Paradise: Paradise Lake

Klamath National Forest

DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3

Purple line for day 1. Click for interactive map

In the continuing saga of going to high places because "it's like June out there", Daniil and I headed to the upper trailhead of the Kelsey Creek Trail. For this episode, however, there was a spring storm through on Wednesday, so we weren't quite sure what travel would be like in the high elevations. Copernicus sailed by after, but took pictures of clouds. Just a little mystery to keep us on our toes.

Regulations and map on the left, a little history in the middle, at the trailhead.

This is the easternmost portion of the Kelsey National Recreation Trail, which will take you at least as far as the west side of Siskiyou Wilderness, admittedly with a big chunk of road walking and a name change in between. The historic Kelsey Trail was a major supply route from Crescent City to Fort Jones in the 1850s. This day's travel would complete my travel along the whole of the trail. Well, except for the little segment down to Bridge Flat. (The road portions were Scion passable in 2020.) The trail down looked to have a lot of logs across it. The trail we took was fairly clear.

Kellogg's monkeyflowers were frequent.

A lot of work to carve this trail above Kelsey Creek.

We found ourselves passing above a beautiful creek. While the map promised a waterfall miles ahead, there were several to admire right here, even if it was generally a little awkward. The hillsides were scattered in flowers with scarlet fritallaries really stealing the show being both showy and possibly the most numerous and frequent flower.

Looking down one waterfall along the way.

The bigleaf maple still has little leaves and lots and lots of flowers.

One of a hillside of blue dicks.

Spoiler: there will be snow.

The scarlet fritillary, like much of its genus, has an intriguing checkerboard pattern.

One of only a few smallflower woodland stars.

The inputs get in on the waterfall action a little.

Another tributary looks a little impressive on the approach.

There's even more to see above.

The harmless garter snake was not so harmless to whatever became that bulge.

The local larkspurs were short and very light in color.

A whole hillside of scarlet fritillaries.

A little closer on some of these scarlet bells in another direction.

The canyon isn't quite as rocky and pretty when we finally enter the Marble Mountain Wilderness after a couple miles.

Entering the Marble Mountain Wilderness.

Found a few small-leaf monkeyflower.

We also got into area where the last burn clearly changed things. We started at the edge of and had long been inside the footprint of the 2014 Frying Pan Fire, but now the nature of its effects were changing.

One little waterfall on a seasonal tributary and its burned environment.

The North Fork of Kelsey Creek has a lot more water, but it burned badly too.

Yet there's still room for a nearby wet rock with thin dirt and lush growth of, say, hairy bittercress.

And a whole mess of broad-leaved stoncrops just thinking about flowering.

Around the corner it is already hot and dry and a yellow Triteleia is already putting out a first flower.

A white Annaphila (moth, left) and a brown elfin (butterfly, right) share a saskatoon.

Soon after the North Fork, we got to Maple Falls, although we weren't sure which part of this cascade was specifically the waterfall. Maybe all of it. We decided it was likely a bit higher up the creek than where it is marked. It would be if we were in charge, anyway.

Some part or all of this long cascade is Maple Falls.

Echo azure on a gummy gooseberry.

The upper section of Maple Falls area.

The plunges near the very top.

Overlook, looking back over the general area from near the top of Maple Falls.

It was maybe half a mile after the waterfall that we spotted the first nearby snow, and less than another to having snow on the trail.

Above the snow! (About 4600 feet high.)

Little waterfalls along the way.

Snow on trail! (About 4900 feet high.)

The rather patchy and thin layer of snow didn't make it hard to be sure of the trail. We got to the range fence and there the trail started splitting. At the gate, or where it would be when the cattle come, the split was into pieces only 20 feet apart, so not really a different route, but there would be more confusing "intersections".

The range fence doesn't look in good shape, but the white strand on the spool suggests they're using portable electric fencing these days.

As marshy patches got more prevalent and snow more determined to be packing around my shoes, I stopped to pull on dry socks and gaiters.

Trail can be hard to discern under the snow on flat ground, but the cut logs suggest the way.

We came to an unexpected actual junction. Apparently this is a spot where the current National Recreation Trail diverges from the old Kelsey Trail. The NRT continues along Kelsey Creek, then jogs along the Pacific Crest Trail to head down Bear Creek on the other side. The old trail turned to pass Turk Lake and go directly over the saddle to Bear Creek.

A well signed junction.

Steps rise and vanish under the snow.

A look behind.

A mountain and a shelf for a lake began to develop ahead and they looked a little familiar, even if seen from a completely different angle and with a layer of white stuff clinging to some of it.

One of the buttes around the Kings Castle that rises above Paradise Lake, there where the trail is pointing.

The trail actually stuck to the fairly snow free south facing slope as it climbed, for a little while. Eventually it turns around along an east facing slope with northeast facing sections. The snow went from hardly there to knee high to a few steps right up to our thighs. Only the thigh high stuff actually hid the trail shelf. All of it was soft powder and just took slow care to maneuver through.

Getting to an area where there's much coverage of snow.

Along the trail, thin snow and nude brush here turning into thick snow ahead.

Looking back down along Kelsey Creek from the edge of the shelf with the lake.

At the top, we did lose the trail and ended up circling a little extra to the junction, then headed over to the lake. It was already in deep shadow for the evening.

Pools in the flat of snow actually show the path of the Pacific Crest Trail heading south.

This junction sign was a little on the short side, but not quite that short.

Paradise Lake in shadow is practically black and white.

The rough skinned newts are still here.

Kings Castle in the back toward the right.

The newts also come in twos.

And threes?

While Daniil had been feeling despair that there wouldn't be any bare ground to camp on, I had just been feeling insufficiently informed. After looking over the lake and the traditional camp sites, we headed off to the east where, just before everything drops off to the trail below, there was bare ground. Lots of it and much of it fairly flat. We were even able to pick spaces between the glacier lilies, not on top.

The glacier lilies weren't tall enough to look down, so had to look up.

And while I had been perfectly happy day hiking through water with dry socks and light shoes, backpacking like that did leave me with rather cold feet as I cooked my supper. There was a flat rock to cook on under a tree with a lowered branch that stopped most the light wind, but it left me sitting with my wet surrounded feet in trail runners and dry socks in some snow. Which was chilly. At least until I was done and they could be tucked under a quilt in down socks.

Continue on to the next day ⇒


*photo album*




©2026 Valerie Norton
Published 2 May 2026