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As Nevada backcountry goes, the Pine Forest Range is relatively intimate, at 25,000 acres. Access is difficult, but well worth it.
Three reservoirs and a chain of glacial lakes are filled with clear, clean water and provide some of the best fishing around. The mountains are jaggedly peaked, with highland meadows filled with wildflowers.
Roughly 25 miles of hilly roads run between water bodies, climbing some 2,000 feet to the Onion Valley Reservoir.
There are excellent foot trails from the reservoir to the Blue Lakes Threshold Trail and down the south side of the mountains, but this is wide-open country made for wandering. The perimeter roads are open to mountain biking. The interior trails are off-limits to mountain bikes.
The Blue Lakes are accessible only by hiking or horseback.
Temperatures in the mountains are a full 15 degrees cooler than the valley floor, and snowdrifts in August are common near Big Onion Reservoir.
The backcountry site also contains the Blue Lakes Wilderness Study Area.
Outdoor Activities |
In autumn, the Blue Lake area shows riotous color.
The textured topography around the Blue Lakes moraines.
The lovely shoreline around Blue Lake.
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