Trail Gulch Lake

Long Gulch Lake

  • Moderate (to Trail Gulch Lake)
  • 3.6 miles round-trip
  • 910 feet elevation gain
  • Open late June to mid-November
  • Use: hikers, horses


  • Difficult (to Long Gulch Lake)
  • 9.6-mile loop
  • 2280 feet elevation gain


Cars often pack the trailhead parking lots on the southern side of the popular Trinity Alps Wilderness, but here on the northern side, just an hour and a half’s drive from the Oregon border, you can hike all day without meeting another group. Two of the Trinity Alps’ prettiest lakes are hidden in a pair of subalpine canyons here. For a trip the whole family can manage, head for Trail Gulch Lake. For a longer loop, continue over a panoramic divide to cliff-backed Long Gulch Lake. Maximum group size is ten. If you plan to camp in the Wilderness, be sure to pick up a free permit at the Fort Jones or Weaverville ranger stations.

To drive here from Oregon, take …

This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes in Southern Oregon.