The protected areas of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

, a major mountain range located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, are numerous and highly diverse. Like the mountain range itself, these areas span hundreds of miles along the length of the range, and over 14,000 feet of elevation from the lowest foothills to the summit of

Mount Whitney Mount Whitney (Paiute: Tumanguya; ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'') is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of . It is in East–Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tu ...

. The Sierra Nevada, as a natural region, does not have exactly defined borders. In particular, to the north, there is a wide transition zone where the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

and the Sierra Nevada meet. As a result, it is difficult to delineate a border between these two mountain ranges. This list uses the common definition of the Sierra Nevada as the mountain range extending from

Fredonyer Pass Fredonyer Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass in Lassen County, California, southwest of Susanville and southeast of Mount Lassen. It lies on the Great Basin Divide between the Feather River to the west and the Susan River and Honey Lake ...

in the north to Tehachapi Pass in the south. It is also difficult to delineate between the Sierra Nevada mountains, the range's foothills, and the Central Valley; this article also considers any elevated and hilly terrain east of the flat Central Valley to be part of the range. Areas outside those bounds may also be included if they are widely associated with the Sierra Nevada.

National parks and monuments

National forests

Wilderness areas

Other federal protected areas

Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Sierra Nevada, in Tulare County, California. The refuge is one of four units of the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex for California condors. Geography The Blue Ridge National ...

Jawbone–Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern The Jawbone–Butterbredt Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), is located in the Mojave Desert and Southern Sierra Nevada, northwest of California City and California State Route 14, in Kern County, California. An Area of Critical Envir ...

* The Red Hills of Tuolumne County Area of Critical Environmental Concern

State parks

* Burton Creek State Park * Calaveras Big Trees State Park *

D. L. Bliss State Park D. L. Bliss State Park is a state park of California in the United States. It is located on the western shore of Lake Tahoe just north of Emerald Bay State Park. Notable features include Rubicon Point Light, the highest-elevation lighthouse in ...

* Donner Memorial State Park * Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park * Emerald Bay State Park * Grover Hot Springs State Park *

Lake Tahoe–Nevada State Park Lake Tahoe–Nevada State Park is a state park comprising multiple management units and public recreation areas on the northeast shores of Lake Tahoe in the U.S. state of Nevada. The park covers approximately . The Marlette Lake Water System, w ...

(Nevada) *

Plumas-Eureka State Park Plumas-Eureka State Park is a California state park located in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range in Plumas County, California. The park, as a mining museum, shows and protects the history of the active mid-19th century California Gold Rush ...

South Yuba River State Park South Yuba River State Park is located along the South Fork of the Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada, within Nevada County, in Northern California. Geography The park's portion of the South Yuba River Canyon stretches from Malakoff Diggins State ...

* Van Sickle Bi-State Park (co-managed by California and Nevada) * Washoe Meadows State Park

State recreation areas

Auburn State Recreation Area Auburn State Recreation Area is a state park unit of California, along of the North and Middle Forks of the American River. The state recreation area (SRA) is situated on the border of Placer and El Dorado Counties in the heart of historic Gol ...

Folsom Lake State Recreation Area The Folsom Lake State Recreation Area surrounds Folsom Lake in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and is managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. It is located near the city of Folsom, California, about east of Sacrament ...

Kings Beach State Recreation Area Kings or King's may refer to: * Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The '' Shahnameh ...

Lake Oroville State Recreation Area Lake Oroville State Recreation Area (LOSRA) is a state park unit of California, United States, surrounding Lake Oroville, a reservoir on the Feather River. It is located in Butte County outside Oroville, California. The park was established i ...

Lake Valley State Recreation Area A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Millerton Lake State Recreation Area Millerton Lake is an artificial lake near the town of Friant about north of downtown Fresno. The reservoir was created by the construction of 319 ft (97 m) high Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River which, with the lake, serves as much o ...

* Tahoe State Recreation Area

State forests

* Mount Zion Demonstration State Forest * Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest

State historic parks

* Columbia State Historic Park * Empire Mine State Historic Park *

Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park is a California State Park, preserving an outcropping of marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes—the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America. It is located in the Sierra Nevada ...

* Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park * Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park * Railtown 1897 State Historic Park *

Wassama Round House State Historic Park The Wassama Round House State Historic Park is in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in Madera County of central California. Californian Native Americans The park and Round House is used by local Native Americans as a ceremonial meeting place. Gathe ...

Notes

References

{{Protected areas of Nevada

Sierra Nevada (United States)-related lists