Featuring lots of small springs, ridges and peaks, steep canyons, and two perennial springs, Twin Peaks Wilderness Study Area is every camper’s paradise for opportunities to relax, refresh and enjoy outdoor activities. Visitors seeking solitude also find lots of space here to fulfill their desire. This BLM park that lies within Lassen County in California and Washoe County in Nevada can be easily accessed via major highways and local roads from both County areas.
As long as you are here, you can take part in outdoor activities like hiking the wonderful canyon areas and scenic trails, and viewing the plant life such as grasses, big and low sage, junipers, scattered fir, and aspen fill the elevated and lowland areas in this BLM wilderness area. Wildlife such as antelope, deer, chukar, and golden eagle are present in the park.
Adventurers can take trips to any of the nearby attractions like the Pyramid Lake, Honey Lake Wildlife Area, Eagle Lake, and Black Rock-High Emigrant Trails NCA where there are even more things to do like fishing, hunting, picnicking, swimming, and boating.
Primitive camping options are present in the BLM park, while semi-primitive and modern camping options are available outside the wilderness study area.
Twin Peak Wilderness Study Area is located within Lassen County in California and Washoe County, Nevada. This Bureau of Land Management property can, therefore, be accessed from both counties. Visitors coming in from Lassen County will be able to gain access to the wilderness study area off US Highway 395. County Road 447 and Smoke Creek Road are the access routes into the wilderness study area from Washoe County. High clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended for easy navigation through the rough dirt roads that lead to the BLM property.
Within the wilderness study area, the use of motorized vehicles and equipment is not allowed to ensure that the study areas stay preserved, so be on the lookout for signs and posts that indicate where the boundaries of the wilderness are.
There are no direct public transportation services to this BLM property. If you wish to make use of recreational vehicles and trailers nearby, you’ll find rental services at Lassen County, California and Washoe County, Nevada.
Parking spaces are available around this BLM park boundary areas for guests to park their vehicles outside the study area.
Several camping options are provided at Black Rock-High Rock Emigrant Trails NCA campground. Guests can choose between any of the primitive to semi-primitive camping areas available. For visitors who want to exploit any of the dispersed campsites, the facilities along the western edge of the playa present ample opportunities for solitude.
Semi-primitive camping facilities are present in the Soldier Meadows camping area in the NCA, with amenities such as a vault toilet, primitive cabin, walking trails, parking areas, and fire pits.
Stevens Camp also offers fire pits, picnic tables, a vault toilet, and fire grill for guests. A cabin equipped with running water, shower, and generator connection is also provided in the NCA.
Lying west of Twin Peak Wilderness Study Area is Eagle Lake, the second-largest natural lake in California. The lake is surrounded by sage and pine trees and is great for relaxation. For more engaging activities, you get to choose which interests you among boating, swimming, picnicking, and fishing.
What makes this area particularly attractive to recreational enthusiasts are the facilities available. Boaters, picnickers, and swimmers can visit the marina present by the lake, and make use of laundry and shower facilities provided. A biking trail is also available.
The 12 square mile Honey Lake Wildlife Area is a sagebrush habitat that surrounds Honey Lake in the Great Basin Desert near Twins Peak Wilderness Study Area. Here, alkali-tolerant vegetation sits along the banks of the lake and guests get to see tundra swans on the wetlands. Other wildlife species that are sighted by keen observers here include beavers, nesting and migratory waterfowl, pronghorn antelope, passerines, and deer.
Additional recreational opportunities here include hunting for rabbits, snipe, pheasants, and doves. Ensure you abide by hunting regulations in force.
Pyramid Lake is a good place for angling enthusiasts at this BLM park to pursue their recreational interest, particularly due to the fact that the lake is popular among tourists for its Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (LCT). This high-desert lake features emerald waters that are also well-known for the native Cui'ui species that can grow to trophy sizes. Opportunities to fish from the shore, boats, and aluminum ladders are presented to visitors.
LCT fishing season is from October to June, while Sacramento Perch fishing is open year-round.
Nature observers love to visit Twin Peak Wilderness Study Area for the resplendent flora and beautiful fauna that decorate its corridors.
In the higher elevation areas in the wilderness, alpines are the major flora that sit on the large cirque basins and exposed rocky basins. The lower vegetation areas are characterized by dense mountain brush, grass, and oak/maple as well as scattered fir and aspen.
This wilderness study area supports the survival of fauna such as antelope, deer, chukar, and golden eagle.
A visit to Black Rock-High Rock Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area is on the cards for all campers and guests at Twin Peaks Wilderness Study Area. At the NCA, there are many recreational opportunities on offer.
If your interest is to enjoy the sights and sites, you’ll find plenty of spectacular spots in the large and flat alkaline Black Rock Desert playa, the High Rock Canyon gorge, and the natural hot springs. In addition, there are a couple of historic wagon trails that hikers can also explore.
There are good opportunities for guests who visit this study area with their hiking boots to enjoy strolls along scenic trails that add up to about ten miles. The trailheads along the canyons around the wilderness attract lots of visitors year-round. Because of the strenuous and steep nature of some of the trails, hikers are advised to hydrate and prepare adequately for the exercise. If you visit on a weekend, you’ll see many other trail users stretching their legs along the park’s trails.
