Sugar Lake Trail in the Russian Wilderness

The Sugar Lake Trail takes you into the beautiful glacial granite of the Russian Wilderness. It’s a great option for day hikers and backpackers who want solitude along with stunning scenery.

This ridge separates Sugar Lake from South Sugar Lake. Russian Wilderness, Klamath National Forest, Northern California. — Ridge between Sugar Lake and South Sugar Lake

Sugar Lake “Miracle Mile” Conifer Diversity

The drainage is famous for containing a very high level of conifer diversity. Here’s the list of the 18 Sugar Lake “Miracle Mile” conifers:

Ponderosa pine
Sugar pine
Western white pine
Jeffrey pine
Lodgepole pine
Foxtail pine
Whitebark pine
Douglas fir
White fir
Shasta fir (red fir)
Subalpine fir
Incense cedar
Brewer spruce
Engelmann spruce
Pacific yew
Mountain hemlock
Common juniper
Western juniper

Some are quite common and are near the trail. You’ll have to explore the basin ridges to find foxtail pine and whitebark pine. How many will you find on your explorations?

Sugar Lake Trail Key Data

Distance: 6.2 miles roundtrip
Difficulty: Moderate
Type: Day hike or Overnight (good late spring backpacking destination)
Elevation gain: 1200 feet
High point: 5950 feet
Season: Mid-June to October
Contact: Klamath National Forest, Salmon/Scott River Ranger District
Maps: USFS Marble Mountain Wilderness & Russian Wilderness, USGS Eaton Peak
Trailhead GPS coordinates: N 41 18.631 W 122 54.179
Notes: dogs allowed

Sugar Lake Trailhead Directions

Drive CA Highway 3 to French Creek Road, which is 30.9 miles from the junction of CA 3 and I-5 in Yreka and 8.3 miles from Callahan. Drive west on French Creek Road. At 5.4 miles the pavement ends; you’re on good dirt roads the rest of the way. At 6.9 miles turn right onto Forest Road 40N22, and then go left at another junction onto Forest Road 41N14 at 7.6 miles. Go another 1.7 miles and look for a wide area on the left for parking, large enough to hold eight or so vehicles. This is just 100 feet past a gated road that rises to the right, and 200 feet before Forest Road 41N14 crosses Sugar Creek on a bridge. The Sugar Lake Trail sign is nailed to young sugar pine (makes sense!) about 15 feet up the trail on the right, but it’s difficult to see from 41N14.

Sugar Lake trail map in Russian Wilderness. Includes old, likely nonexistent, trail to South Sugar Lake, along with High Lake, Russian Peak, Bingham Lake, and Little Duck Lake and Big Duck Lake. — Sugar Lake Trail Map, Russian Wilderness. Note that the outlet creek is always to the south of the trail. It’s placed incorrectly on topo map. Old trail to South Sugar Lake is not on current USFS Russian Wilderness Map. (Courtesy of Caltopo.com)

Hiking the Sugar Lake Trail

Sugar Lake Trail and pine cones: relatively easy to hike. Russian Wilderness, Klamath National Forest, California — The Sugar Lake Trail is relatively easy to follow.

Start climbing steeply and southwest past ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Brewer spruce, and sugar pine, with the sound of Sugar Creek to the left. Be grateful to the California Conservation Corps, which did major maintenance on the trail in 2013, making the route fairly easy to follow.

Smell tobacco brush on hot days as you wend your way between granite boulders, large and small. The gradient moderates at 0.4 mile as you continue through old-growth forest that now includes plenty of white fir.

South Sugar Lake: No Trail?

On old topo maps, including the one I used for the map above, you’ll see an unmaintained trail heading southwest from the main trail about 1.5 miles from the trailhead to rise to South Sugar Lake. I briefly looked for the South Sugar Lake Trail but didn’t find it. I suspect that much of it is overgrown, so if you want to do it, have strong cross-country hiking skills and the ability to navigate well.

Update From Facebook Discussions

One person said he found the trail by first noticing a rock cairn on the south side of the Sugar Lake Trail. He continued about about 100 yards southwest to find another cairn upstream of the confluence of the two streams that emerge from the two lakes.

Another person said the trail was “sketchy… steep… rough… brushy.”

I have one Facebook friend who hiked cross-country to South Sugar Lake by first taking the Bingham Lake Trail, heading toward Russian Peak, and then dropping down to the lake. I know it’s quite steep and only for experienced cross-country hikers.

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

Buy it on Amazon
Buy it on Apple, Kobo, and Nook

Continuing to Sugar Lake…

At 2.1 miles the route passes through wet areas, followed at 2.3 miles by the first good view of tumbling Sugar Creek. Continue onward as the surrounding ridges rise higher above you.

Reach Sugar Lake at 3.1 miles. Official stats say it’s 2.5 acres and 6 feet deep. I believe the first number, but I’m not so sure about the second. Regardless, it’s a beautiful lake ringed by willows, lodgepole pine, western white pine, Shasta fir, and many other tree species. If you’re backpacking, look for sites on the east side of the lake. (Make sure you have a California campfire permit if you plan on having a fire.)

Russian Wilderness' Sugar Lake is shallow, ringed by forest, and surrounded by high granite ridges. It's in Klamath National Forest in Northern California. — Shallow Sugar Lake is slowly becoming a meadow.

You’ll love the views most. Serrated granite ridges rise on the south, west, and east sides. A faint use trail goes near the north shore, and it’s fairly easy to hike cross-country along the lower portions of the granite on the north side.

Granitic ridge on the north side of Sugar Lake in the Russian Wilderness, Klamath National Forest, Northern California. Big Duck Lake and Little Duck Lake are on the other side. — Granitic ridge on the north side of Sugar Lake

Other Russian Wilderness Hikes

Find my full trail descriptions:

Big Duck Lake and Little Duck Lake
Ruffey Lake and Meeks Meadow Lake
Taylor Lake in the Russian Wilderness: Hiking, Camping, Fishing

In addition, my book Day Hiking: Mount Shasta, Lassen and Trinity Alps Regions covers the Duck Lakes, Paynes Lake and Middle and Upper Albert Lakes, and Russian Lake.