Canyon Creek Lakes

Thompson Peak reflect in Upper Canyon Lake

16 miles round trip, 3200 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate-strenuous
Access: Paved but narrow road to trailhead, no entrance fee required

Canyon Creek Lakes is the quintessential Trinity Alps hike, delivering views of sparkling alpine lakes, sharp and snowy granite peaks, and roaring waterfalls in an oft-overlooked corner of California. These attractions have guaranteed that the Canyon Creek Lakes hike is not overlooked though: this is one of the most popular trails in northwestern California. The pair of lakes set beneath Thompson Peak at the end of the hike are the main draw here, but visitors who come earlier in the hiking season can also admire the powerful spray of Canyon Creek Falls, which is surely one of California’s premier cascading streams outside the Sierra Nevada. Although few parts of this hike are extremely steep, the length of this hike still makes a one day journey to Canyon Creek Lakes and back quite challenging.

Canyon Creek’s long canyon resembles a sort of giant staircase, with four great steps descending from the head of the valley to its mouth. At each step, Canyon Creek tumbles over a major waterfall or cascade; the twin Canyon Creek Lakes lie atop the highest of these giant steps. This means that this hike is subdivided into stretches of fairly flat hiking punctuated by short but steep ascents up each of the steps of the staircase.

This is the most popular hike in the Trinity Alps. While a far drive from any major population center, Canyon Creek Lakes has become by far the best-known hiking destination in this corner of the state and the parking area will be overflowing on an average summer weekend. Most visitors do the Canyon Creek Lakes hike as an overnight backpacking trip due to the length of the hike; backpacking in the Trinity Alps Wilderness requires a backcountry permit, which can be obtained at the USFS ranger station in Weaverville, even after hours. On my visit on a Memorial Day weekend Sunday, I saw well over a hundred hikers along the trail over the course of a day. Luckily, there’s enough room to spread out and appreciate the many lakes and waterfalls of this hike, so even though I was rarely alone the hike never felt crowded.

This trail usually melts out by Memorial Day most years; late summers have typically been a crapshoot due to the wildfires and smoke that are common in this part of the state in August and September. The Trinity Alps are a long drive from most of California’s large population centers, with Redding being the closest city and Weaverville being the closest town. To reach the Canyon Creek Lakes Trailhead from Weaverville, I followed Highway 299 west across Oregon Mountain Summit for 8 miles to Junction City, turning right onto Canyon Creek Road when I came to the Junction City Store. I then followed the paved Canyon Creek Road for 13 miles up the valley to the Canyon Creek Lakes Trailhead. Canyon Creek Road is generally easy to drive, although it got a bit narrow and had a few potholes in the final miles approaching the trailhead. The trailhead parking lot was quite large considering the relatively remote location: there were designated parking spots for at least 50 cars and a pit toilet and cars were parked alongside the road for a quarter mile leading back from the parking lot. I nabbed the very last spot in the lot when I arrived around 7 AM on a Sunday.

The trail left from the far end of the parking lot loop. Starting uphill through the forest, the Canyon Creek Trail almost immediately split, coming to a junction where the Bear Creek Trail peeled off from the canyon Creek Trail. I took the left fork to stay on the Canyon Creek Trail at this junction. The trail initially began with a gradual ascent and quickly entered the Trinity Alps Wilderness, at which point the trail began to hug a steep hillside.

Entering the Trinity Alps Wilderness on the Canyon Creek Trail

At 0.4 miles, the Canyon Creek Trail descended slightly and crossed over Bear Creek. Across the creek, the trail climbed back out into Canyon Creek’s watershed and followed the side of the canyon above the creek. The trail had just the gentlest of inclines over the next two miles as it traveled through the forest. The forest along this hike was quite attractive: it was lusher than the forests of the Sierra Nevada and other area of California further south, although not quite as verdant as those of the Pacific Northwest, a reflection of the far wetter climate here compared to points south.

There were few views to speak of the in this forested stretch of the hike save occasional glimpses of the rocky ridges across the valley and the trail stayed too far above Canyon Creek to really see the creek either, making the first three miles of the hike the least interesting stretch of the hike. This began to change after the trail came to a junction with a spur trail to McKay Camp and the Sinks at 2.9 miles from the trailhead. The Sinks refer to an area where Canyon Creek flows beneath a rockslide; while this sounded interesting, I had a long day ahead of me to reach Canyon Creek Lakes so I chose to bypass this detour and continue straight along the Canyon Creek Trail.

