California trails · Crabtree
Crabtree
A 12.4-mile out-and-back in California, with 1,552 ft of climbing. Reaches Piute Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,326 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Piute Lake (lake)
- Jewelry Lake (lake)
- Gem Lake (lake)
- Camp Lake (lake)
- Deer Lake (lake)
- Buck Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
CRABTREE — parking nearby, restroom, water. About 2 h 40 min drive (93 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Ione. 38.17938, -119.90968 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:40 a.m., the sun rises at 7:07 a.m. and sets at 6:23 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:49 p.m. (PDT) — 11 h 16 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 24.9-mile round trip takes roughly 10 h 46 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 5:52 p.m. — 31 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Pine Valley + Crabtree + Groundhog Meadow — 14.3 mi loop, 1,816 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Camp Irene — 26.5 mi
- Robinson Creek Trail — 28.4 mi
- Robinson Creek — 28.8 mi