Nothing like the views you will love the small town feel and beauty all around you. Nature trails all around. Great exercise and great relaxing peaceful place.
We hiked from the Long Canyon Trailhead (easily searchable on Google Maps) to the Four Lakes Basin on Labor Day weekend. The trail is well-marked and absolutely gorgeous. You move from Lower Montane Forest, through a meadow into Upper Montane Forest, through another meadow and finally emerge in a SubAlpine Zone, all with some amazing peaks towering over you. There are many meadows filled with wildflowers and beautiful grasses and the mix of igneous and metamorphic exposed rocks are beautiful (and there are more wildflowers hiding among them!). The creeks are cool and swift and are host sheltered by willows which shelter lots of birds. The view to the south looks past Mount Lassen. The sun sets are stunning, framed by peaks, trees, and the cascades rolling off in the distance. The cons are: This is REALLY REALLY steep. Holy moly, it is steep! Lots of stairs and switchbacks and just plain incline. The five miles up the canyon are difficult: the incline is persistent. There are two or three very short (50-100 feet) sections of flat or decline; the rest is up, up, up (and steeply). Once up, there are very steep ascents and descents between the lakes. I found myself comparing the ascent to the Grand Canyon more than once. The lakes are small and cold and not fantastic swimming or spending a ton of time with (we preferred the meadows for camping spots). There were dozens an dozens of people up there. We ended up camping in a meadow before the top because we couldn't imagine where all those people were going to fit along small lakes in steep little cirques. We went up in the morning and saw that at least a dozen tents had been put up by little Deer Lake. Don't come looking for solitude. We camped all alone in a beautiful meadow and enjoyed our camp site very much, but as long as we were hiking, we with crowds (granted, it was Labor Day weekend--maybe it's lighter on other weekends?).But, my family definitely enjoyed our beautiful hike to this beautiful area. We will definitely try to get another trip in to the Trinity Alps: they are too wonderful not to explore more!Before we left, we tried to stop by the USFS Ranger station in Weaverville to pick up a free permit and a map, but they were closed and the self-help permits were gone. We bought a map at the Weaverville Outdoor store. The USFS Map was very helpful for this hike. We had also tried to get a map in the Barnes and Noble in Redding but they didn't have any.
Most beautiful place in Northern Califoronia. Work to get there but well worth the effort!
Views of the mountains are wonderful. Many places for drives, hikes, etc. There's not much for us to dislike in Trinity County!!
We have experienced 3 annual pack trips into trinity Alps and The awesome Marble Mountains with our family of teens and 20 something kids. SandEoutfitter.com from Ft Jones did an Awesome job with their mules and horses getting some of us into the higher altitude back country with ease. We were a family of 6and arranged for Duane and Ken to carry our heaviest items into cliff Lake, and another time to Deep Lake......also via Shakelford Trail head. They were awesome in loading our heavy gear onto their pack train, and delivering it to a premier camp site while we enjoyed a great hike and family time into the alpine lakes. They are also great for the same in providing full service hunting trips in the Fall. I canno recommend them highly enough......and we will come back every year with them as a family tradition and nature break to this fabulous untouched area.....just as beautiful as the sierras without the crowds!
Craggy Peak, crystal clear lakes and streams, Whats not to love?
The Trinity Alps Wilderness is a vast gorgeous expanse that is amazing year round. From Summer hikes, to Winter snow shoeing, the trails and lakes are easily located and user friendly. A must for avid hikers!
Beautiful area. Also visited Alpen Cellars Winery.
This is another example of pristine wilderness preserved by the usda. There are hikes for every level of fitness and commitment. Almost every hike takes you to breathtaking views of rugged mountains or alpine lakes...or both.
Beautiful. Lots of elevation change. Pack light with good boots. We hiked big flat to deer creek to caribou lake back to big flat 24 miles. The Caribou scramble was killer. Fun times.