Category: Day Hiking
Paynes & Albers Lakes – Russian Wilderness
- Music Creek Trailhead
- 4 hours driving time
- 7.5 miles roundtrip
- 3 miles to Payne’s Lake
- 0.5 miles to Albers Lake
- 0.25 miles to Upper Albers Lake
- Reach Big Blue Lake by cross country hiking to saddle above Upper Albers Lake
Statue Lake – Russian Wilderness
- Music Creek Trailhead
- 4 hours driving time via Salmon River Rd
- 7 miles round trip hiking distance
- 2 hours hiking time
- ~7100 feet elevation lake
Weekend Hiking Adventures
Russian Wilderness:
- Bingham Lake
- Duck Lakes
- Paynes Lake to Upper Albers Lake
- Russian Lake
- Smith Lake
- Statute Lake
- Sugar Lakes + High Lake
- Taylor, Hogan, Big Blue Lake
Marble Mountain Wilderness:
- Marble Rim
Siskiyou Wilderness:
- Bear Lakes
- Buck Lake
- Devil’s Punchbowl
Trinity Alps Wilderness
- Boulder Lakes
- Canyon Creek Lakes
- Granite Lake
- Lake Eleanor
- Tangle Blue Lake
- Hidden Lake
- South Fork Lakes
- Fish Lakes
- East Weaver Lake
- East Fork Lakes
- Stoddard and McDonald Lakes
- Long Gulch Lake
- Trail Gulch Lake
Yolla Bolly Wilderness
- North Yolla Bolly Lakee
- Black Rock Lake
Day Hiking Adventures
Trinity Alps Wilderness
- Lake Eleanor
- Stoddard Lake
Russian Wilderness
- Statute Lake
- Bingham Lake
- Paynes Lake & Albers Lakes
- Taylor & Hogan Lake
Six Rivers National Forest
- Fish Lake – Six Rivers
- Horse Ridge National Recreation Trail
- Lacks Creek Mountain Biking
- Salmon Summit
- Skull Camp Trail
- Dan East Trail
- Grouse Creek Tractor Way
- Mad River Trail
Bear Lakes – Siskiyou Wilderness
Bear Lakes are a moderate 3.15 miles to Bear Lake from the Elbow Springs Trailhead in Siskiyou Wilderness. The primary lake lies at an elevation of 4,850 feet with a small pond above it, while the harder-to-reach Lower Bear Lake is a steep cross-country scramble drop to 4,300 feet. The Bear Lake Trail doesn’t appear to have a number or official name, but is located off the Kelsey Creek National Recreation Trail #4204 near Clear Creek on Highway 96 in Northern California.

Bear Lakes – Zach’s Adventures Article
Bear Lakes – Oregonnator Blog Post
- 2.85 miles one-way, 1.5 hours hiking time

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)
Popular Driveup Lakes
Popular drive-up lakes:
- Trinity Lake – Shasta-Trinity National Forest
- Lake Shasta – Shasta-Trinity National Forest
- Whiskeytown Lake – Shasta-Trinity National Forest
- Ruth Lake – Six Rivers National Forest
- Castle Lake – Shasta-Trinity National Forest
- Fish Lake – Six Rivers National Forest
Popular drive-up brackish water bodies:
- Big Lagoon
- Freshwater Lagoon
- Stone Lagoon
- Lake Earl
Hikes to lakes within one mile of the parking area:
- Kangaroo Lake – Klamath National Forest
- Kelly Lake – Siskiyou Wilderness ().25 miles)
- Taylor Lake – Russian Wilderness
- Buck lake – Siskiyou Wilderness
Short Hikes to Lakes in Northern California
Short hikes to lakes:
- Eleanor Lake – Trinity Alps (0.1 miles)
- Hidden Lake – Trinity Alps (0.8 miles)
- East Weaver Lake – Trinity Alps (1.5 miles)
- Fish Lake – Trinity Alps (1.8 miles)
- Boulder Lakes – Trinity Alps (2 miles)
- Buck Lake – Siskiyou Wilderness (1.25 miles)
- Kelly Lake – Siskiyou Wilderness (0.25 miles)
- Taylor Lake – Russian Wilderness (0.5 miles)
- Bingham Lake – Russian Wilderness (1.25 miles)
- Paradise Lake – Marbles (1.5 miles)
Difficult or Cross-Country short hikes to lakes:
- Cecil Lake – Trinity Alps Wilderness
Drive-Up Lakes in Northern California
- Smith River NRA
- Rattlesnake Lake
- Muslat Lake
- Siskiyou Wilderness
- Sanger Lake
- Whiskey Lake
- Six Rivers NF
- Onion Lake
- Ogaromtoc Lake
- Twin Lakes
- Fish Lake
- Mosquito Lake