California trails · Upper Mccloud River
Upper Mccloud River
A 15.8-mile network in California, with 671 ft of climbing. Reaches Lower Falls and other spring/viewpoint/waterfall destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 60% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 5.3.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Lower Falls (waterfall)
- Upper Falls (waterfall)
- Middle Falls (waterfall)
- Bundoora Spring (spring)
- Middle Falls Viewpoint (viewpoint)
- Upper Falls (viewpoint)
Heads up
Getting there
Upper Mccloud River access — parking nearby. About 1 h 19 min drive (64 mi, 1 of them unpaved) from Yreka. 41.25673, -121.88307 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:50 a.m., the sun rises at 7:17 a.m. and sets at 6:28 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:56 p.m. (PDT) — 11 h 10 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 15.8-mile route takes roughly 6 h 11 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:29 p.m. — 4 h 59 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Upper Mccloud River + Bigelow Neotropical — 0.9 mi loop, 148 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Avalanche Gulch Climbing Route — 19.5 mi