Looking down Long Canyon (Jerry Adams)

Looking up Deer Creek from Deer Creek Camp, with Deer Creek Pass in the distance (Jerry Adams)

Emerald Lake looking upwards (Jerry Adams)

One of the many tame deer (Jerry Adams)

This rattlesnake was sunning itself on the trail, slithered into grass,and shook its rattle at me (red circles around body and rattle) (Jerry Adams)

Map of the route

• Start point: Long Canyon Trailhead
• End point: Emerald Lake
• Hike type: Out and back
• Distance: 34.6 miles
• Elevation gain: 8000 feet
• High point: 7,590 feet
• Difficulty: Difficult
• Seasons: Summer, fall
• Family Friendly: No
• Backpackable: Yes
• Crowded: Busy during the summer

Hike Description

NOTICE: The areas of this hike in the Deer Creek and Stuart Fork drainages are closed to hiking because of the 2023 Deep Fire. Please check current closures in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest before planning an outing.

The Trinity Alps is a stunning wilderness area of various rock types, perhaps most famous for its "white" and "red" granite ridges. This particular hike involves a good traverse of the wilderness, alternating lengthy valleys, a few lakes, lush meadows, and high alpine passes.

The route could be modified and combined with the Granite Lake-Horseshoe Lake Loop Hike. For example, go up Long Canyon, do the Four Lakes Loop or go south to Siligo Meadows and Echo Lake, and then go over to Black Basin/Mumford Pass/Seven Up Pass. The Long Canyon Trailhead is a little easier to drive to than the Swift Creek Trailhead, and it's the easiest way to get to the Four Lakes Loop. The Swift Creek Trailhead allows for better loop hikes.

Going from either Swift Creek or Long Canyon down Deer Creek to Stuart Fork/Morris Meadows/Emerald Lake has one problem - you're closer to the Stuart Fork Trailhead, so there are way more people. The Deer Creek junction is about 7 miles and 1400 feet elevation gain from the Stuart Fork Trailhead. It's 12 miles, 3700 feet elevation gain, and 3100 feet elevation loss from the Long Canyon Trailhead.

This trail is always near drinking water. The only exception is the mile between Deer Lake and a short stretch into Long Canyon.

Detailed Description

Start at the Long Canyon Trailhead at 3800 feet elevation.

The first four miles follows the Long Canyon Trail #9W14 along the East Fork Stuart Fork and then Long Canyon itself, generally in the forest. You'll enter the wilderness about a mile from the trailhead. Sometimes the trail is right next to the stream, and sometimes it's up the slope. The trail goes pretty steadily uphill all the way up the canyon.

At 1.7 miles and 4800 feet elevation is the junction with the Bowerman Meadows Trail #8W22. There's a campsite here. The Bowerman Meadows Trail threads through lush meadows and dead-ends after 1.5 miles.

At 3.5 miles and 6200 feet elevation, the trail leaves the forest and you get nice views the rest of the way up Long Canyon. There's a nice campsite here, next to the stream. There are still trees here for a fire - above is more open and alpine. The trail above here has a lot of granite "steps" with irregular spacing. Some of them have a drop of more than a foot. Some hikers may find this difficult. Trekking poles might help.

At 4.3 miles and 7000 feet is a nice alpine site to camp. There's also a shaded chute that's the last place to melt off. It's steep and could be difficult if icy.

Then the trail goes up a short captured valley to the head of Long Canyon at Bee Tree Gap, which at 7500 feet elevation, is five miles from the trailhead. There are expansive views from here, obviously. There are rough trails going up from here in different directions - I don't know how far you could easily go.

Just down from and west of Bee Tree Gap, there are two trails. One goes down to Siligo Meadows. I didn't go there, but it looks very scenic. You drop about 500 feet, then the trail goes up about 400 feet to Little Stonewall Pass and a short distance to Echo Lake, a nice spot to camp about 1.5 miles from Bee Tree Gap. You could keep going a few miles to Stonewall Pass and Granite Peak.

I took the trail over to Deer Creek Pass, a fairly level half mile from Bee Tree Gap. There's another trail that goes down to Siligo Meadows if you're coming from Deer Creek.

From here, there are nice views down Deer Creek with Deer Lake in the foreground. The trail goes down to Deer Lake, but there's a junction in a short distance. You can keep going or turn left on the Four Lakes Loop.

When I was there, I skipped the loop because there were steep snow slopes. This is a north facing slope and the last to melt out. It's a steep slope which makes it difficult if there's icy snow. However, the difficult part is right in front of you - if you can get by it, the rest of the loop is easier because it's south facing. It's about 0.5 miles to Summit Lake, one mile to Diamond Lake, 2.5 miles to Luella Lake, and 3.5 miles back to the Deer Creek Trail down the valley. This is an excellent goal. I think Summit Lake or Diamond Lake would be good places to camp, but very exposed if the weather is bad. I walked up to Luella Lake, and it didn't seem so good for camping.

