- Caribou & Emerald/Sapphire Lakes
- Alpine, Smith, Emerald and Sapphire Lakes
- Papoose & Grizzly Lakes
- Trinity Alps PCT
Category: Trinity Alps Wilderness
Trinity Alps Trails
Trinity Alps Wilderness
USFS Trinity Alps Wilderness – Trails and Lake Information
Northern California Hiking Trails Blog
Easy Trails
- Lake Eleanor & Shimmy Lake – Easy 4.25 miles
- 1/2 mile to Lake Eleanor
- 3.75 miles to Shimmy Lake
- Big and Little Boulder Lakes
- Boulder Lakes
- Union Creek to Union Lake
- Slide Creek (First 2 miles)
- East Fork New River (First 4 miles)
- Pacific Crest Trail
- Stoddard Lake from Highway 3
- New River (First 3 miles)
- Stuarts Fork
- Tangle Blue Lake
- North Fork Trinity River (First 10 miles form Hobo Gulch Trailhead)
Short Trails (Under 5 miles)
- East Weaver Lake – 1.5 miles
- Big Lake & Little Boulder Lake – 2 miles
- Long Gulch – 2 miles
- Trail Gulch = 3.5 miles
- Adams Lake – Steep 2.5 miles
- Stoddard & McDonald – Moderate 3.5 miles
- Tangle Blue Lake – 4 miles
- Lake Eleanor & Shimmy Lake – Easy 4.25 miles
- 1/2 mile to Lake Eleanor
- 3.75 miles to Shimmy Lake
- Granite Peak – Very steep 4.75 miles
- Panoramic views of Trinity Alps
Moderate Trails – Good condition
- Boulder Creek Lakes Trail (Canyon Creek) – 7.5 miles
- Canyon Creek Trail – 8 miles
- Caribou Lakes Trail – 10 miles
- Eagle Creek Trail
- North Fork Coffee Creek Trail
- Swift Creek
- New River Area
- Salmon Summit
- French Creek
- East Fork Coffee Creek trail
- South Fork Coffee Creek Trail
- Horseshoe Lake – 9 miles
- Deer Creek Basin and Four Lakes Loop = 8 miles / 14 miles
- Diamond Lake = 9.5 miles / 16.5 miles
- Emerald and Sapphire – 15 miles
Medium Trails (5-10 miles)
- Big Bear Lake – Moderate 5 miles
- Long Gulch & Trail Gulch Loop – 6 miles
- Sugar Pine Lake – Difficult 5.5 miles
- Good basecamp for Union, Foster, Conway and Lion Lakes
- Canyon Creek Lakes – Moderate 7 miles
- Horseshoe Lake – 9 miles
- Caribou Lakes – 10 miles
- Long Canyon & Bowerman Meadows – Steep
- Union Lake – 6 miles
- Good basecamp for Landers, Foster, Parker Divide
- Swift Creek to Landers, Ward and Horseshow Lakes –
Long Trails (10+ miles)
- Stuart Fork to Sapphire Lake – 15 miles
- Hobo Gulch to Papoose Lake
- Trinity Alps High Route
Difficult Trails
- Trinity Alps High Route
- Alpine Lake Trail
- Smith & Morris Lakes
- Granite Peak Trail
- Green Mountain Trail
- Bear Lake Trail
- Rush Creek Lakes Trail
- Foster & Lion Lakes area
- Sugar Pine Lake Trail
- Doe Lake
- Grizzly Lake
- Papoose Lake
- L Lake – 8.5 miles
- Sugar Pine
Solitude Trails
- Eagle Creek area
- New River, Denny area
- Packers Peak
- Limestone Ridge
- Rush Creek Lakes
- North Fork of Swift Creek, Poison Canyon
Loop Trails
- Swift Creek to Granite Lake, 7-up Peak, Bear Basin, out Swift Creek (moderate 4-5 days)
- Swift Creek to Parker Meadow, Mumford Meadow, Landers Lake, Union Creek Parker Creek, out Swift Creek (moderate 5-6 days)
- East Fork New River to Poiny Creek, Mullane Coral, High Prairie, Limestone Ridge, Blue Ridge, out East Fork New River (moderate 5-6 days)
- East Fork Coffee Creek to Stoddard Meadows, Doe Lake, Granite Lake, out North Fork Coffee Creek (moderate 5-6 days)
- Long Canyon to Deer Lake, Four Lakes Trail, out Long Canyon (difficult 4-5 days)
- Long Canyon to Four Lakes Trail, Deer Creek, Morris Meadows, out Stuart Fork (moderate to difficult 6-7 days, with 15 miles car shuttle)
- New River to Slide Creek, Eagle Creek, Battle Creek, Old Denny, Slide Creek, out New River Trail (moderate to difficult 4-6 day hike)
Alpine, Smith and Morris Lakes
Alpine & Smith Lakes – Trinity Alps Wilderness
- Distance = ~22 miles
- Stuart Fork Trailhead to Alpine Lake = 8 miles one-way
- Stuart Fork Trailhead to Smith Lake – 10 miles one-way
- Stuart Fork Trailhead to Alpine Lake = 17.4 miles roundtrip
- Alpine Lake to Smith Lake = 4 miles roundtrip
- Smith Lake to Morris Lake = ? miles roundtrip
- Season: Mid July – Late September
- Recommended Route: Stuart Fork Trailhead to?
