Big Bar Area

Whether on foot or bike, Trinity River Management Unit (TRMU) carries you into a world of Pacific madrone, ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and white oak, which line small streams and surround deep lakes penetrated by granite domes.

There are a number of trail experiences on the TRMU. Trailblazers can choose any where between a scenic, quarter-mile hike to Backbone Creek (particularly colorful in autumn) to a 19-mile+ backcountry mountain excursion that continues through an extensive forest trail system. Big and Little Boulder Lake Trail is an easy and rewarding two mile hike leading to sights of impressive granite walls, deep blue waters, conifer forests and showy wildflowers. Hobo Gulch to Grizzly Lake Trail is for the experienced hiker; trail affords views of a large alpine lake and a 70-foot waterfall. A popular choice is Stuart Fork Trail that starts from Bridge Camp Campground. The trail has very little elevation variation, good fishing opportunities and the option of continuing 15 miles to Sapphire Lake.

Mountain biking is a popular pastime on the TRMU. Several trails afford experiences for the novice and experienced biker. Some trails are moderately strenuous requiring the rider and bike to be in fairly good shape. The scenic vistas are worth the effort: Trinity Alps, Trinity Divide and Trinity Lake. A great mountain bike ride for people of all experience levels is along the Minersville Trail that parallels the shoreline of Trinity Lake.

Anglers will find cold, clear running streams on the unit providing excellent catches of steelhead, silver salmon and Chinook salmon in the Trinity River and native rainbow trout in tributary creeks and streams.