In California’s far north lie the craggy cluster of peaks known as the Trinity Alps. This seldom visited range offers fantastic scenery somewhat reminiscent of the Cascade Range just to the north, but with a fraction of the traffic usually encountered in the Sierra Nevada. About 10 miles east of the heart of the range, near the summit of a high peak, is a collection of four beautiful alpine lakes arranged along a convenient loop hike. This Four Lakes Loop is one of the most popular backpacking trips in the range.

This trip report covers a 3-day outing with a group of friends to visit the scenic Four Lakes Loop in the Trinity Alps over Memorial Day, 2018. The low-snow year of 2018 combined with the area’s relatively low elevation made this a feasible early season trip. We had to bring two cars to fit our entire group, so we planned to enter and exit via different trailheads for a bit more variety and to lessen the big climb out of the gate.

We planned to start from the Stoney Ridge Trailhead and hike north over Stonewall, Little Stonewall, and Deer Creek Passes to camp at Deer Lake. On the second day, we’d hike the Four Lakes Loop itself. The third day would take us back over Deer Creek Pass, then Bee Tree Gap and down Long Canyon to our second car at the Long Canyon Trailhead. The car shuttle was about an hour, one-way.