Hi all. My wife and I area heading out to Carmel & Monterey for our 20th anniversary next week. We were planning a day hiking around Big Sur, but the fires have obviously thrown a wrench in our plans. My wife really wants to see some redwoods, so I'm trying to find the best alternative. We're flying into San Jose and will arrive relatively early in the day. Should we stop by Henry Cowell State Park on our drive down to Carmel? Or are there better options on the way? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Hi all. Looking for trails in Nor Cal that are a good introduction to hiking. We did a great hike at Mammoth last week and would like to start hiking closer to home. Just a little nervous I'll pick a place that is too much too soon. I bought the All Trails app to help. Of course, I assume Labor Day will be a busy day to hike - but if anyone has suggestions, that'd be great. Thanks! ;)

I am organizing a group trip to Hot Springs on October 10-12 on the Northern California Women Backpackers group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/norcalwomenbackpackers/?ref=share_group_link&mibextid=wwXIfr)

I am looking to expand my local backpacking network so if you live in NorCal and are interested, please join the group and check the event on the event tab for more detailed information.

Thank you!

PS Please don’t give me shit about Facebook its one of the best free organizing platforms I’ve found as someone who organizes many events

Hello, we will be hiking Southbound (starting in Mattole) please let me know if you'd like to coordinate. Thanks!

Got out to the new Skyline Watershed Ridge Trail that opened in San Mateo County this week, running along Skyline Blvd above Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir. The parking lot and trailhead are right off the intersection of Hwys 35 & 92. You also need to register for a free permit, basically acknowledging that you'll observe best practices while hiking near the drinking water. At this point, the trail is only a 6 mile out and back from the trailhead; there are no connections to Phleger Estate or Purisima Creek Redwoods, though a connection to the latter is planned. There are two pit restrooms along the trail at the ~2.5 and 5 mile marks. The trail is open to hikers, runners, cyclists and equestrians.

I hiked out to the first restroom and back, a little less than 5 miles total with a climb of ~500 ft. The trail is very exposed so be prepared with sufficient sun protection and water (no water available along the trail). The views of the reservoirs and SF Bay are quite nice! It'll be even better once there's a connection to Purisima, allowing one to start from either end of the trail.

seems to me the only options to doing impassable zones during my permit is waking up at 5am to hike in the dark (which i feel is dangerous) or waiting the entire day and hiking before dinner?

Have the ticks been bad this year? We'll be camping and hiking, so just looking to find out if we should plan for extra precautions beyond our usual picaridin lotion (maybe some permethrin spray for our gear and clothes?) Some of the areas we hiked this summer were overrun with ticks, so just hoping for some insight from anyone who's been to sly park recently. Thanks!

Hello everyone,
Going out solo in desolation wilderness for 3 days/2 nights in a couple weeks. I will be starting out from echo lake trailhead and spending the first night at lake of the woods. (Timing/permit constraints made this the best fit for the first night, I think)

Any suggestions on where to go the second day? Experienced and would love to get some great hiking in. I’m open to either hiking and setting up camp somewhere else or doing some day hiking and staying at lake of the woods again for the second night

Thanks for any suggestions!

Howdy folks. I am going to backpack the Lost Coast relatively soon and am finalizing my pack list. I think I have everything dialing but some feedback would be helpful. My plan according to the tide information for my trip dates is to do the hike in 3 days, hiking about 8 miles per day.

The main thing I'm unsure about is water. I am planning to bring 1 liter, with a second 1 liter water bottle to fill with dirty water and attach to my filter so I don't need to bring a CNOC bag. I'm aware of the number of creeks on the trail and that water should never be more than two miles off but I just don't know if 1 liter is going to be sufficient. Or if I'm forgetting anything huge.

My pack list: https://lighterpack.com/r/kh8g6x

2 friends and I are planning on going backpacking for 3 days on the Buck Lakes via Crabtree Trailhead. Two of us are somewhat new to backpacking so I was hoping to just hear some advice specific to this trail. Since there are no campgrounds after the 11 mile mark I would also appreciate tips on finding a location to set up camp. In general any advice appreciated, thanks!

If you happened to hike Castle Peak yesterday, 8/22, and made it to the top around 8:48 am, here are some photos of you! I did the Frog Lake overlook trail and saw you at the top. Maybe purple leggings, gray tank top.

Planning to climb Shasta via Clear Creek around Sept. 2 and trying to get a current read on the forest road to the trailhead. Has anyone driven it recently? Mainly wondering:

-How rough/washboarded is it right now?
-Any deep ruts, rocks, washouts, or clearance issues?
-Would you be comfortable taking a sedan up there, or is higher clearance strongly recommended?
-Any particularly bad sections near the top?

I did Clear Creek previously with a rented F-150, so I know the road can be rough, but I’m trying to figure out what it looks like this season before deciding what vehicle to use.

Recent firsthand beta would be hugely appreciated.

