The Horse Camp Trail at Mount Shasta begins at Bunny Flat, three miles before the end of the Everitt Memorial Highway. This trail culminates at the Shasta Alpine Lodge, a 720-acre horse camp owned and operated by the Sierra Club Foundation. The camp, at 7,884 feet, serves as a base camp for hikers climbing Mount Shasta and offers a seasonal source of fresh spring water from late May through September. In the winter months, it serves as an emergency shelter.
This frequently hiked, 3.5-mile out-and-back trail is the first portion of the route to the summit of Mount Shasta, where over 90% of attempts on the summit start out. The forested trail is shady, but offers little views until you reach your destination at the camp, but then opens up and connects with a number of trails running higher above the treeline. These trails lead to Helen Lake, Hidden Valley, Green Butte, and a hidden spring in Avalanche Gulch. The views from Horse Camp are spectacular, with Trinity Divide and Trinity Alps to the west and of course the iconic image of the camp itself with the mountain looming high above. Hikers reaching the camp can stay overnight for a small fee during the summer months when a caretaker occupies the site. Spring water is piped in and is available at the trailhead and the camp. It is a family-friendly trail, but dogs are not allowed and it is not wheelchair accessible.
The Bunny Flat Trailhead sits at an elevation of 6,950 feet on Mount Shasta's southern side. The trailhead is accessed by taking the Everitt Memorial Highway east from Mount Shasta. This is the busiest trailhead on the mountain but parking is ample and the lot is large. There are also a number of dispersed campsites along the rural highway and at Bunny Flat. Summit passes, self-issue wilderness permits, and restrooms are available here. The road is plowed in winter and this trailhead and camping area serves as an access point for winter recreation as well.
There are a number of options for hikers wishing to extend their journey further up to Helen Lake, Green Butte Ridge, and the summit of Mount Shasta itself. The trail can make a nice loop if you choose to return via the Green Butte Ridge Trail through Avalanche Gulch.
Setting out from the Bunny Flat trailhead, you'll find that the path is mostly covered in forest canopy and only has a few partially-obstructed views of the Trinity Alps to the west. The lodge is located at the end of the treeline, and the path opens out to a variety of mountain wildflowers in the spring and summer, such as Indian paintbrush, purple and yellow lupine, and western pasque flowers.
A half a mile from the trailhead, the path crosses a trail to the left that connects to the Sand Flat Trail. Stay right and continue climbing up. After another quarter-mile, the trail will reach a junction with the Sand Flat Trail. You can choose to take this trail to the Horse Camp as well but it is steeper.
After the junction with Sand Flat Trail, you will continue on a sustained ascent for another 0.75 miles, when you will reach your destination. Explore the camp, enjoy some spring water and a rest, or continue your journey onward and upward to even more breathtaking vistas. Return to the trailhead along the same path, or, if making a loop, return back via Green Butte Ridge Trail.
Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano within the Cascade Range in Northern California. The mountain stands at 14,179 feet and can be seen as far as the Central Valley, 140 miles away. It holds several glaciers, nine of which are named.
Human settlement dates back to 7,000 years ago in this area and by the time of the first Euro-American exploration in the 1820s, tribes living in this region included the Yana, Wintu, Klamath, Karuk, Achomawi, Modoc, Shasta, and others. The volcano erupted in 1786 and is monitored today through geochemical surveys that indicate the volcano is still alive. Mount Shasta is host to a number of legends, from the Native Americans here who believed the mountain to be inhabited by the Spirit of the Above-World, Skell, to modern-day inhabitants who believe there are advanced beings dwelling under the mountain from the lost continent of Lemuria.
The location of the Horse Camp at the Shasta Alpine Lodge was John Muir's starting point when he climbed Mount Shasta in 1874. The lodge itself was erected in 1923 through donations from Matthew Hall McAllister, a prominent member of the Sierra Club, and the building was constructed of local materials, including Shasta red fir and volcanic rock.
