Hiking Big Bear Lake in the Trinity Alps

August 12, 2012 By John Soares 27 Comments

Hiking/backpacking to Big Bear Lake and Little Bear Lake in the Trinity Alps is one of my favorite far northern California excursions. Trailhead access is easy, and I quickly get into beautiful sub-alpine granite wilderness. Note that the trail itself is relatively steep — you need to be in decent shape.

(This post is based on chapter 56 of my book 100 Classic Hikes: Northern California, fourth edition.)

Big Bear Lake Trail Information

Length: 10 miles round-trip
Hiking time: 8 hours or overnight
High point: 5,850 feet
Total elevation gain: 2,800 feet
Difficulty: moderate
Season: mid-June through mid-October
Water: plentiful along most of the route (purify first)
Maps: USGS 7.5′ Tangle Blue Lake, USFS Trinity Alps Wilderness
Information: Weaverville Ranger District, Shasta–Trinity National Forest

Granite-ringed Big Bear Lake makes an excellent day hike or overnight backpacking trip: A variety of plants line the trail on the way up, you’ll love the lake’s clear waters and steep glacial cirque, and it’s easily accessible from Highway 3. An added bonus: you can hike cross-country to stunning Little Bear Lake.

The Top 100 Day Hikes and Backpacking Trips in Northern California

The all-color fourth edition features the best trails in:

Northern Sierra Nevada
Lassen and Mount Shasta areas
Trinity Alps and Marble Mountains
Redwood Coast
Wine Country and Bay Area

Includes trailhead directions and detailed maps and trail descriptions

Buy it: on Amazon | on Bookshop.org

Often available at Barnes & Noble, REI, and other quality bookstores and outdoor stores (call first!)

Trinity Alps Wilderness Permit and California Campfire Permit

If you are staying overnight, you’ll need a wilderness permit. Get one 24/7 at the Weaverville Ranger Station, Scott River Ranger Station, Big Bar Ranger Station, or the Coffee Creek Fire Station. If you plan to have a campfire, you’ll need a California Campfire Permit.

Trailhead Driving Directions

Take Bear Creek Road from CA Highway 3 on the west side, 18.6 miles north of Trinity Center, 10.5 miles north of Coffee Creek Road, 13.7 miles south of Callahan, and 6.8 miles south of Scott Mountain Summit. Go 1.6 miles to the small trailhead.

Hiking to Big Bear Lake

The trail begins beside the sign at the parking lot. Drop down 200 yards, approach the Trinity River, and then rock hop across Bear Creek. After the crossing, the trail begins the long westerly climb to Big Bear Lake in a forest of incense cedar, Douglas fir, and ponderosa pine and travels close to Bear Creek for the first mile. At 1.0 mile you’ll reach a footbridge and cross to the north side of the creek. The trail then switchbacks steeply up a ridge between Bear Creek and a smaller stream. Manzanita and huckleberry oak, two common chaparral shrubs, line and occasionally intrude onto the path, while numerous black oak and an occasional stand of knobcone pine provide some shade.

Approach the creek again at 2.1 miles and begin alternating between a mixed white fir and western white pine forest and lush open patches with numerous ferns. The first open views of the glacial granite cirques harboring Big Bear Lake, your destination, and cousins Little Bear Lake and Wee Bear Lake, appear at 3.1 miles.

From here, the occasionally steep route passes through numerous moist areas inhabited by mountain alder, fern, and some western azalea. At 4.6 miles the trail crosses granite outcrops, where rock ducks (cairns) guide you. Be sure to look back for an exquisite eastward view of Mount Shasta.

Bear Creek and Mount Shasta below Big Bear Lake in the Trinity Alps.

At 5 miles you finally reach Big Bear Lake, where steep granite walls tower over 1,000 feet on the south, west, and north sides. You’ll find good deep spots for swimming by walking to the steep granite on the east shore. Several adequate campsites, most shaded by mountain hemlock, western white pine, and Shasta red fir, sit above the lake near the outlet and near the east shore.

Cross-Country Hike to Little Bear Lake

If you have decent cross-country hiking and route-finding skills, you’ll want to make the trek to Little Bear Lake. Head a few hundred feet down the trail from Big Bear Lake to where Bear Creek tumbles down open granite and is easy to cross. Look southeast across the creek at the ridge just on the creek’s other side. Pick the easiest route to get on that ridge. From there, you need to angle east by southeast up about 400 vertical feet and over about .8 mile. Let your eyes and instinct help you find the way, and also look for a few rock ducks. Get the Trinity Alps Wilderness topographic map or the USGS Tangle Blue Lake topographic map to help guide you.

Beginning of cross-country route to Little Bear Lake in the Trinity Alps. Start by getting to the ridge at upper right of photo.

Little Bear Lake has good campsites on the east side, and you’ll love the granite glacial cirque and the easy access to the clear and deep waters. (Also see my Little Bear Lake video.) Small and shallow Wee Bear Lake is a couple hundred yards downstream via a faint path.

