The Toad Lake to Porcupine Lake Trail sets out at the Toad Lake Trailhead. *Note that higher clearance vehicles are required to reach this trailhead, as the road is very rocky. While there are several longer routes to reach the lakes via the Pacific Crest Trail, this relatively-short (3.4 mile out-and-back) hike is more moderate while still featuring panoramic views of Mount Shasta and of course the lakes themselves. Traffic on this trail is generally moderate.
The pristine and azure Toad Lake (elevation 6,900 ft.) sits in a shallow crater and is surrounded by rudimentary campsites with fire rings. Following the lake's edge northwest, the trail will converge with the Pacific Crest Trail before turning south. Porcupine Lake Trail turns off to the right from the Pacific Crest Trail and leads to Porcupine Lake, yet another clear (and cold!) lake surrounded by steep, rocky shores.
The Toad Lake to Porcupine Lake Trail is isolated, rugged, and rated moderate with some scrambles and an elevation gain of 850 feet. There is no water along the route, so bring your own or a filter. There are no regulations against children or dogs, but keep in mind their skill levels before departing. The trail is not always clearly marked, so a GPS is advised as well.
You can help us out by writing it yourself and you can get paid! If our editors accept your submission, you will receive $15.00.
Write this sectionAfter you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.
Porcupine Lake and Toad Lake are within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Like many lakes in this region, they were formed as the result of glaciations during the Pleistocene Era. The native people of this area surrounding Mount Shasta included the Karuk, Okwanuchu, Modoc, Atsugewi, Shasta, Klamath, Achomawi, Wintu, and Yana tribes. The people of these tribes revered the great mountain as sacred and lore held that the mountain was inhabited by Skell, the Spirit of the Above-World. In a great battle between Skell and Llao, the Spirit of the Below-World (inhabiting Mount Mazama), eruptions of lava and rock likely described the eruptions of these volcanoes.
The Pacific Crest Trail, which merges with the trail to Porcupine Lake, was officially completed in 1993 after its conception by Clinton Churchill Clarke in 1932 and its designation as a National Scenic Trail in 1968. The trail spans 2,653 miles from the U.S. border with Mexico to its border with Canada.
In her memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, author Cheryl Strayed describes this section of the Pacific Crest Trail as well as an evening spent by Toad Lake while searching for a Rainbow Gathering. While the hike to Porcupine and Toad Lakes is far from Strayed's 1,100-mile solo hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, its isolation and beauty give one the satisfaction of having stepped out of civilization and touched the wild.
