numbers are listed below:

• Stanislaus NF Supervisor’s Office:  209-532-3671
• Calaveras Ranger District:  209-795-1381
• Groveland Ranger District 209-962-7825
• Mi-Wok Ranger District 209-586-3234
• Summit Ranger District 209-965-3434