Little Bear Lake in the Trinity Alps. Great swimming and big fish!

Granite cirques holding Big Bear Lake (right) and Little Bear Lake (left). Photo from Parks Creek Saddle.

Latest Trail Conditions

You can get current trail conditions for most Trinity Alps Wilderness trails here.

Best Day Hiking Trails in Upper California

My compact guidebook has the 125 best day hikes:

Mount Shasta and nearby
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Trinity Alps and Marble Mountains
Redding area
Whiskeytown and Shasta Lakes

Includes trailhead directions and detailed maps and trail descriptions

Buy it: on Amazon | on Bookshop.org
Often available at bookstores and outdoor stores (call first!)

Other Trinity Alps Hikes on the Northern California Hiking Trails Blog

Surviving a Bear Attack in Northern California’s Trinity Alps

Canyon Creek Lakes and Boulder Creek Lakes in the Trinity Alps

My Trinity Alps Backpacking Trip — Caribou Lake, Sawtooth Ridge, Emerald Lake, Morris Meadows

Smith Lake via Alpine Lake: Trinity Alps Cross-Country Challenge

Trinity Alps Pacific Crest Trail Section Hiking: Complete Guide

Trinity Alps Wildflowers with Author Ken DeCamp: Interview

My Hiking Books Cover Many Trinity Alps Trails

Click the covers in the sidebar to the right to see the complete table of contents, along with an overview map.

Your Take

Been to these lakes? What did you think?

Camp for Free in California National Forests

California’s national forests and BLM lands have thousands of miles of dirt roads with lots of spots for dispersed camping (boondocking). My book provides all the info you need to get started (but is not a guide to specific sites):

Researching the best locations
Finding the best camping spots
Backcountry safety and ethics
What to take

