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 A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

located in the U.S. states of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, 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 in the north to

Tehachapi Pass Tehachapi Pass (Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") is a mountain pass crossing the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California. Traditionally, the pass marks the northeast end of the Tehachapis and the south end of the Sierra Nev ...

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 Red Hills of Tuolumne County Area of Critical Environmental Concern

State parks

* Burton Creek State Park *

Calaveras Big Trees State Park Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving two groves of giant sequoia trees. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada. It h ...

* D. L. Bliss State Park *

Donner Memorial State Park Donner Memorial State Park is a state park of California, US, preserving the site of the Donner Camp, where members of the ill-fated Donner Party were trapped by weather during the winter of 1846–1847. Caught without shelter or adequate sup ...

Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park is a state park in California in the United States. It occupies nearly two miles of the western shore of Lake Tahoe Emerald Bay State Park Emerald Bay State Park is a state park of California in the United States, centered on Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay, a National Natural Landmark. Park features include Eagle Falls and Vikingsholm, a 38-room mansion that is considered one of the fin ...

Grover Hot Springs State Park Grover Hot Springs State Park is a state park of California, United States, containing natural hot springs on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Park amenities include a swimming pool complex fed by the hot springs, as well as a campground, ...

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 United States, U.S. states of the United States, state of Nevada. The park covers approxim ...

(Nevada) * Plumas-Eureka State Park * South Yuba River State Park *

Van Sickle Bi-State Park Van Sickle Bi-State Park is a public recreation area straddling the border of California and Nevada, United States, that overlooks Lake Tahoe and preserves the memory of Henry Van Sickle, a key member in the founding of Genoa and the surroundin ...

(co-managed by California and Nevada) *

Washoe Meadows State Park Washoe Meadows State Park is a state park in California, consisting of more than of woodlands and meadows. It is located south of Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County. History Washoe Meadows State Park was established in 1984 to prevent the exp ...

State recreation areas

* Auburn State Recreation Area * Folsom Lake State Recreation Area * Kings Beach State Recreation Area * Lake Oroville State Recreation Area * Lake Valley State Recreation Area * Millerton Lake State Recreation Area * Tahoe State Recreation Area

State forests

Mount Zion Demonstration State Forest Mount Zion Demonstration State Forest is located in the town of Pine Grove, Amador County, California, United States. It features a ranger lookout station and microwave tower atop Mount Zion, which is accessed via Mount Zion Road from California S ...

Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest (MHDSF) is a state forest located on Bear Creek Road (Tulare County Route 220), northeast of Springville, California, Springville in Tulare County, California, Tulare County, California. The protected land ...

State historic parks

Columbia State Historic Park Columbia State Historic Park, also known as Columbia Historic District, is a state park unit and National Historic Landmark District preserving historic downtown Columbia, California, United States. It includes almost 30 buildings built during t ...

Empire Mine State Historic Park Empire Mine State Historic Park is a state-protected mine and park in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Grass Valley, California, U.S. The Empire Mine is on the National Register of Historic Places, a federal Historic District, and a California H ...

* Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park *

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park is a state park unit preserving the largest hydraulic mining site in California, United States. The mine was one of several hydraulic mining sites at the center of the 1882 landmark case '' Woodruff v. Nor ...

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is a state park of California, United States, marking the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in 1848, sparking the California Gold Rush. The park grounds include much of the histo ...

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, and its operating entity, the Sierra Railway, is known as "The Movie Railroad." Both entities are a heritage railway and are a unit of the California State Park System. Railtown 1897 is located in Jamestown, Ca ...

Wassama Round House State Historic Park The Wassama Round House State Historic Park is in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada foothills, in Madera County, California, Madera County of central California. Californian Native Americans The park and Round House is used by local Indige ...

Notes

References

{{Protected areas of Nevada

Sierra Nevada (United States)-related lists