Bucks Lake Wilderness, Protected wilderness area in Plumas County, California.

Bucks Lake Wilderness is a protected mountainous forest in Plumas County that combines high peaks with numerous alpine lakes set among dense conifer stands. The terrain rises and falls dramatically, creating sheltered valleys where water flows between granite shorelines and tree-covered slopes.

The California Wilderness Act of 1984 set aside 23,958 acres of Plumas National Forest as the Bucks Lake Wilderness, protecting the northern end of the Sierra Crest. The reservoir just outside the boundary was built by the Feather River Power Company, which began the dam in early 1926 after buying 1,000 acres including Bucks Ranch; the project passed to Great Western Power Company, which finished it in 1928.

The name comes from Bucks Ranch, bought with 1,000 acres by the Feather River Power Company before the 1926 dam works. The reservoir it created lies just outside the boundary and is known as a boater's destination. Inside, the 1984 California Wilderness Act bars roads and motorized travel, so visitors meet black bear, mule deer and peregrine falcon in roadless terrain.

The wilderness lies south of Lake Almanor in Plumas County, with the North Fork Feather River canyon forming its northern boundary. The reservoir named Bucks Lake sits just outside the wilderness boundary and is reached by road; the wilderness itself has no facilities. Trails climb from the western slopes toward Mount Pleasant, the high point at 7,054 feet.

Five different trout species and salmon inhabit the lakes and streams throughout the wilderness. This concentration of fish diversity is uncommon, drawing anglers who seek this unusual variety in one location.