The Canyon Creek Trail began its first climb in earnest after passing the spur to the Sinks. The trail ascended steadily at a moderate grade through the forest and made two switchbacks before it broke out onto an open granite slope for the first real views of the hike. From this vantage point slightly above the canyon, I was able to see Sawtooth Mountain, one of the Trinity Alps’ most iconic peaks, rising ahead up the valley. Granite ridges capped the forested slopes across the valley, while I was able to catch a glimpse of the thundering Canyon Creek Falls just slightly up the valley.

Trinity Alps rise above Canyon Creek

First view of Sawtooth Peak

After the granite clearing ended, the trail crossed a minor stream and then made a rightward turn. An unmarked spur path descended from this unmarked turn down to the lowest set of falls on Canyon Creek, which is also the most impressive. This unsigned detour is an absolute highlight of this hike and should not be missed. The social path led steeply downhill through forest and bushes, dropping over 200 feet in elevation until it came to an astonishing viewpoint of the two drops that together make up Canyon Creek Falls. Even when the path itself became unclear, the roar of the water kept me going the right direction.

Canyon Creek Falls was magnificent. Here, the roaring waters of Canyon Creek- which drains a watershed lined by the high, snowy peaks of the range- cascaded wildly and frothily down two drops, plunging into a rocky canyon hemmed in by forests and the high mountains of the Trinity Alps. Canyon Creek Falls is not the only waterfall on Canyon Creek- there were at least two more major waterfalls that I would see on this hike later in the day- but it is the largest and most significant waterfall in the valley. It is also known as Lower Canyon Creek Falls, to differentiate it from the Middle and Upper Canyon Creek Falls further upstream, but typically the unqualified name “Canyon Creek Falls” refers to this lowest and most impressive of the falls. To catch a full view of both drops of the falls, I explored around the rocky viewpoints above the canyon, finding superlative views from a slightly lower viewpoint below the main viewpoint at the end of the initial social path. Be careful here, though, as a fall into the creek would almost certainly be fatal.

 

Canyon Creek Falls (Lower Falls)

Rainbow over the lower drop of Canyon Creek Falls

The lower drop of Canyon Creek Falls

Retracing my steps up the social path to the main Canyon Creek Trail, I continued up the valley. The trail came to the side of Canyon Creek at 4 miles from the trailhead, where I was able to see a set of minor but pretty falls on the creek. 

Falls along Canyon Creek

Soon after, the canyon floor flattened out completely and the plunging creek transitioned to a placid stream, flowing leisurely by lovely old growth conifers. The next two miles of the Canyon Creek Trail were flat, a nice break from the ascent that had preceded. The trail passed to the east by the small but fairly unremarkable Canyon Creek Meadow, which had some views of the surrounding mountain walls.

Calm Canyon Creek

Canyon Creek Meadow

Beautiful old growth forest along Canyon Creek

The flat terrain ended at 5.8 miles from the trailhead. Here, as the trail was about to begin an ascent to the right, I found another unmarked spur trail that split to the left and headed towards Canyon Creek. A hundred meters through the forest along this spur trail brought me to the foot of Middle Canyon Creek Falls, another impressive and perhaps taller, albeit less powerful, cascade. The views from the base of the falls were nice, but the best views were from further up.

Unfortunately, there’s no well-defined path going up the side of the Middle Falls: if you don’t feel comfortable with rock scrambling and navigating your way back to rejoin the trail later, it is best to backtrack to the Canyon Creek Trail and to follow it uphill through a switchback ascent to the junction with the Boulder Creek Lakes Trail. However, adventurous hikers should abandon the trail briefly here and scramble up the granite boulders alongside the Middle Falls, where there are much better views of this thunderous cascade.

Middle Falls

Scrambling all the way up to the top of Middle Falls, I came to a patch of open granite slopes with views of Canyon Creek as it embarked on its drop through the falls and the snowy visage of Mount Hilton rising to the west. This was a scenic and quiet spot that is skipped over by the main trail: I took a break here to enjoy the lovely scenery.

View of Mount Hilton and the Boulder Lakes basin from above Middle Falls

There is no marked path leading from the top of Middle Falls back to the Canyon Creek Trail. The most straightforward approach- which I took- was to follow a faint path upstream along Canyon Creek until I met the Boulder Creek Lakes Trail at a point where that trail crossed Canyon Creek. Here, I turned right and followed the Boulder Creek Lakes Trail for three hundred meters back to the Canyon Creek Trail, where I rejoined the main trail at 6.3 miles from the trailhead and continued following it up the valley. The Boulder Creek Lakes Trail visits what I hear are a pair of exceptionally scenic lakes at the base of Mount Hilton; while I would certainly love to return, I didn’t have enough time for that detour on this hike.

