Walker Ridge Road is a fun ridge run with fantastic views down to Indian Valley Reservoir to the west and Bear Valley to the east. Beyond that are the seemingly endless scalloped ridgelines of the geological fault zone that lies between Clear Lake and the Sacramento Valley. Located entirely on BLM land, It is popular with offroaders, hunters, and target shooters. There is a nearby campground situated alongside the reservoir, on which fishing, boating, and swimming are encouraged.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
Exclusive for our All-Access Members
Easily identify whether the trail is stock friendly
or not.
View 14 specific concerns along the trail such as
height and width restrictions.
Upgrade from free to our All-Access Membership and get
every detail, waypoint, photo, and more on every single
trail guide.
When you are an All-Access member, our trail guides
come with a short video of the author running the trail
to give you a visual understanding of what to expect.
From Williams, CA: Drive approximately 27 miles west on Highway 20 to Walker Ridge Road.
From Clearlake Oaks, CA: Drive east on Highway 20 approximately 14 miles to Walker Ridge Road.
This is one of my favorite trails - I take it all the way to Bartlett Springs, and around the reservoir, then exit by Clear Lake - about 45 miles of trails altogether. Lots of scenic views, good places to pull over and have lunch or just relax. I enjoy leading groups of first time off-roaders out there to help build confidence and help them see the joy of being out in nature off the beaten path. The entire trail is SUPER easy. There are some offshoot trails you can take that are a bit narrower or require a bit more ground clearance, but overall the entire area is very easy.
Way to over tan to enjoy by the ATV-Side by Side crowd . Plus definitely rude & inconsiderate people frequent. This was the third time I visit and the worse . Any other time for a review would have been a better review . Never will go again.
The trail was very easy to drive. it's possible to make this trail with a 2wd. there were several different campsites including Blue Oak campsite which is located to the right side as you go along the trail. I understand this is a popular target shooting area but this place was riddled with bullet holes and ammo casings, everywhere we turned for potential camping spots it was just too much it was kind of a turnoff for me and my crew as campers. There was also a lot of trash and broken beer bottles everywhere. as explorers and adventurers, it's up to us to keep the places we travel clean. Overall, fun beginner trail for someone looking to see if this is what they want to do.
I had so much fun going up this trail. It was up high with nice view and my stock Land Rover did just fine. (I even saw a Honda Ridgeline going up). Saw few people camping and some were shooting. It gets bumpy but nothing extreme. Worth a visit for a beginner!
Nice trip; explored some mines, a little target shooting, and some canoeing.
The Indian Valley Reservoir campground was closed (seasonal?) so we stayed at the Blue Oak Campground (free, has a single vault toilet and six sites).
Thanks for the excellent description; I wasn't aware of this place.
From the Community
Exclusive for our All-Access Members
Ask the author of a trail guide any questions you may have and
get a direct answer from the author and the community! One of
the many perks that come with an All-Access Membership.
By clicking "ACCEPT", you agree to be the terms and conditions of each
policy linked to above. You also agree to the storing of cookies on
your device to facilitate the operation and functionality of our site,
enhance and customize your user experience, and to analyze how our
site is used.