Herd Peak Trail

Herd Peak Trail

Herd Peak Trail – Klamath National Forest 

Location: Siskiyou County, California, in USA
Length: 8.3 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Features: Pet friendly, Hiking, Mountain biking, rain shadow, double summit, twin peaks, 360 views

About the Herd Peak Trail

Herd Peak Trail is an 8.3 mile that’s best visited from April to November. The trailhead is along the numbered route meadow of Klamath National Forest. You then proceed to gully along Toolbox Creek, go up to 9,200 feet to the top gully, straight to the ridge, ending in the forest lands.

Hikers can start near Grass Lake Summit, just northeast of Weed, California then onto the National forest lands. As you take the ascend to Mt. Shasta, you can stop by the lookout with views of the five wilderness areas of the Klamath National Forest. Marble Mountains, Red Butte, Siskiyou Mountains, Mt Eddy, Shasta Valley, Salmon Mountains in the distance, Mt Ashland, Pilot Rock, lakes Goosenest and Grass Lake, and even the Klamath Basin in a distance can be seen from here. Herd Peak is a twin peak mountain and that prevents passages of rain-producing weather. So there’s scarce vegetation in that area. In the east side of th peak, a few groups of wild horses roam around. Though only few take this trail, they are very find the 360 views from the lookout.

Trails In The Klamath National Forest

The Klamath National Forest sits in the northern part of California bordering Oregon. It is made up of the Marble Mountain, Russian Wilderness Area, Trinity Alps, Red Buttes Wilderness Area and Siskiyou Wilderness Area. You can raft, swim, hike along the 200 mile river system. There are established and must-try national recreation trails within the forest.

Top 3 Adventure Hacks

1) Ride up to the look out

Get the best of both worlds with a combination of car ride and short hike 50 steps up the stairs to the lookout. 

2) Twin peak

Take advantage of the twin peak but taking the trail further and go down to the area in between in the peaks. Weather there can be quite dry, bring and wear essentials.

3) 360 mountain view

The lookout offers 360 views of many places including Siskiyou Mountains, Mt Eddy, Shasta Valley, Salmon Mountains and even up to the Klamath Basin. Take your time to take it all in.