A brief stretch of flatter hiking through the forest followed before the trail arrived at the next major step in the valley. The trail climbed out into the open as it ascended alongside Upper Canyon Creek Falls. Excellent views of this lovely cascade down the granite were now paired with views of the high peaks surrounding the valley, which included Sawtooth Mountain to the east and Mount Hilton to the west.

Upper Falls

Above the Upper Falls, the trail flattened out yet again, traveling through patchy forest and occasional clearings with nice mountain views. Plentiful wildflowers- including dogwoods in the forest and shooting stars in the clearings- made this an especially beautiful stretch of the trail during my hike. At 7.2 miles from the trailhead, the Canyon Creek Trail crossed Canyon Creek itself. In late May, with the creek at nearly full flow, this was quite challenging: I was able to walk along a few logs to cross the creek without getting wet, but without fortuitously placed logs I would have had to undertake a soaking, thigh-deep ford of the stream. Hiking poles were critical in helping me cross Canyon Creek without taking a dunk. Later season visitors may find this crossing much easier, but an easier crossing here also means less impressive waterfalls along the hike up.

Shooting stars blooming in the meadows

Fording Canyon Creek

Dogwoods blooming along Canyon Creek

Across Canyon Creek, the trail continued up the valley through the forest until arriving at the base of the fourth and final step of the valley at 7.4 miles from the trailhead. Here, Canyon Creek had another impressive cascade- this one unnamed- that marked its first steps down the valley from its headwaters in the lakes above. The trail headed across open granite and began a steep final ascent to Lower Canyon Creek Lake. Superlative views down the valley with the snowy peaks of the Trinity Alps unfurled.

Cascade on Canyon Creek below Lower Canyon Creek Lake

Trinity Alps view from approach to Lower Canyon Creek Lake

Finally, 7.5 miles from the trailhead, the trail flattened out and arrived at Lower Canyon Creek Lake, a beautiful, watery blue gem nestled beneath the sharp pinnacle of Thompson Peak. At 9002 feet, Thompson Peak is the tallest summit of the Trinity Alps and lies at the heart of the range. Snow adorned the granite bench beneath the summit pyramid and usually sticks around until late summer most years (the only glacier of the Trinity Alps lies on the opposite side of Thompson Peak). The lake was delightfully cold on the extremely hot day of my hike; despite its great distance from the trailhead, there were numerous hikers here enjoying the water, although most were backpackers rather than day hikers.

Thompson Peak rising over Lower Canyon Creek Lake

A social trail followed the west shore of the lake, providing multiple access points to the lakeshore for hikers to relax and enjoy the view. This trail was idyllic and I enjoyed exploring it for a short stretch; however, to reach Upper Canyon Creek Lake, I instead followed a poorly marked trail that led up the granite benches on the west side above the lakeshore. This trail followed the spine of the granite ridge for a brief stretch before heading to the right off of the ridge and traversing through a landscape of rocks and sparse trees above the lower lake. After reaching the far end of the lower lake, the trail made a brief turn into a gully before climbing back out onto an open granite slope that overlooked the upper lake.

The upper lake was a granite-bound bowl situated directly beneath the jagged, snowy crest of the Trinity Alps. A great buttress of stone rose directly across this lake, leading up towards the snow-covered shoulders of the Trinity Alps' greatest peaks. The view of the lake was superb; I was able to see some different angles on this view by taking the trail that followed the granite divide between the upper and lower lakes. The upper lake was far quieter than the lower lake, with far fewer hikers making it up this far.

Crest of the Trinity Alps above Upper Canyon Creek Lake

The low granite ridge near the outlet of Upper Canyon Creek Lake also provided a stunning view downhill of Lower Canyon Creek Lake and the snowy, forested peaks that rose further down the valley. In fact, the view from here is perhaps one of the most iconic of the Canyon Creek Lakes and the Trinity Alps; I enjoyed this astounding landscape and had my lunch before starting the lengthy return to the trailhead.

Lower Canyon Creek Lake

This was a highly enjoyable hike. Although extremely popular, the scenic highlights of this pair of lakes and the waterfall-filled valley leading up to this location in the heart of the Trinity Alps are too spectacular to skip over. A single day was barely enough to enjoy everything this trail had to offer; while I would recommend visiting Canyon Creek Lakes whether on a day hike or backpack, this certainly would have been a great place to stay overnight to explore more.

