FJ Cruisers of Northern California

Corral Hollow

Name: Corral Hollow
Location: Stanislaus National Forest
Trailhead: N38 27.42' W120 03.11'
Level: Easy - Moderate
Camping: Along the trail (dispersed - at least five are available), Sand Flat Four-Wheel Drive (dispersed), Wa Ka Luu Hep Yo (developed), Big Meadow (developed), Stanislaus River (developed)

The trailhead (approximately 0.5 miles west of Bear Valley) is rather non-descript from Highway 4. Once found, there is a small parking area with a sign.

The trail begins with grooves and becomes bumpy soon thereafter.

Pools of water can be found right off the trail during spring runoff.

The trail then begins to wind through tight passages of granite boulders and tree stumps.

The trail then smoothes out gradually and at approximately 1.6 miles into the trail, mule's ear begin to appear in abundance.

And soon, you will find yourself between acres of mule's ear.

Shortly after leaving the meadow of mule's ear, you will encounter a steep climb over loose rock.

Interesting trees line the trail.

In less than 0.5 miles, you will reach the top of the ridge.

At approximately 2.8 miles into the trip, you will encounter a wire gate. Be sure to close it once everyone is through. The last time we did the trail, the gate was broken and left open.

After the gate, you will come up on a campsite. This is a good area for lunch and can accommodate several rigs. Nice views of the valley can be had.

Snow can block the trail at the top of the ridge into June.

The trail winds along the ridge before slowly descending into Bear Trap Basin. Bear Trap Cabin can be found here.

The cabin is used primarily as an emergency shelter and is stocked with furniture and mattresses up stairs. There is a guest book to sign as well.

The cabin can be rather dark upstairs and may conjour up spooky thoughts.

Contact the forest service in advance if you plan to stay at the cabin.

The trail after the cabin becomes easier as it winds through meadows and spurs.

You will eventually reach Cabbage Patch Road, a wide gravel road that leads back to Highway 4.

Resources:
1) Guide to Northern California Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails by Charles A. Wells
2) Backcountry Adventures: Northern California by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson
3) High Sierra SUV Trails Volume II by Roger Mitchell
4) California Camping by Tom Stienstra

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by potatomutato on January 25, 2012 at 11:21pm

tough call, but my guess is no considering how much snow the Sierras got. you may be able to do Pine Needle Flat which is at a lower elevation on Hwy 4, west of Corral Hollow. best suggestion i can give you is call the forest service in advance and they can give you trail conditions.

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Permalink Reply by Shayne on July 23, 2012 at 4:48pm

Ran this trail on 7/21 Had a lot of fun, figured it was easy so safe to run alone (although I did check in at the forest station for any closures). My definition of easy was stressed a couple times along the trail. Had a nice run with almost no other traffic until the last mile with some landcruisers going the other way. Great views! Weird looking down a black diamond run without snow, doesn't look like much in the summer. Another surprise sitting up there under tarps, wonder why?

Many turns off the main trail, but main trail is obvious. If you run trail from western most entrance off hwy 4 when you pass through barbed wire gate you come to a rocky plateau. Trail is just beyond and is not as easily seen going in this direction. Some atvs who passed me came back because they thought it ended on the plateau. I think most enter trail .5 miles before bear valley. Trail is well cleared and maintained. I am guessing most rock hounds will not find anything challenging on this trail, fun for me though.

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Permalink Reply by potatomutato on July 23, 2012 at 10:41pm

Corral Hollow is one of my favorite scenic trails. lots of places to stop and enjoy the scenery and a few nice camping spots along the trail. i'll bet it was pretty dusty?

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Permalink Reply by Shayne on July 26, 2012 at 4:29pm

Nice breeze so dust only came back on me a couple times. I wasnt moving very fast either, most areas you could have walked at about the same speed. I wasnt In any hurry too much to see :).

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Permalink Reply by UlySi on July 29, 2012 at 11:12pm

Just got back from doin this trail some obstacles but nothing a stock rig can't over come.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Serl on November 22, 2012 at 2:20pm

This was the first trail I took my stock FJ on when I got it. I was a little worried at the start, since my old Toyota truck would not have had enough clearance to make it. Also, some mountain bikers passed me in an early rocky section, telling me I had better turn around, because it would get much worse up ahead. While I was worried as I went through the rocks, I did not scrape once in the rocky section. We entered the trail at about 3:30PM, so we arrived at the top at perfect timing for making camp. This is one of my favorite scenic camp sites ever.

On that trip (see my photo album), I only saw one truck (Nissan) and it was locked and parked at the top. I also saw one motorcyclist who went over to the ski area and came back and told us what he saw over there.

Absolutely beautiful trail.

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Permalink Reply by 5150 Cruiser on November 22, 2012 at 3:20pm

Wow. That was Me and Tater in those pics. I remember running that trail. Absolutely beautiful! Tater isnt kidding that Cabin is pretty spokky. I think that's where be broke for lunch. Good times.