Last summer I went on backpacking journey to the depth of alpine forests in Washington in search for The Enchantment, which as I have summarized here was one of the most breathtaking places ever visited on this planet. Picture perfect lakes and lush green mountains really left me strong impression of alpine forest. I nearly thought it is not possible to find comparable nature sanctuary here in California — I am glad to find out this was wrong.
Last weekend, Rebecca and I went up to Shasta-Trinity National Forest for relaxing camping trip with car full of food and gears. Although we only had Coleman 28Qt Cooler (Something like this), throwing perishables in frozen form and covering the lid with wet towel really did some trick and kept the cooler reasonably refrigerated for the whole of 2 and half days excursion in the woods. I’d recommend this trick to any campers looking forward to cool beverages after long day hike!
As much as I want to boast how well prepared we were, we weren’t.
I forgot to pack the single most crucial item for any camping trips: tent. Fortunately, high 90 summer heat in Northern tip of California carried out warm nights for two city-folks to partake on bivouac. We bought $6 tarp at the local Walmart and laid out sleeping pads and sleeping bags by the beach of Trinity Lake.
We’ve stayed at Minersville Campground in the Southwest part of Trinity Lake and spent the night under the stars by the lake for the first night and in the back of Tiguan for the second night.
I would give Minersville Campground a comfortable 4-stars review for the amount of space and easy accessibility to the lake and amazing scenery around it. It was a simple campground that comes with everything necessary for basic car camping. There are only 14 units in this campsite so it doesn’t feel too crowded even in the high season like our recent visit. This is perfect spot for group of 2-6 people looking for private and relaxing getaway from the city and enjoy long hikes in Trinity Alps!
There are many great hikes and recreational sites around Trinity Lake and Trinity Alps as well as Whiskeytown not too far away from where we stayed. Here’s some wonderful day hike we did in Trinity Alps:
Canyon Creek Lakes Trail to the falls and back (9mi.)
Starting point: Canyon Creek Lakes Trailhead.
Difficulty: Easy/Intermediate.
Distance: Approximately 4.5mi out and back. 9mi total.
Best Time to Hike: Spring to Summer.
You don’t need prior extreme hiking experience, just bring your positive spirit and lots of water (also sun screen!) This hiking route will take you through beautiful Trinity Alps and ends at the waterfalls. At the waterfalls you can enjoy swimming and diving in the crystal clear water to chill your well worked body!
Canyon Creek Lakes Trailhead is approximately 1 hour drive from Minersville Campground and it’s just outside of Weaverville town.
Trailhead is very easy to find but require some maneuvering through narrow dirt road. Nonetheless, if you put Canyon Creek Lakes Trailhead (or geographical coordinates: 40.887797, -123.024378) in the navigation it will take you to where you need to go. Parking is scarce so be sure to get there early!
First portion of trail (0~2 miles) takes you through the woods of Shasta-Trinity National Forest and you will hear symphonies of cicadas in the summertime. Alongside the trail you will also hear the sound of Canyon Creek passing through the canyon.
About 2 miles into the trail the sight opens up and expose rugged mountain ranges. From here to the waterfalls you will start to feel the gradual incline.
Most dramatic part of the trail comes at 3.5 miles mark when the walls of exposed rocks start to reveal on your right hand side. At this point you are gaining decent elevation and starts to feel that you are suddenly on the pedestal view of canyon. A roar of splashing waters will tell you the waterfalls is coming up soon.
The waterfalls that appears about 4.5 miles into the trail is a beautiful stop point for the hike. We dropped our day packs and enjoyed lunch after diving into the crystal clear water. It felt like an oasis in the middle of woods where wandering souls (humans and lizards alike) gather to cherish the peaceful moment away from the craze of this world.
After much needed cool down from the hiking, we’ve turned back on the trail. A lady who was bathing in the waterfalls with us told about hidden waterfalls that was part of the old trail. So we made a little detour at the TRAIL sign (second sign that you will see on this trail, which is situated atop of exposed switchbacks near the first waterfalls) to find this secret waterfall.
It was my first time visit to Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and it certainly will not be the last. Next time I want to try backpacking into the lakes in the deepest part of Canyon Creek Lakes Trail. This is definitely the one destination begging to be added to already exhaustive list of best summer camping options in California.
Thanks for reading!
Sample Itinerary for Epic Weekend in Shasta-Trinity National Forest:
- Book campsites on recreation.gov
- Leave the Bay Area early Friday evening (or Saturday morning) for a weekend camping. We left Bay Area on Saturday and stayed at Minersville Campground for two nights and returned home on Monday.
- It is approximately 4 and half hour drive from Bay Area to Trinity Lake.
- If you are planning to go hiking on Canyon Creek Lakes Trail consider taking 7-8 hours for out-and-back hiking written in this post; this will include about 2-3 hours of “luxury time” to hang out at the waterfalls without feeling rushed.
- If time permits, try going to Whiskeytown on the way back to Reading/Sacramento direction.
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