Cowles Bog

Indiana Dunes and Lake Michigan

4.5 miles loop, 250 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
Access: Decent gravel road to trailhead, Indiana Dunes National Park entrance fee required

The Cowles Bog hike allows you to experience a little bit of everything that makes the new Indiana Dunes National Park special: a lush and biodiverse wetland, tall dunes, views of vast Lake Michigan, and reminders of the region's industrial past and present. The bog is named after Henry Cowles, a pioneering ecologist at the University of Chicago who made important observations at this wetland and in the surrounding dunes that contributed to the area's eventual preservation. Although the scenery here is not flashy, I found Cowles Bog to be a joy to hike with its profusion of wildflowers, relative seclusion, and good views. If you have time for just a single hike at Indiana Dunes National Park, Cowles Bog would be a reasonable choice.

I hiked Cowles Bog while visiting Indiana Dunes National Park with a friend living in Chicago. We drove in from Chicago, taking I-94 south and east into Indiana and leaving the interstate at exit 26A for Route 49. Upon exiting, we took Route 49 north for two miles and then made a left turn for the ramp to connect with US Route 12; we took the left fork at the bottom of the ramp to head west on US Route 12. We followed US 12 west for 1.4 miles and then turned right onto Mineral Springs Road. We followed this paved road with no lane divides north for three-quarters of a mile to the gate for Dune Acres; at this point, we turned right and followed a short gravel road into the parking lot for the Cowles Bog Trail. Parking here was somewhat limited, with room for less than 20 cars; if this parking lot is full, you will have to park 2/3 mile to the south at the Calumet Trailhead to access this hike. On a late May weekend day, there was a national park attendant monitoring the parking situation at the trailhead to prevent illegal parking. We were lucky and found a spot, but Indiana Dunes is popular enough that you may need to arrive earlier or later in the day to guarantee finding a spot. There was no entrance fee when I visited, but Indiana Dunes National Park has since implemented entrance fees; I am not certain where fee collection occurs.

From the parking lot, we walked back down the short gravel road to get back to Mineral Springs Road and then crossed the road to reach the start of the trail. The trail started by traveling along an elevated strip between lush, forested wetlands on both sides. In May, the fresh green colors of the forest and bog here were extremely refreshing; this was a landscape bursting with life. Ferns were sprouting up throughout the partially-flooded plane and cattails occurred in open spots with more sun. There was plenty of wildlife as well: we heard the call of birds in the forest and saw a turtle crossing the trail.

Ferns abound in Cowles Bog

The rich vegetation of Cowles Bog

Turtle on the trail

The landscape of Cowles Bog played a crucial role in Dr. Henry Cowles' study of ecological succession. The bog's complex mosaic of habitats, including wetlands, sand dunes, and forests, provided Cowles, then a professor at the University of Chicago, with a unique opportunity to observe and document the changes in plant and animal communities over time. Cowles' research on ecological succession revealed that the bog was not a static environment, but a dynamic system in which different species of plants and animals replaced one another in a predictable sequence.

Cowles observed that the sand dunes at the bog's edge were colonized by pioneering species of grasses, which were gradually replaced by shrubs and trees as the dunes stabilized. Similarly, he noted that the wetlands in the bog were colonized by different species of plants depending on the depth of the water, and that these communities changed over time as the water level fluctuated. 

After a third of mile of hiking from the trailhead, the wetlands to the right of the trail ended and the trail began following the base of a forested dune; the forested part of the bog still lay to the left (south) side of the trail. At 0.8 miles, we came to a junction where the Cowles Bog Trail began its figure eight loop. Here, we took the right fork, which took us uphill and away from the bog as the trail began its first ascent. This short uphill climb brought me up and over a forested dune; while the vegetation on the hill somewhat hid that all the hills here were just dunes, the loose sand underfoot betrayed that we were on one of the park's namesake dunes. Being amongst the dunes didn't mean that we were done with the wetlands, though: after crossing the first dune, the trail returned to the boundaries of an open marsh.

Cowles Bog

In late May, the forest floor on the dunes was awash with wildflower color. Columbine, geraniums, and lupine were among the many flowers in bloom, lining the sandy path up the dunes.