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Comments

Anne Wayman says
August 13, 2012 at 4:49 pm
Wish I’d known you when I lived in northern California… I think I’ll gift my daughter your book come Christmas.
Reply
Gambolin' Man says
August 14, 2012 at 9:54 am
Very nice, John! Looks like one I keep missing, but not for long!
Reply
- John Soares says
  August 14, 2012 at 10:24 am
  Also try to get to Little Bear Lake Tom. I prefer it to Big Bear.
  Reply
Matt "Swithback Swally" says
August 17, 2012 at 1:59 pm
John,
Had to write and say our Boy Scout Troop just completed a 50 mile hike (54.2 exactly) through the Trinity Alps, specifically Deer Creek, Swift Creek and Union Creek drainages. Thanks to an article in Backpacker Magazine from May 1999 and your trip description to Emerald and Sapphire Lakes from 2010, we spent 7 nights and 8 days at Big Flat, Snowslide Lake, Caribou Lake, Emerald Lake, Deer Creek Camp, Mumford Meadows and Union Lake. Caribou Scramble (Suicide Ridge) was something else. Elevation gain/loss was also intense but we all had a great time deep in the mountains, swimming and fishing the lakes, implementing Leave No Trace and taking in all the grandeur. Truly a trip of a lifetime. We hope to get back up there next year sometime. Thanks for the inspiration. And on a final note, I picked up a copy of your book, “100 Classic Hikes of Nor Cal” and look forward to reading it….many of the hikes you list I have previously have completed.
Reply
- Ike says
  May 12, 2015 at 10:07 pm
  Hi Matt,
  Would please give me more details of your trip. I’m an ASM with Troop 259 and would like to take my scouts to Trinity.
  Thanks!
  Reply
  - Matt says
    June 28, 2015 at 10:43 am
    I can provide as many details as you like. I can also scan and send some things. Just as my note to John states, we started at Big Flat, camped at Snowslide, Caribou and Emerald Lake (yes, up and over Caribou Scramble (aka suicide ridge) then headed east and looped back out of Union Lake.
    Rather than me listed a bunch of items, let me know specifically what your questions are and I’ll answer them.
    Matt
    Reply
John Soares says
August 18, 2012 at 6:53 am
Matt, thanks for writing. I’m so glad that you and your scout troop had such a good time in the Trinity Alps. That’s a major excursion y’all completed!
Reply
OutdoorNut says
June 19, 2013 at 2:07 pm
John, thank you for sharing the post. I live in nor cal and am about 3-1/2 hours from trinity (chico/oroville). I have not had the chance to hike in that area yet as age (more being out of shape:) is getting the best of my lady and I but I have to say, after looking at those pictures I have to get up there. I always knew there was a reason I came to cali and that looks like it. Absolutely beautiful.
Reply
Kevin Johnson says
June 26, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Hi John,
I live in Humboldt County and love to backpack in the Trinity Alps. I’m new to the game but everyone was new once. Just finished a three-day trip to Tangle Blue with a day trip up past the Marshy Lakes and up to the PCT. Crazy good time.
I am wondering if you have any information on how to get to Log lake north of Big Bear lake. I have looked all over and can’t seem to find any information. My girlfriend thinks I’m nuts for wanting to go there so badly but nuts or not, I do.
Any help would be great.
kbobert72@gmail.com
Thanks,
Kevin Johnson
Reply
- John Soares says
  June 27, 2013 at 6:52 am
  I’ve read that people have done it by leaving the Big Bear Lake trail a half-mile or so below the lake and hiking to a saddle just above Log Lake. There’s a lot of brush on that slope. Good luck with it!
  Reply
Richard Kitowski says
July 2, 2014 at 7:40 pm
John,
I know that you are an avid backpacker so I hope that this question is not too far fetched. My wife and I do a lot of hiking, mostly day hikes, 8miles to 14 miles. Can you recommend a good spot to set up camp where one can access a number of good day hikes? I plan to purchase your book of hikes in the Mt. Shasta and Mt Lassen area. Have been to the top of both of those mountains. Are there good day hikes on, around Mt Shasta? I will appreciate your reply. Thanks
Richard
Reply
- John Soares says
  July 3, 2014 at 5:50 am
  Richard, there are a dozen or more great day hikes in the Mount Shasta area. Most are on the mountain itself or in the Trinity Divide mountains to the immediate west, including Mount Eddy. Not in my book is the Lake Siskiyou Trail, which encircles the entire lake and can be accessed from many points.
  Reply
Kay says
September 16, 2014 at 6:13 pm
John
Do you know of any great Trinity Alps lake hikes for an overnight trip that are a little closer to Arcata?
Reply
- John Soares says
  September 16, 2014 at 6:20 pm
  Yes the Canyon Creek Lakes. See this post:
  https://northerncaliforniahikingtrails.com/blog/2014/06/26/canyon-creek-lakes-trinity-alps-boulder-creek/
  Reply
jesse says
April 16, 2015 at 10:29 am
Can you have a campfire at bear lake?
Reply
- John Soares says
  April 19, 2015 at 6:23 am
  There is relatively little wood around the lake, so it is best that you don’t have a fire. It’s important for the ecosystem that whatever little wood remains is allowed to decompose naturally.
  Reply
Ike says
May 12, 2015 at 10:09 pm
Hi John,
Can you recommend a 50 mile or so hike in Trinity?
Thanks!
Reply
- John Soares says
  May 29, 2015 at 5:35 am
  Ike, it’s too difficult to recommend a 50 miler in the Trinity Alps. There’s no obvious one long trail. It’s possible to do, but I’d have to know a lot of info about you, your companions, your fitness level, your experience as hikers, how much time you have, how well you can find routes, etc.
  Reply
Chris says
June 10, 2015 at 4:20 pm
Hi John,
I too am looking for a 50 miler (and will consider what the scouts did a few years ago. I am very fit, good at route finding and open to most any challenge that doesn’t involve ropes. I will be going solo, so nothing too risky. I regularly run ultras in the mountains (30+ miles in a day with 5K+ elevation). One thought is to go in, set up base camp and then do some long day runs from a camp or two so I can see more ground.
I plan to go end of July and thinking mosquitoes will not be an issue, but hate to get caught with out bug netting in shelter, but leaving that behind will save me 2 lbs. Thoughts?
Any advice is appreciated.
Cheers,
Chris
Reply
- John Soares says
  June 11, 2015 at 8:49 am
  Chris, consider doing the Four Lakes Loop from the Stoney Ridge trail. Once there you’d have several options for day runs.
  Reply
  - Chris says
    June 15, 2015 at 7:54 pm
    Thanks John 🙂
    Reply
Janette Storer says
June 11, 2015 at 2:29 pm
I did this hike last weekend for my backpacking trip John, absolutely beautiful!!!
Reply
- John Soares says
  June 12, 2015 at 6:12 am
  I’m glad you liked it, Janette. Did you get to Little Bear?
  Reply
Jason Barnes says
July 9, 2017 at 10:12 pm
Made it up to Big Bear this weekend. Temps were hot, bugs were plentiful, and surprisingly not too many people. Lot’s of great birds out, and made a trip over to Wee and Little Bear Lakes as well.
Reply
- John Soares says
  July 10, 2017 at 7:21 am
  Good for you, Jason! Any ice on Little Bear? Someone else told me it still had some ice as of a week ago or so.
  I plan to get to Big Bear later this summer.
  Reply
LizL says
June 3, 2018 at 9:29 am
Hiked to Big Bear Lake yesterday with 3 girlfriends. We’re in our 50s-60s, In good hiking shape. Suggest bringing water shoes for creek crossings and plenty of water or a filtration kit, it’s getting pretty warm up there. Gorgeous views abound. Watched an eagle having her/his lunch from our lunch spot.
Reply
- John Soares says
  June 3, 2018 at 9:47 am
  Sounds like you had a great time. Big Bear Lake is one of my favorite hikes in the Trinity Alps.
  And you’re definitely right about water: bring plenty or bring a filter.
  Reply