Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada

The protected areas of the Sierra Nevada, 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.

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 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 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.

Other federal protected areas

 * Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
 * 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
 * D. L. Bliss State Park
 * 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 (Nevada)
 * Plumas-Eureka State Park
 * South Yuba River State Park
 * Van Sickle Bi-State Park (co-managed by California and Nevada)
 * Washoe Meadows State Park

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
 * Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest

State historic parks

 * Columbia State Historic Park
 * Empire Mine State Historic Park
 * Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
 * Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park
 * Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
 * Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
 * Wassama Round House State Historic Park