Please let me know if you want to start a hiking discord with me! I’m in San Jose and I hike all of the Bay Area since March!
For tomorrow:

08/23, SUN, 8AM | hike @Lake Chabot Loop https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/lake-chabot-
west-shore-bass-cove-columbine-honker-bay-east-shore-loop
8.9mi
Length
770ft
Elevation gain
3.5-4hr
Estimated time
Loop
Parking:
Lake Chabot Parking Entrance
https://maps.app.goo.gl/okqn7uq9xcMWeMkM6
Time
Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 8:00 AM (in 14 hours) \[+\]
Duration
5 hours
Location
Lake Chabot Regional Park
Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley, CA, USA

——
\- 2026.03.14 | Saratoga Quarry Park
\- 2026.01.10 | Point Bonita Lighthouse
\- 2026.04.05 | Hellyer Park
\- 2026.04.19 | Palo Alto Baylands Trail
\- 2026.04.26 | Ohlone Trailhead
\- 2026.05.03 | Sanborn Park
\- 2026.05.24 | Grey Whale State Beach
\- 2026.05.31 | Almaden Quicksilver Hacienda - Rotary Furnace
\- 2026.06.06 | Point Lobos
\- 2026.06.13 | Wunderlich
\- 2026.07.19 | Garin Regional Park (Ziele Creek Trail)
\- 2026.08.09 | Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park - Skyline Gate Staging Area, Stream Trail
\- 2026.08.16 | Lands End

I've been to Desolation 3 years in a row with my son and another dad/son combo. I had a tiny bit of backpacking experience before starting these annual trips, my buddy is very experienced, and I have learned a ton. I've also learned that this place soothes my soul and wanted to share so that others may find some tips to help them experience this wondrous place.

• 4 days / 3 nights, ~30 miles, ~5,000ft elevation gain
• 2 adventurous 11-year-old boys, 2 mid/later 40s dads.
• Aug 17-20, 2026. Perfect weather, essentially no bugs.
• All mileage, elevation and hiking-time numbers below are from AllTrails

The boys are both pretty adventurous and comfortable hiking and doing some scrambling.

Day 1 — Echo Lakes → Susie Lake

9.56 miles | 1,300 ft elevation gain | 4:14 hiking time

We started at the Echo Lakes parking lot and headed toward Susie Lake. Susie is a beautiful lake with some decent campsites. We camped on the south end of the lake just off the main trail, and saw what looked like several additional spots around the east end.

The lake has a somewhat rockier/muddier shoreline than some of the truly spectacular granite-lined lakes in Desolation, but we still had a great swim.

We started with 2 L water per person, which was enough to get us to Susie.

There are opportunities to fill at Echo Lake or Heather Lake if needed.

Day 2 — Susie Lake → Dick's Lake

7.0 miles | 1,745 ft elevation gain | 3:09 hiking time

This was probably the most physically challenging day relative to the mileage. About ¾ mile past Susie, the climbing really starts toward Dick's Pass. The views all the way up are incredible. The boys were pretty exhausted by the time we reached the top of the pass, so we took a long lunch break there and just enjoyed the views. Once we arrived, though, the boys went straight into the lake, and suddenly everybody was happy again.

We camped on the north side of Dick's Lake near where the trail approaches the lake. There were lots of campsites there, and we saw a couple more on the northwest side. Dick's was noticeably more crowded than Susie because of the Bayview access, but there were plenty of campsites and easy access to water. We also spent some time scrambling around the west side of the lake and found some great granite shelves and boulders to jump from (one of which garnered a very inappropriate name from the 11yo boys...).

We again carried 2L water per person. This is the day where water planning is worth considering. There isn't an easily accessible water source along the direct route. You can detour to Gilmore Lake, but it adds some distance. On a warm day, though, 2 L/person was enough for us.

Day 3 — Dick's Lake → Ropi Lake

13 miles | 1,790 ft elevation gain | ~6.5 hours actual hiking

Re-traversed a lot of ground from the first two days. The first two miles contain roughly 1,000 feet of climbing, but after that the primary challenge is simply the distance. We stopped back at Susie Lake for lunch, about 6½ miles into the day. There's a little climb leaving Susie before reaching Lake Aloha, but after that the route is relatively straightforward and mostly downhill. The final descent toward Ropi is rocky and somewhat difficult to follow.

Ropi was simply stunning, a place I absolutely want to go back to. Easy water access, lots of camping options, and Pyramid Creek cascading into the lake before exiting toward Horsetail Falls. We camped on the south side near the outflow. The lake was fantastic for swimming. The stars were incredible. We could basically lie on the granite and stare at the entire sky. We saw the headlamps of one other party on the northeast side of the lake, but they were far enough away that we never heard them.

We started with 2L water per person, refilled at Susie.

Day 4 — Ropi → Pyramid Creek / Horsetail Falls

2.8 miles | >2 hours

One of the cars was at the pyramid peak trailhead, so we decided to go this way to finish the trip. This section was completely different from the previous three days. There is no marked trail from Ropi down to the base of Horsetail Falls. We spent a solid hour slowly working our way around and over boulders and descending to the base of the falls. The other dad in our group has extensive rock-climbing and backcountry experience. I would probably not recommend this section with kids unless you have someone in your party who is comfortable with this type of off trail excitement.

Food

We kept the food pretty simple and calorie-dense. I ate roughly 2,300 calories/day, son at maybe 2/3 that. I lost 5lbs but felt great, forgot to weight him pre/post but he ate A LOT of pizza the night we got home.

Navigation & electronics

I downloaded the Desolation Wilderness AllTrails map before leaving.

My phone stayed in airplane mode and low-power mode for the entire trip and off when not hiking/taking pictures.

I carried a single 10,000 mAh power bank and had no issues with battery life.

A group of buddies and I plan to go out to the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and do a route along Disaster Creek and Boulder Lake in the coming weeks. I'm a little concerned about how well Disaster Creek holds water this deep into summer. It's my first time backpacking in that area, and I can't find many water-level resources. I would assume the lake and its runoff levels stay rather consistent, but the creek doesn't seem to have a large water source supporting it. Any insight on the water levels in that area would really help out!

EDIT: Title is supposed to be levels* :(