Here’s a lovely fall hike just outside Burney: Highway 299 to Baum Lake via the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). We try to do this every fall, just for the colors.
From the highway, the trail slowly ascends to the top of a bench, levels out for a distance, and then descends on the other side to Baum Lake. The majority of the trail goes through Brewer’s oak woodland, spotted here and there with ponderosa and gray pines.
Once at the top, hikers soon become aware of just how close to the edge of the bench the trail passes, and views of Hat Creek Valley to the northeast beckon.
If there were any flowers in bloom, we did not see them, but there was plenty to wonder at: beautiful fall foliage, dried seeds and fruits, and wood rat lodges!
As we dropped down to Baum Lake, avian activity noticeably increased. There is always a myriad of birds at the lake. We saw Stellar and Scrub Jays, Woodpeckers, Robins, Towhees, and many others in the shoreline vegetation; a couple hawks on wing; and Buffleheads, a Pelican, and a Great Blue Heron on the lake itself.
This is a relatively easy out-and-back hike of ~7.5 miles and ~600 feet elevation gain. It is one of our favorites at this time of year, but do note that portions of the trail can be slick with mud or ice where it is not covered in leaves or needles. In addition, be prepared for temperatures that fluctuate quickly in this mid-elevation mountainous area. We began this hike under blue skies and warming temps, and finished it under heavily overcast skies with quite a chill in the air!
Photo by Don Burk.
Not up to a hike? You’re in luck: you can drive right up to Baum Lake! The parking area has vault toilets and picnic tables, and a little fishing pier. You don’t even have to get out of your car to see fall colors and birds, or you can mosey along the 1.5 miles of shoreline trails that follow the western edge of the lake. Non-motorized boats are allowed on Baum Lake.
So now you have no excuse: take a lovely drive out Highway 299 past Burney and either turn right on Cassel Road to drive in to the lake (via Baum Lake Road), or stop at the (somewhat obscure and very small!) PCT parking area only a few hundred yards beyond the Cassel Road intersection (look for a PCT marker on the right side of the road) and hoof it to the lake. Either way, you’ll be glad to have visited Baum Lake! -Laurie & Don Burk