Big Red Mountain Trail

The Big Red Mountain Trail is a 7 mile trail above Talent past Wagner Butte at the Siskiyou Pass off the PCT.

Driving

– This is a 1 hour drive from the Talent exit (#21) off the I-5. Drive through Talent and you will arrive at Wagner Creek Road. Turn right and you will be heading upstream with the first 5 miles along some open rural farms and homes. At about 6 miles the pavement ends and you will be on gravel as you head uphill into the mountains. There will be smaller roads that intersect but always stay on the larger gravel road. You will pass the Wagner Butte trailhead and after about 18 miles from the interstate you will dead end into Forest Service Road 20. This is the Siskiyou Pass area. Turn right and you are now on a dirt road. The first intersection is a 5-way. Take the soft right turn where you will see the PCT re-entering the woods just to your left. Continue straight for 1/4 mile and as you begin to head steeply uphill – and the road becomes more rocky – you are only 100 feet from turning a corner and seeing the trailhead.
Beware! Weather can make this drive impassable. Snow might not clear until late July. Ungraded early season roads can stop you. Too much rain can make certain areas very muddy. Know your vehicle’s limitations.

Parking

– A wide, flat area with plenty of open parking.

Hiking

– Jump on the super-obvious PCT trail here and get ready for almost 2 miles of perfect, slightly uphill PCT hiking. At about 1.8 miles you will hit an old jeep trail/skid road and you turn left uphill. This “trail” is not maintained, but traveled enough that if you pay attention, in less than 1/2 mile you will emerge into a clearing with a significant peak to your left with a jeep trail (that has arrived from the other side of this mountain) heading up to the top.
This is not Big Red Mountain. Maybe… Junior Red Mountain? Go ahead and hike it but our quarry is to the right.
When you emerge into this clearing look to your right. There is a vague trail along the ridge line. Granted, at this location the ridge line is not well defined but a trail does exist. Pay attention and pick your way for 1/4 mile through a small patch of forest until you see the barren rock hillside ahead. It will take some scrambling instincts to get over to the rocky ridge line but once you are there you will see evidence of a trail, and some cairns, but even without any of that, the ridge line is wide open and super obvious.
The summit of Big Red Mountain isn’t… significant. There are a number of more interesting rocky overlooks along this ridge so go find your favorite spot and then head on back to your car.