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California trails · South Kelsey National Recreation Trail

South Kelsey National Recreation Trail

A 27.0-mile point-to-point in California, with 4,820 ft of climbing. Reaches Baldy Peak and other lake/spring/summit destinations.

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Length
27.0 mi
Elevation gain
4,820 ft
Difficulty
Expert
Max grade
39%
Steepest mile
+1,014 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
13.7 mi
Shape
point-to-point
Surface
Dirt
Bikes
no
Horses
yes

Elevation profile

1,015 – 5,813 ft147101316192225

The climbing leans toward the middle third: 51% of the ascent falls between mile 9.0 and mile 18.0. It gives back about 5,580 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of South Kelsey National Recreation Trail

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.
Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).

Getting there

SOUTH KELSEY — parking nearby, restroom. About 1 h 11 min drive (30 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Crescent City. 41.65423, -123.86397 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:58 a.m., the sun rises at 7:26 a.m. and sets at 6:35 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:03 p.m. (PDT) — 11 h 10 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 27.0-mile route works out to roughly 12 h 25 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

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