Grizzly Lake Falls in Shasta's Trinity Alps

In order to hike to Grizzly Lake Falls there are a few things to know. First hikers should fill out a card at the Weaverville Ranger Station and let the rangers know what car they're driving and where they'll be parked. The hike is free.

Fill up the car with gas and drive for almost three hours to the China Gulch trail head. There are a few other hikes that are a lot closer to the ranger station; for instance Canyon Creek Lakes and the Four Lakes Loop; both are awesome.

The Callahan Emporium bar is half way to the China Gulch trail and they have food etc. On the way out of the park there's a road that connects Callahan to Highway 5 with a fantastic view of Mt. Shasta, via the town of Gazelle.

To hike to Grizzly Lake from China Gulch, hikers need to complete two trails; the China Spring Trail and the Grizzly Creek trail. Unfortunately, the China Spring trail is hard and adds a lot of difficulty to the hike.

The first stretch of the China Spring trail crosses China Creek and that's the only water source until Grizzly Creek. There's a 1000 foot assent to a camp spot without water and then a 1500 foot sharp decent to a group camp at Grizzly Creek.

The Grizzly Creek trail gradually regains that whole 1500 feet of elevation until hikers reach the bottom of Grizzly Lake Falls. Then, to see the lake, hikers have to scramble up another 1000 feet to the top of the cliff where the lake is at.

The scramble to Grizzly Lake is something hikers should be prepared to do with their gear stashed at the bottom of the cliff. More or less, the scramble is extremely dangerous and should be done without a pack on. There's awesome camping and water at the top and bottom of the cliff.