Blooming geraniums

Columbine and lupine

At 1.2 miles, the trail began another climb into the sandy hills, these forested dunes. The ascents here are somewhat more challenging than trails of a similar grade elsewhere due to the looseness of the sand. The trail here was incredibly idyllic, though, because of the flowers dotting the forest floor. The trail came to a junction at 1.4 miles, where the left fork cut the loop short; we took the right fork to proceed along the main Cowles Bog Trail to the shores of Lake Michigan.

Trail across forested and flower-coated dunes

The trail went up and down through this stretch of the Indiana Dunes until, at 1.7 miles, we emerged in the open atop Mount Bentley Dune, adjacent to the lake. From this open vantage point, we enjoyed the best views of the hike, which encompassed the neighboring forest, an expanse of sand beneath my feet, and the placid waters of Lake Michigan ahead.

Mount Bentley dune and Lake Michigan

Gazing across the lake, we caught a sight of the faint Chicago skyline; on a less stormy day, it might be more clear. The distinctive forms of the Willis Tower and the John Hancock Tower were both clearly distinguishable, even from this distance. The distant skyline was the only reminder that Lake Michigan was just a lake and not the vast ocean.

Chicago skyline visible across Lake Michigan

After soaking in the dune-top views, we descended down the steep sides of the dune towards the lakeshore. At the base of the dune, we came to a junction with a trail that led west through the grass towards the return leg of the loop; however, we skipped this junction and decided to follow the path all the way down to the waterfront and the beach along Lake Michigan, which we reached at just under 2 miles from the trailhead.

Looking west, we could see the two massive smokestacks of the Bailly generating station, a large coal-fired power plant that is part of the Port of Indiana industrial zone.

Bailly Generating Station at the Port of Indiana

The Port of Indiana was built into the heart of the Indiana Dunes in the 1960s, creating a massive industrial area and port in what used to be the Central Dunes of the Indiana Dunes. Bethlehem Steel and US Steel lobbied for the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the lake bottom near Burns Harbor to create a deepwater port for transporting coal and steel; the result was this complex just east of Gary. The construction of the port split the Indiana Dunes in two and destroyed a large swath of the central dunes; this was one of the multiple environmental catastrophes affecting the Indiana Dunes that eventually led to the dunes' preservation and recent establishment as a national park.

Looking east along the lakeshore, we had a view of the forested dunes coming down to the water for miles until reaching the NIPSCO Michigan City power plant in the distance, a coal-fired power plant that sits atop the site of one of the other environmental catastrophes of the Indiana Dunes. The power plant is built on the former site of the Hoosier Slide, once the largest of all the Indiana Dunes, which was completely torn apart and mined for its sand to make millions of Ball Corporation Mason jars.

View along the Indiana Dunes to the Michigan City power plant

Ahead of us lay the vast expanse of Lake Michigan- the largest lake fully within the United States, the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by area, truly an freshwater sea. Three hundred miles of open freshwater separated our position on the southern end of the lake from the north shore on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Lake Michigan

We followed the beach to the west for a fifth of a mile and came to a path leading back up the dunes from the beach at 2.2 miles into the hike. Taking this path, we began the return leg of the loop. After crossing a flat, grass-covered stretch of the dune, the trail embarked on a steep climb up the forested dune of Mount Tuthill. This was the steepest and most extended ascent of the hike: the trail notches 120 feet of elevation gain in one go here. Although potentially tough for Midwest standards, hikers visiting from more mountainous areas are still likely to find this a short uphill climb.

Back among the wooded dunes, we enjoyed the forested landscape and the profusion of spring wildflowers blooming amidst the blooms. The spring scenery here was overwhelmingly verdant. Only the sand underfoot reminded us that these hills were sand and not soil. 

Lupine blooming on the wooded dunes

At 2.7 miles, we passed a junction that headed towards the inbound leg of the loop; we stayed to the right at the junction and continued on the larger loop. This trail briefly followed a low sand ridge before it dropped down to the bog and cut through the wetlands. At times, there were glimpses from the trail to the nearby Port of Indiana complex and its sprawling industrial campus.

Cowles Bog

At 3.3 miles, we came to another trail junction where the Greenbelt Trail split off from the Cowles Bog Trail. The right fork for the Greenbelt Trail followed the southern boundary of the bog to Mineral Springs Road; we took the left fork, which kept us on the north end of the bog. We closed the loop at 3.6 miles into the hike and then followed the path through the bog that we had come in on back to the trailhead.

Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable and rewarding hike and the highlight of my day in the Indiana Dunes. The diversity of scenery on this hike- sandy dunes, blooming forest, a vast lake, verdant wetlands, industrial history, and a plethora of wildlife and wildflowers- made this a satisfying and unique experience and makes this a highly recommended hike when visiting the Indiana Dunes.

Calaveras South Grove

Massive sequoias of the Calaveras Big Trees South Grove

5 miles loop, 750 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
Access: Paved road to trailhead, Calaveras Big Trees State Park entrance fee required

South Grove- the more remote of the two giant sequoia groves in California’s Calaveras Big Trees State Park- is a lovely forest featuring many behemoth trees in a quieter and less touristy setting than the better known and more easily accessible North Grove in the same park. While the trail-accessible portions of this grove generally do not have a high density of these giant trees, there are some superlative trees along the five-mile loop hike through the grove. Most impressive of these trees include the Agassiz Tree, the largest sequoia in South Grove, along with other notables such as the Palace Hotel Tree and the Chimney Tree. As giant sequoias here occur at as low as 4500 feet- half the elevation of the sequoias found at Atwell Grove, hundreds of miles to the south- this is the lowest elevation of all giant sequoia groves. The hike to access this low elevation grove starts with a 1.2-mile access trail, includes a one-mile loop within the grove, and peaks along a 1.5 mile-round trip spur to the heart of the grove.

The road from the entrance of Calaveras Big Trees State Park to the South Grove Trailhead is closed during winter and is typically inaccessible from the first major snowfall of each winter until sometime in May, depending on snowfall each year- check the state park website to make sure the road is open before you go.

I visited Calaveras Big Trees State Park and hiked to the South Grove during an early May visit in a low-snow year, when dogwoods were blooming amidst the great redwood giants. The park is closest to Stockton and Sacramento and is a bit far for a day trip from the Bay Area, although those who are very ambitious could make it work. Driving in from the Stockton area, I followed Highway 4 east across the Central Valley, winding into the foothills above Copperopolis and passing the classic Gold Rush towns of Angels Camp and Murphys. I arrived at Calaveras Big Trees State Park about 70 miles after leaving Stockton on Highway 4 and made a right turn into the park; after passing through the park entrance, I followed a paved but winding and narrow 8-mile road across the North Fork Stanislaus River to the South Grove Trailhead near the end of the road. There were pit toilets here; services are more plentiful if you stop at the visitor center near the park entrance.

Leaving the trailhead, the South Grove Trail descended gently through forest to reach the banks of granite-lined Beaver Creek at 0.2 miles. The trail crossed this pretty creek on a well-built bridge. After the bridge, the South Grove Trail passed two junctions in quick succession with the Bradley Grove Trail, which split off to the left at both junctions; both times, I stuck to the right fork to continue towards South Grove. The trail ascended at a gentle to moderate grade after leaving Beaver Creek, passing through forests of pine mixed with dogwoods that were blooming during my May visit.

Bridge over Beaver Creek

The trail stuck to fairly plain Sierra pine forest for just over the first mile, encountering no sequoias along the way. The uphill ascent was gentle here, although during my early-season hike I had to climb around some sizable fallen trees. At one mile from the trailhead, the South Grove Trail crossed an old logging road. At 1.2 miles, the trail arrived at the edge of the grove and came to the start of the South Grove loop. I hiked the loop counterclockwise and started out by taking the left fork.

The left fork brought me across a stream, where the trail embarked on a steep climb- the most intense of the hike- that quickly elevated me 200 feet, after which the trail leveled out and headed up the valley. Here, I encountered the first sequoias of the hike, although there weren't any large sequoias that were close to the trail itself. Looking up and downslope, I spotted a few mature giant sequoias, some of which were quite impressive in girth.

Giant sequoia in South Grove

At just under 2 miles, the loop trail made a short descent and crossed the creek at the bottom of the valley and then came to a trail junction. The loop continued to the left, returning towards the trailhead, while the right fork was a spur heading deeper into the grove.

I took the right fork at this junction, following the spur trail for two-thirds of a mile to the Agassiz Tree. If you’ve come this far, you absolutely need to take the spur from the loop, as the spur has the best sequoia scenery of this hike.

Sequoia with dogwood flowers

Two hundred meters down the spur trail, I came to the Chimney Tree, a wide-girthed giant sequoia that had been completely hollowed out by fire such that the crown of the tree had toppled; however, the tree was still alive, sporting newer growth atop its original trunk.

