Friends of the High Lakes

Home
United States
Paradise, CA
Friends of the High Lakes

Call Directions Website Contact the organization

FOTHL is a grass-roots organization comprised of volunteers who help in keeping the High Lakes open for recreation. while using a motorized vehicle.

Friends of The High Lakes is a grass-roots organization comprised of individuals, local businesses, recreational clubs, and user groups who love to recreate in The High Lakes Area in the Lassen National Forest. Friends is comprised of a growing number of outdoor recreationalists, who consider themselves to be environmentalists and conservationists rather than preservationists. We have come together in an effort to work collaboratively with land management agencies to ensure that recreational opportunities remain available by responsibly maintaining and protecting the environment. We believe that public lands should be FOR the people to use and enjoy. That includes the pursuit of whatever activities people choose, such as fishing, camping, hiking, exploring, picnicking, hunting, rock hounding, geocaching, etc. Friends of the High Lakes is the vehicle to bring together those who responsibly use the land and wish to improve recreational opportunities through support and volunteerism while caring for the environment.

09/11/2026

If you get a chance before you come up Saturday, pull up the map (or the one in your brain), and see which campfire ring and trail you want to clean. Saddle Lake? Bear Lake? Pine Creek out past Grassy? Mud Lake? Salsa Lake? Maybe spend all morning filling the mud hole!

When you get there, sign in and we’ll have the map out and just cross off that spot when you claim it. Super simple. If you see us overwhelmed, just jump in and help for a bit.

In the afternoon at Morris I will plan to give a 20 minute update on issues around the High Lakes, then Q&A.

Nick

09/07/2026

Come on up for a nice day of trail maintenance this Saturday. We have a few small items we hope to get done.
If each volunteer can:
1) bring a double garbage bag and clean out one firepit
2) move one log off the trail
3) pull debris and blocking rocks out of one rolling dip or stream crossing
4) pick one load of rocks out of the Stairsteps area and dump them in the mudhole
then that should get us all ready for winter!

See you then!

06/21/2026

“The 10-Minute Volunteer”
… the Rock Party at the Mud Hole has started …

Some non-statistical statistics from this ad-hoc test session:
- Everyone was pretty dang happy
- Everyone driving by volunteered, picked & tossed some rocks
- over half had never been to the High Lakes
- over half were in sxs’s (and still took rocks)
- over half had never seen this Fb page
- one guy was even at the LAST rock drop event, and was there with his family.
- the rocks filled in faster than thought
- we have PLENTY of rocks

YOU NEXT WEEKEND?

06/18/2026

Remember this? We all picked up and dropped rocks in mud holes and got the trails back open. We just got approval from the LNF to start dumping rocks into the 611/614 mud hole. The Pair-O-Dice 4-Wheelers will be organizing the main workdays since it is their Adopt-A-Trail section (more to come on that). Meantime, anyone and everyone that passes that mud hole can start dumping rocks into it NOW.

The easiest source of rocks is from right below the old ledge at the Stairsteps, but you can get them from anywhere you want - pick ‘em up, and drop ‘em in. We may find out this is a way bigger project than we think, but might as well get started.

06/14/2026

working on it…

This is one of the ramifications of a fire - trees that normally suck up this water upstream are dead - no sucking.

You can see the rock we tossed in from 2009-ish. We are in discussions with the LNF for their decision as to if fixing this is as simple as moving surface rocks from just up the trail below the old ledge and tossing them in and then cleaning the outflow, which we could do as a bunch of volunteers. Or, is it really a full-on project that needs equipment. There is money, but “projects” take more time.

06/03/2026

Everyone say a big Thank You to all the volunteers, clubs, groups, and brave early-season users who did all the trail clearing. And if you were one of the volunteers, don’t be shy to accept that thanks by posting a pic or two. We have a few more years of this until the Dixie dead trees are mostly down.��

Our overall goal is to keep the OHV area trails Open. To do that, we need to 1) keep rigs ON the trail, and 2) keep water from flowing too far down a trail. Our “trail” goal is to not make them any harder, but also not make them any easier! There are still some wet spots, so please drive straight thru the puddles not around so we don’t needlessly widen the trail. Even after the trails are cleared, there will still be plenty of sticks and logs alongside and still in the trail, but we don’t usually move them unless they start forcing rigs around and off the trail. That said, feel free to move any off the trail you want. It takes only moderate clearance to do 90% of the trails, so if you don’t think you can clear stuff, go home and get you some moderate clearance. Anyway, TY, TY, TY to all you High Lakes lovers and caretakers. If you have questions, dm me directly, or go to the Chat (link on https://www.friendsofthehighlakes.com/)
Nick (prez)

03/17/2026

Ok everyone, if you have a crossover SUV with a 4WD button, grab your phone and the little ones, leave all the tools, shovels, blankets and food behind cause it 80 degrees in the valley, don’t tell anyone where you are going, and head on up to the High Lakes following the Google directions. You can fill up when you get back home.

So predictable, and we laugh, but probably we’ve all been there too. I have. She still married me. Pay it forward. See you all soon.

Address

P. O. Box 2837
Paradise, CA
95967

Telephone

+15303858860

Website

http://friendsofthehighlakes.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Friends of the High Lakes posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Friends of the High Lakes:

Want your organization to be the top-listed non profit organization in Paradise?