Crandall Peak

Coordinates:  38°09’39″N 120°07’31″W  Map Link

Elevation: 4,900′

Description:  Crandall Peak OHV staging area is about 125 road miles from Livermore and takes about 3 hours at the speed limit.  Info on the campground and OHV area are here.  Included below are directions to both the Crandall Peak staging area as well as the Deer Creek staging area.

Directions to Crandall Peak OHV staging:

  1. From the San Francisco Bay Area, take 580 East to 205, and then follow 205 until it turns into I-5 North.
  2. Stay in the right lane on I-5 and exit on 120 East.
  3. As 120 East approaches Highway 99, move into the left lane and take the Highway 99 North exit.
  4. Just after merging onto Highway 99 North, take the Yosemite Ave. (Highway 120) exit, and turn right onto Highway 120 East. Camp will be approximately 64.4 miles from this exit.
  5. Follow Highway 120 until it joins Highway 108 in downtown Oakdale. Turn left and continue East on the combined 108/120 route.
  6. Stay straight on 108 when Highways 120 and 108 split.
  7. On the East side of Sonora, when the Highway 108 bypass rejoins Mono Way, there will be about 20.3 miles to go to get to the Fraser Flat Road turn off. Turn left and stay on highway 108.
  8. As you continue up 108, you will pass an exit to Long Barn on the right. The Fraser Flat exit will be about 6.4 miles past this exit. As the divided road ends, there will about 2.2 miles to go before the Fraser Flat exit.
  9. As you approach the Fraser Flat Road exit, you will see a sign, on the right side of the highway, for Spring Gap and the Fraser Flat and Sand Bar Flat Campgrounds. At the Fraser Flat Road exit on the left, there will be signs, on the right side of the highway, for Jenness Park and Camp Hi-Sierra. The Crandall OHV parking area will be about 7.2 miles in from highway 108.
  10. The road down to the Fraser Flat Campground is paved – stay on the paved road until you reach the campground entrance. There is an up-hill road to the right, with a sign to Strawberry, just before you reach the campground – stay straight (left) at this intersection. The Campground entrance is 3 miles in from highway 108.
  11. Pass by the entrance to Fraser Flat on the paved road which is now 4N42. It will turn into a dirt/gravel road in .2 miles. At 2.3 miles from the Fraser Flat Campground entrance, the road will fork, with 4N01 going down to the left and 4N42 continuing up to the right. The roads are signed and there will be a sign on the right that points left to Crandall OHV Parking. Take 4N01 to the left.
  12. At about 1.2 miles along 4N01, you will see an unmarked road to the left. Stay right on 4N01. This narrow unmarked road on the left does lead into the Crandall OHV parking area, but it may not be suitable for RV’s and large trailers.
  13. At 1.7 miles in from the junction of 4N01 and 4N42, 4N88 crosses 4N01 at a narrow angle. It comes in from the right side behind you and crosses over to the left ahead of you. Continue to the left on 4N88. Note that 4N88 is unmarked in this direction but 4N01 is marked on the road to the right.
  14. As you take 4N88 to the left, the road bends to the left. In just about 500 feet or so (about 1/10 tenth of a mile) you will come to an intersection of roads and trails. Take the uphill road just to the left and you will arrive in camp.

Directions to Deer Creek staging:

  1. From the San Francisco Bay Area, take 580 East to 205, and then follow 205 until it turns into I-5 North.
  2. Stay in the right lane on I-5 and exit on 120 East.
  3. As 120 East approaches Highway 99, move into the left lane and take the Highway 99 North exit.
  4. Just after merging onto Highway 99 North, take the Yosemite Ave. (Highway 120) exit, and turn right onto Highway 120 East. Camp will be approximately 64.4 miles from this exit.
  5. Follow Highway 120 until it joins Highway 108 in downtown Oakdale. Turn left and continue East on the combined 108/120 route.
  6. Stay straight on 108 when Highways 120 and 108 split.
  7. Exit Highway 108 at Twain Harte and follow the old highway into the main part of town.
  8. Go left on Joaquin Gulley, which takes you under the big sign and through town.
  9. One mile later, the road becomes Middle Camp Road.
  10. Go left and the Y and take South Fork Road. (You will pass Sierra Pines golf course). The road turns to dirt.
  11. Continue on the dirt road and cross the Stanislaus River, which is about 5.3 miles out of town.
  12. After you cross the river, turn left on Italian Bar Road and travel 3.2 miles to Cow Camp.
  13. At Cow Camp, turn right on the dirt road, which doesn’t look like much of a road. This is marked with the letter P on the map. (If you travel to the cement bridge, you’ve traveled too far.)
  14. Currently, the original staging area is not open, so we can stage just off the main dirt road on the left.

Hotels in area:

  • Closest hotels are in Twain Harte and Sonora.

Other Information:

Stanislaus National Forest
19777 Greenly Road
Sonora, CA 95370
209-532-3671

Mi-Wok Ranger Station
Mi Wuk Village District
24695 Highway 108
Mi Wuk Village, CA 95346
209-586-3234