Eldorado National Forest

Recreational Activities

Mokelumne Wilderness

General Information and Regulations

• Campfires - Campfires are allowed below 8,000 feet in elevation. Camp stoves are allowed in the entire wilderness. Your Wilderness Permit is also your campfire permit while visiting the Mokelumne Wilderness in a location where a campfire or camp stove is allowed.
• Campfires are prohibited in the following locations:
  • Above 8,000 feet.
  • Carson Pass Management Area
  • North Fork Mokelumne River Canyon along Salt Springs Reservoir and the Blue Hole Trail (see Blue Hole Fire Restriction link)
• Campfires are prohibited to reduce human-caused fires, impacts to vegetation from firewood collection, and to reduce the visual impacts of fire rings and surface scarring.
• Method of Travel - Travel is restricted to horseback or foot only. Trails in the Mokelumne Canyon are maintained in a primitive and challenging condition and are not recommended for stock use. All means of mechanical transportation, including bicycles, are prohibited in wilderness. Wheelchairs are allowed. Stay on trails and do not shortcut switchbacks or create parallel ruts by walking alongside the trail.
• Waste - Visitors are required to bury human waste 6 to 8 inches deep and at least 200 feet away from water, trails, and campsites. Toilet paper must be buried or packed out. Garbage must be packed out.
• Group Size - Maximum group size: 12 people for day-use, and 8 people for overnight use.
• Pets - Domestic pets are allowed in the Mokelumne Wilderness at this time. You are responsible for their actions as well as their welfare. In the Carson Pass Management Area pets should be leashed or physically restrained at all times. Elsewhere within the Wilderness, dogs should be either leashed or under direct voice control. Dogs can disturb other campers, get in fights with other dogs along the trail, and scare wildlife away. The Amador and Alpine County leash laws will be enforced inside the Wilderness boundary where dogs off leash are an impediment or hazard to the safety of any person, or where dogs are harassing or molesting wildlife.

BLUE HOLE FIRE RESTRICTIONS

Campfires have been restricted along Salt Springs Reservoir, including the Blue Hole Trail, in order to limit the potential for wildland fire as outlined in the 2000 Mokelumne Wilderness Management Guidelines: Land and Resource Management Plan Amendment.  

MORE ABOUT MOKELUMNE WILDERNESS

Mokelumne Critters : Mokelumne Wilderness provides visitors with the opportunity to witness a diverse population of wildlife.

Mokelumne Geology : The geologic history of the area now known as the Mokelumne Wilderness has been long and complex, and what is visible today reveals only a fraction of this.

Mokelumne History  : The Mokelumne Wilderness has a long history of use by both Native Americans and European settlers.

Mokelumne Plant Life : The Mokelumne Wilderness possesses an incredible diversity of plant life and a number of unique remnant species for the area. There are several Special Interest Areas in the wilderness area.