- Difficult Trail – Steep Climb
- Stuart Fork Trailhead
- Highway 3, Stuart Fork Arm of Trinity Lake
- 3.5 miles to Stuart Fork Trailhead
- Bridge Campground nearby
- Cross Stuart Fork @ 5 miles in from Stuart Fork Trailhead – Dangerous in high water or after rain
- 2,600 foot climb from Oak Flat to Alpine Lake over 2.5 miles = 4 hours
- Last 2 miles are steep and exposed
- Water at 1.75 miles from Oak Flat where trail meets outlet
- Alpine Lake (14 acres) – Brook Trout
- 3 campsites at lower end of Alpine Lake
- Fishing is better in Stuart Fork than Alpine Lake
- Trail to Smith & Morris Lakes – 2 miles
- Easier to day-hike due to steep terrain and bushwhacking
- 1/2 day for 2 miles with backpacking bag
- Trinity Alps Photo Blog – Smith and Morris Lakes
- Avoid during lightening storm
- Smith Lake @ 6,950 feet (24 acres) – Rainbow and Brook Trout
- Camping on eat shore, north of outlet crossing
- Camping better up at Morris
- Camping on eat shore, north of outlet crossing
- Morris Lake (? acres) – ? miles
- Camping on west shore near inlet
- Easier to day-hike due to steep terrain and bushwhacking
- There is an alternative route to Smith & Morris from Canyon Creek Trail or Morris Meadows
Graph of Climb from Oak Flat to Alpine Lake – from Jan’s Jaunts Blog
Graph of Climb from Alpine Lake to Smith Lake- from Jan’s Jaunts Blog
Salmon River
- Salmon/Scott River Ranger District – Klamath National Forest
- Ukonom Ranger District – Six Rivers National Forest
- Marble Mountain Wildnerness
- Russian Wilderness
- Trinity Alps Wilderness
- Otter Bar Kayak School
- Whitewater Rafting
- Salmon River Saloon and Gas Station in Cecilville
- Salmon River Disc Golf Club and Course
- Salmon River Outpost Store in Somes Bar on Highway 96
CAMPING
Camping – Main Stem Salmon River
Camping – North Fork Salmon River
Camping – South Fork Salmon River

Trinity Alps High Route
Bigfoot Trail
- Bigfoot Trail Alliance
- 360 miles through 32 conifer species in the Klamath Mountains
- 8 sections of the Trail:
- List of conifers species on Bigfoot Trail
Shasta-Trinity National Forest

Trinity Alps Wilderness
Six Rivers National Forest
- US Forest Service – Six Rivers National Forest
- 5 wilderness areas in Six Rivers National Forest (SRNF):
- 6 SNRF Botanical Areas
- North Fork Smith River (31,331 acres)
- Horse Mountain (1,077 acres)
- Broken Rib (7,138 acres)
- Bear Basin Butte (8,764 acre)
- Lassics (3,640 acres)
- Myrtle Creek
- Geographic coordinates: 41.777778, -124.016667
Trinity Alps PCT
- Total Trinity Alps – Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) miles = 18.9 miles
- Hike west to east to avoid northbound PCT travelers
- From Carter Meadows Summit (6,180 ft) heading east:
- 1.4 miles @ South Fork Lakes junction
- 6.1 miles @ Fox Creek Lake junction
- 9.0 miles @ Telephone Lake junction
- 9.5 miles @ Middle Boulder Lake junction
- 12.0 miles @ East Boulder Lake junction
- 18.9 miles @ Scott Mountain Summit trailhead (5,410 feet)