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<\/a>Big Bear Lake Trail Information<\/h2>\n
Length: 10 miles round-trip Granite-ringed Big Bear Lake makes an excellent day hike or\u00a0overnight 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.<\/p>\n Includes trailhead directions and detailed maps and trail descriptions<\/p>\n Buy it:<\/strong> on Amazon<\/a> | on Bookshop.org<\/a><\/p>\n Often available at Barnes & Noble, REI, and other quality bookstores<\/strong> and outdoor stores <\/strong>(call first!)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you are staying overnight, you’ll need a wilderness permit.\u00a0Get one\u00a024\/7 at the Weaverville Ranger Station, Scott River Ranger Station, Big Bar Ranger Station, or\u00a0the Coffee Creek Fire\u00a0Station. If you plan to have a campfire, you’ll need a California Campfire Permit<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0After the\u00a0crossing, 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\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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\u00a0and near the east shore.<\/p>\n The alpine lakes and jagged peaks of the Trinity Alps Wilderness rival the scenery of the High Sierra, without the crowds. This new highly detailed map is perfect for your next backpacking trip or day hike:<\/strong><\/p>\n Buy it online from: Green Trails Maps<\/a> | <\/strong>Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Often available at outdoor stores and bookstores<\/strong> (call first!)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you have decent cross-country hiking and route-finding skills, you\u2019ll 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\u2019s 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\u00a0few rock ducks. Get the Trinity Alps Wilderness topographic map\u00a0or the USGS Tangle Blue Lake topographic map to help guide you.<\/p>\n Little Bear Lake has good campsites on the east side, and you\u2019ll love the granite glacial cirque and the easy access to the clear and deep waters. (Also see my Little Bear Lake video<\/a>.) Small and shallow Wee Bear Lake is a couple hundred yards downstream via a faint path.<\/p>\n You can get current trail conditions for most Trinity Alps Wilderness trails here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Includes trailhead directions and detailed maps and trail descriptions<\/p>\n Buy it:<\/strong> on Amazon<\/a> | on Bookshop.org<\/a> Surviving a Bear Attack in Northern California\u2019s Trinity Alps<\/a><\/p>\n Canyon Creek Lakes and Boulder Creek Lakes in the Trinity Alps<\/a><\/p>\n My Trinity Alps Backpacking Trip — Caribou Lake, Sawtooth Ridge, Emerald Lake, Morris Meadows<\/a><\/p>\n Smith Lake via Alpine Lake: Trinity Alps Cross-Country Challenge<\/a><\/p>\n Trinity Alps Pacific Crest Trail Section Hiking: Complete Guide<\/a><\/p>\n Trinity Alps Wildflowers with Author Ken DeCamp: Interview<\/a><\/p>\n Click the covers in the sidebar to the right to see the complete table of contents, along with an overview map.<\/p>\n Been to these lakes? What did you think?<\/p>\n Buy it on Amazon<\/a>
\nHiking time: 8 hours or overnight
\nHigh point: 5,850 feet
\nTotal elevation gain: 2,800 feet
\nDifficulty: moderate
\nSeason: mid-June through mid-October
\nWater: plentiful along most of the route (purify first)
\nMaps: USGS 7.5′ Tangle Blue Lake, Trinity Alps Wilderness<\/a>
\nInformation: Weaverville Ranger District<\/a>, Shasta\u2013Trinity National Forest<\/p>\nThe Top 100 Day Hikes and Backpacking Trips in Northern California<\/h4>\n
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The all-color fourth edition features the best trails in:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
Trinity Alps Wilderness Permit and California Campfire Permit<\/h2>\n
Trailhead Driving Directions<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nHiking to Big Bear Lake<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Explore the Wild and Rugged Trinity Alps With This New Map!<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\n\n
Cross-Country Hike to Little Bear Lake<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Latest Trail Conditions<\/h2>\n
Best Day Hiking Trails in Upper California<\/h4>\n
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<\/a>My<\/strong> compact guidebook has the 125 best day hikes:
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\nOften available at bookstores<\/strong> and outdoor stores <\/strong>(call first!)<\/p>\n<\/div>\nOther Trinity Alps Hikes on the Northern California Hiking Trails Blog<\/h2>\n
My Hiking Books Cover Many Trinity Alps Trails<\/h2>\n
Your Take<\/h2>\n
Camp for Free in California National Forests<\/h4>\n
![\"Camp](\"https:\/\/northerncaliforniahikingtrails.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/dispersed-camping-boondocking-camp-free-300.jpg\")
California’s national forests and BLM lands have thousands of miles of dirt roads with lots of spots for dispersed camping (boondocking).<\/strong> My book provides all the info you need to get started (but is not a guide to specific sites):<\/p>\n\n
\nBuy it on Apple, Kobo, and Nook<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the Northern California Hiking Trails Blog<\/h2>\n