Chimney Tree

Past the Chimney Tree, the trail began to pass by more and more giant sequoias, entering a more scenic part of the grove. In one of the most scenic moments of the hike, the trail passed right between two massive sequoias with diameters well over 15 feet that were growing side by side.

Sequoias of Calaveras South Grove

At 2.5 miles, I came upon the Palace Hotel Tree, which rose to the left of the trail and was marked by a small sign. The name of this enormous tree was apt: the inside of this 20+ foot diameter tree had been hollowed out by fire, creating a spacious chamber that would easily be as large as a small bedroom in a San Francisco apartment. Such burn scars are known as goosepens, having been used by early European American arrivals in the area to contain their poultry. This particular tree received its name soon after the opening of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, a grand and majestic structure that today still stands along Market St. near Montgomery Station.

Immense goosepen in the Palace Hotel Tree

Looking up at the Palace Hotel Tree

Leaving the Palace Hotel Tree, I continued another 200 meters onward until the trail made a rightward turn to reach the Agassiz Tree at 2.7 miles from the trailhead. The trail ended at the base of the tree, with a footpath going downhill and wrapping around the base of the tree. A few logs between the Agassiz Tree and Big Tree Creek provided places for hikers to rest and enjoy views of this arboreal behemoth. Blooming dogwoods dotted the understory around the Agassiz Tree, adding a lot of floral interest to the scenery.

Dogwoods at the Agassiz Tree

 

Base of the Agassiz Tree

The Agassiz Tree is the thirty-seventh largest giant sequoia in the world and the largest giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park; it is the largest giant sequoia north of the Washington Tree in Mariposa Grove. The tree is stupendous, boasting a 25-foot diameter and standing over 260 feet tall. The base of the tree was hollowed out on one side by an enormous goosepen that rivaled the burn scar of the Palace Hotel Tree.

Goosepen of the Agassiz Tree

The tree is named after Louis Agassiz, a Swiss-born naturalist who taught at Harvard. Agassiz is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking work in glaciology, identifying geological features that result from glaciers and postulating that Europe had once endured continental glaciation during Ice Ages. Agassiz’s legacy is somewhat complicated now due to a number of his writings justifying scientific racism; however, while we should remember him Agassiz's failings in addition to his achievements, it is fair to note that Agassiz is remembered and commemorated today despite his failings, not because of them.

The mighty Agassiz Tree

After enjoying my lunch at the Agassiz Tree, I began my return towards the trailhead; at 3.4 miles I came to the junction with the loop again and this time took the right fork to complete the loop counterclockwise. There were not too many giant sequoias near this part of the trail but I was able to enjoy the sprinkling of white dogwood flowers throughout the lower portion of the forest canopy.

Dogwoods in South Grove

At 3.6 miles, I spotted the Kansas Group, a set of three mature giant sequoias, off to the left of the trail. In South Calaveras Grove’s general lack of sequoia density, these three great trees in such close proximity was quite striking. Continuing along the northern leg of the loop, I returned to the junction at the start of the loop at 3.9 miles; there were no sequoias of note in the final stretch of the loop. Back at the start of the loop, I followed the South Grove Trail for just over a mile, crossing Beaver Creek and then returning to the trailhead.

Kansas Group

South Calaveras Grove is not the most impressive sequoia grove due to its low density of trees- Giant Forest, Mariposa Grove, and Redwood Mountain Grove are certainly more picturesque. However, the awesome size of some of the individual trees in this grove still makes it a satisfying hike and it remains one of the best places to see giant sequoias north of Yosemite National Park.

Kungsklyftan and Vetteberget

View of Fjallbacka from Vetteberget

2 km round trip, 70 meters elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
Access: Paved, narrow road to trailhead; parking limited in Fjallbacka

The best view of Fjallbacka- one of the most charming and picturesque towns along Sweden's rocky Bohuslan Coast- is from the top of the great dome of Vetteberget, which overlooks the tidy red-roofed town and its nearby archipelago and fjords. While there are multiple routes to reach the top of Vetteberget, none is more dramatic than the Kungsklyftan- a deep gorge bisecting the rock of Vetteberget that leads to the staircase climb to this rocky hill's grand summit. While not particularly difficult, this hike does involve climbing quite a few stairs and some uneven footing and the conditions atop Vetteberget can be extremely windy. This is a must-do for all visitors to Fjallbacka and was one of the loveliest spots on the west coast of Sweden.

