PCT: Green Springs to Little Hyatt

This section of the PCT between Green Springs Highway and Little Hyatt Lake is a moderate 4 miles or make it a 7 mile out-and-back. Doesn’t add up you say? Hold on to your abacuses!

Driving

–This 30 minute drive starts south through town on Main Street/Siskiyou towards the University. Turn left on Ashland Street towards Interstate 5. Don’t get on the Interstate! Go over it! The road sweeps to the right and you will continue towards, and past, Emigrant Lake. This becomes Green Springs Highway and heads uphill into the mountains. 15 minutes of winding road later you will see Soda Mountain Road on your right and Little Hyatt Lake road is on your left. Turn left and park right there.

Parking

– This large, dirt lot can handle dozens of cars.

The Adventure

– “Hey, where’s the trail head sign” you say. “Hey, the PCT can be tricky” I say. For whatever reason, if you had pulled to the right at the top of Green Springs Highway it would have been more obvious where the PCT comes across the highway but the big sign in that lot?… still mostly helpless graphics about bears and old logging trucks, (See PCT: Green Springs to Hobart Bluff) so let’s start from our parking lot.
The large information sign in this parking lot just talks about the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument and geology – blah, blah, blah. What you want to do is walk up the private dirt driveway across from the parking area and within 50 feet, a subtle single track trail crosses and heads off to the left. Take that and in 80 more yards you cross that private driveway again where you’ll feel weird walking on a person’s driveway for a number of yards until the unmarked trail takes off to the right again. This section of the PCT has an unfortunate lack of those aluminum PCT badges hammered into trees.
Within a mile you will cross the Little Hyatt Lake Road and again – not great signage. The next dirt road you cross does have a decent sign because you cross the Green Springs Loop Trail. That trail goes right, but the sign generously points us PCTers to the left.
The next 3 miles are great. Views, old rock steps, wide open meadows, shrubby creek crossings, and again… not always great signage.
When you arrive at the bridge below the Little Hyatt Lake dam, you will feel like maybe your should continue on to Canada. Well maybe, but, you could also just take the gravel road 3 miles back to your car. It’s no PCT, but it’s nice in it’s own right.