Dorrington-Stanislaus National Forest

This is a roadside snow play area off Highway 4 about a couple miles pass the town of Dorrington. If you are heading east on Hwy 4 it will be on your left. There is a wide area for parking and it is where the Dorrington-​National Forest sign is located. We tried to get a snow park permit for $ 5 at SNAC in Arnold but they were closed Christmas Day – duh! You can always get one in advance online.
Our family was on our way to Spicer Sno-​Park on Christmas Day when it began to snow heavily as we passed the town of Dorrington. My parents were getting a little nervous about being stranded in the snow– saying we should probably turn around, but we didn’t want to let the kids down so we kept pushing forward. A couple miles after passing Camp Connell, we see a line of parked cars on the left side of the highway with a bunch of sledders going downhill. There were about 12 cars parked and many more cars pulled up after we did. I was surprised to see a few families traveling from the bay area. Thinking that my snow paranoid parents would not want to go half an hour more in elevation, we decided to stop and just let the kiddies play in this area. I am very glad we did as it was an awesome area for snow play. It is a wide area and the hill is pretty high enough to get some fun sledding action. Adults and children alike were screaming with glee.
This is about one and half hour drive from the Central Valley so it is quite closer than Tahoe. Although it isn’t as picturesque or gorgeous as Tahoe, it is a convenient location for snow play. There was NO TRAFFIC on the highway and the road and conditions were not as treacherous. AND it is not as busy and congested as Tahoe. Perfect for kiddies.