Trail Gulch Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Trail Gulch Trailhead
- End point: Trail Gulch Lake
- Hike type: Loop
- Distance: 9.4 miles
- Elevation gain: 2300 feet
- High point: 7,400 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Summer, fall
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: Yes
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
This hike is on decent trails past two lakes in the Salmon Mountains in the northern Trinity Alps Wilderness. At the end of your hike, you'll have a 0.8 mile walk along a road (or take 0.9 miles of horse trails) back to your vehicle. This area is sometimes termed the "Green Trinities" and was a late addition to the wilderness. This excursion can be done as a moderate day hike or as an easy overnight backpack. Note that the entire area of this hike was burned over by the 2021 Haypress Fire, part of the River Complex, but it was a low intensity burn in some areas and the trails are open.
From the Trail Gulch Trailhead, you'll hike 1.8 miles south, first on an old road bed and then up through lush meadows. At a signed junction, you 'll turn right for Trail Gulch Lake on a 0.4 mile spur to head up and reach Trail Gulch Lake itself, set in a cirque of dark granite.
From the spur junction, it is another mile up to a pass at 7,000 feet. From this ridge, you can see down to Trail Gulch Lake. Just over the crest, there's a junction (only partially signed), where you'll need to go right on the Trail Gulch Tie Trail (do not take the trail to Steveale Meadows). Turn west here and contour for 1.1 miles through burned forest on a trail constructed in the 1990s. You'll reach another pass at 7,400 feet.
Descend 1.3 miles to Long Gulch Lake, beginning to get views of the lake on the way down. Then hike on the level for 0.5 miles to a junction with the Fish Lake Trail. Continue north on the Long Gulch Trail through green meadows to the Long Gulch Trailhead.
Your car is 0.8 miles along the road to the right, or you can cross the road and follow horse trails (look for "Trail Gulch" pointers) back to your car (the latter is a slightly longer trajectory). If you plan to backpack, get a free permit at the USFS ranger station in Fort Jones, CA.
NAVIGATION: The names of the two gulches were reversed at some point in the past, and this error has been carried over to most recent maps and guidebooks (but the Forest Service's map A Guide to the Trinity Alps Wilderness is correct). So, just remember that Long Gulch is actually west of Trail Gulch and the USGS topographical maps repeat the old error.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Information kiosk
- Self-issued wilderness permit; California Campfire Permit needed for overnight stays
- Cows may be present during the summer months
- Wilderness regulations apply
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- My Topo Explorer Series: Trinity Alps
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Trinity Alps Wilderness
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Klamath National Forest
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Trail Gulch Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Trail Gulch Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this destination
- 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Southern Oregon & Northern California by William L. Sullivan
- Hiking California's Trinity Alps Wilderness by Dennis Lewon
- Day Hiking: Mount Shasta, Lassen & Trinity Alps Regions by John Soares
- Trinity Alps & Vicinity by Mike White
- Hiking Northern California by Bubba Suess
- Northern California Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Ann Marie Brown
- Marin to Crescent City to Mt. Shasta: Northwest California's Best Day-Hikes by Art Bernstein
- 76 Day-Hikes Within 100 Miles of the Rogue Valley by Art Bernstein
- 100 Northern California Hiking Trails by Don & Roberta Lowe
More Links
- Trail Gulch and Long Gulch Lakes Loop: 2022 Hike Report After the 2021 River Complex Fire (Northern California Hiking Trails)
- Trail Gulch and Long Gulch Lakes Loop – 08/25/2022 (wanderingyuncks)
- Long Gulch & Trail Gulch, Trinity Alps Backpack Trip, July 2012 (LT Backpackers)
- Gulch Lakes Loop (Hike Mt Shasta)
- Trail Gulch Lake (Trinity Alps Wilderness, CA) (Live and Let Hike)
- Trail Gulch Loop (Trinity Alps Wilderness) 03-Jun-2015 (Boots on the Trail)
- BFTA Trinity Alps: Trail Gulch Tie Trail (Val Hikes)
- Trail Gulch-Long Gulch Loop Trail (All Trails)
Page Contributors
- VanMarmot (creator)