I kept going down to Deer Lake. There's a nice camp spot northeast of the lake, up a bit, but very exposed if the weather is bad. This is six miles from the Long Canyon Trailhead, 7100 feet in elevation.

It can be a little difficult finding where the trail leaves Deer Lake. It's just on the other side (west) of the outlet stream. The trail is pretty steep and rough in places.

There's a nice area to camp around Round Lake - seven miles from the trailhead at 6400 feet elevation. A short distance farther is the return trail from the Four Lakes Loop. A little farther than that is the junction with the trail up to Seven Up Pass (see the Granite Lake-Horseshoe Lake Loop Hike).

From here, the trail goes along Deer Creek for 0.7 miles to Deer Creek Camp at 5900 feet elevation. There is a junction with the trail up to Black Basin (see the Granite Lake-Horseshoe Lake Loop Hike). There are a number of places to camp. It's somewhat protected in the trees. There's plenty of firewood for a fire, but pay attention to seasonal restrictions.

From here, the Deer Creek Trail #9W17 stays under the forest canopy as it descends Deer Creek. Just before Willow Creek, you'll pass the junction with the Willow Creek Trail #9W11. The Deer Creek Trail then gains about 150 feet to reach Bear Gap. Then it descends to the junction with the Stuart Fork Trail #9W20, at 4400 feet in elevation and 12 miles from the Long Canyon Trailhead.

If you go left down the Stuart Fork, it's about 7 miles to the Stuart Fork Trailhead. There are a number of other side trails. We want to go right, up the Stuart Fork.

The trail up the Stuart Fork stays along the creek, mostly through forest, with occasional grassy meadows, like Morris Meadows. There are a number of campsites as you go along.

3.5 miles up the Stuart Fork is the junction with the Sawtooth Ridge Trail #10W01, which crosses over the ridge to reach Caribou Lake. That trail ascends very steeply - 2,500 feet in two switchbacking miles, 0.8 miles "as the crow flies". That has to be the steepest trail I have ever seen. It's also known as the "Suicide Ridge Trail."

There's a nice campsite 0.5 miles past the junction.

Emerald Lake is 17 1/2 miles from the Long Canyon Trailhead, at 5500 feet. When I got up there, on Memorial Day weekend, there were a bunch of people, and it didn't look like there were any good campsites nearby, so I turned around and found a campsite a way back down. The trail continues around Emerald Lake, to Sapphire Lake and Mirror Lake above Sapphire below Caesar Peak. There are some pretty alpine areas to explore. Maybe about two miles from the Emerald Lake outlet, you may run into cliffs that would be difficult to negotiate.

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• Information kiosk, pit toilet
• Self-issued wilderness permit; California Campfire Permit needed for overnight stays
• Share trails with horses
• 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: Shasta-Trinity National Forest

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Long Canyon to Emerald Lake Hike

• Trinity Alps May 23, 2014
• Trinity Alps, May 14-19
• Trinity Alps Wilderness 6/30 - 7/4

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Long Canyon to Emerald Lake Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• Day Hiking Mount Shasta, Lassen & Trinity Alps Regions by John Soares
• 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California by John R. Soares & Marc J. Soares
• Hiking California's Trinity Alps Wilderness by Dennis Lewon
• Trinity Alps & Vicinity by Mike White
• The Trinity Alps: A Hiking and Backpacking Guide by Luther Linkhart with Michael White
• Hike America: Northern California by Dan Brett
• 100 Northern California Hiking Trails by Don & Roberta Lowe

More Links

• Long Canyon Trail (Hiking Project)
• Deer Creek Trail (Hiking Project)
• Stuart Fork Trail (Hiking Project)
• Trinity Alps, June 2015 (Linda Gass)
• Trinity Alps Backpacking Trip (Greg Lamy)
• Four Lakes Loop via Long Canyon in the Trinity Alps (Plutonic Love)
• Four Lakes Loop – Trinity Alps Wilderness (20 mile trek) (Backpackers Review)
• Long Canyon Trail to Deer Lake (10 Adventures)
• Emerald and Sapphire Lakes – Trinity Alps Wilderness (25 mile trek) (Backpackers Review)
• Stuart Fork to Emerald and Sapphire Lakes (Lily M. Tang)
• Stuart Fork Trailhead to Morris Meadows and Emerald/Sapphire Lakes (Dece Scouts)
• Stuart Fork Trail to Emerald and Sapphire Lakes (The Outbound)
• Trinity Alps (Summit Post)
• Trail and Lake Information: Trinity Alps Wilderness (USFS)

Contributors

• retiredjerry (creator)