Fjallbacka is a small and indescribably lovely town along the Bohuslan Coast, just under two hours of driving north of Gothenburg. While it was quiet during my May visit- which is still during the off season- in summer it can apparently become quite busy as one of Sweden's most beloved coastal towns. Ingrid Bergman, the elegant Hollywood leading lady of the 1940s who starred opposite Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, spent the later years of her life in this idyllic seaside town. 

Anna and I hiked through the Kungsklyftan and up Vetteberget during a May visit to Sweden. We stayed at the Bryggan Fjallbacka, which is in the heart of town and just steps away from the trailhead of the Kungsklyftan hike. For visitors just in town for the day, there are pay parking lots along Falkevagen up the hill from the center of town.

From the Bryggan Fjallbacka, we walked south along the waterfront, passing a monument to Ingrid Bergman. Right after passing the monument and a children's playground, we made a left and headed for an arched gateway at the base of the Vetteberget's cliffs: this was the start of the path through the Kungsklyftan. The path immediately began a steep, rocky staircase climb through the forested entrance to the Kungsklyftan gorge; there were nice views back down towards the Fjallbacka harbor.

At the top of the rocky staircase, the trail leveled out in the heart of the Kungsklyftan gorge. This narrow cleft in Vetteberget was extraordinarily dramatic: massive, house-sized boulders were lodged between the great vertical cliffs. The trail passed underneath the boulders, following wooden planks that made footing while traversing the rocky bottom of the gorge a little easier. 

Kungsklyftan

After 200 meters of hiking up the staircase and through the Kungsklyftan gorge, we arrived at the base of a wooden staircase. This staircase- built into the side of the cliff- ascended from the gorge up to the rocky summit plateau of Vetteberget. From the base of the staircase, the exit out the far side of the Kungsklyftan gorge was visible- we were just a few meters away from the houses on the south side of the mountain. Instead of exiting, however, we headed up the staircase.  

Stairway up Vetteberget

The wooden stairs were quite steep, so we had to pause for a break a little over halfway up; we were rewarded with ever-improving views. Below us lay the colorful houses of Fjallbacka, which spilled down the hill to the harbor, rose a myriad of rocky islands that make up the Fjallbacka archipelago. Beyond the farthest of the islands lay the vast and cold North Sea.

View from Vetteberget

Colorful Fjallbacka

The staircase ended at Vetteberget's summit plateau, where the trail faded out onto the granite. In May, the winds at the summit were intense, with a steady gale whipping across Vetteberget from the North Sea. However strong the winds were, the spectacular views made the views atop the staircase worth it: below us lay the idyllic seaside town, sandwiched between the cliffs and a fjord, with infinite rocky islands stretching towards the horizon.

Fjallbacka

The top of the staircase was not the high point of Vetteberget; the true high point of this rocky hill was unclear, but as the views off the sides of the cliffs were most interesting, missing the high point did not seem like anything to be concerned about. Instead, we chose to explore the northern side of Vetteberget to see if we could find views over the central part of Fjallbacka and its stately stone church. We could see a high point on the northern side of the rock but there was no direct path to reach it from the top of staircase- multiple areas of bushy vegetation made a direct traverse of the rocky plateau impractical. Instead, we followed the western cliffs of the mountain and then circled around to the viewpoint on the north side of the rock.

Fjallbacka Archipelago

Looking out into the Fjallbacka Archipelago

Arriving on the north side of Vetteberget, we had the most picturesque view of Fjallbacka. Seventy meters below us lay the red roofs and white walls of this coastal town, which was bounded by rocky cliffs on three sides and the sea by the fourth, with the town's great church rising behind it. The scenery from this viewpoint had some satisfying balance: on one side, a rocky landscape and on the other, the sea.

Fjallbacka from Vetteberget

I did this hike twice during my stay in Fjallbacka. The most straightforward return route from the summit is to retrace your steps down the Kungsklyftan, but an alternate route is to turn left and exit the south side of the Kungsklyftan. The trail ends on the residential street of Brandgatan; we followed Brandgatan downhill through the red-roofed houses until we came to Sodra Hamngatan by the water. We turned right onto waterfront road and followed it north along the base of Vetteberget until we returned to our lodging at Bryggan Fjallbacka.

In high tourist season, perhaps this hike is busier and somewhat less pleasant. During our cold and windy May visit, we had these views more or less to ourselves even though the town was just a stone's throw away. We both found Fjallbacka and the Bohuslan Coast to be charming and the views from Vetteberget were surely among the best views that we found along the coast. Recommended if you visit this corner of Sweden.