Little Bald Hills Trail

Little Bald Hills Trail is a 9.6-mile out-and-back from the marked trailhead at the east end of Howland Hill Road to the park boundary and back. The boundary is 4.8 miles from the start, with about 1,800 feet of climbing on sustained grades and switchbacks. Allow about five to six hours with stops. It suits hikers who want a substantial climb through changing forest; most of this park-side stretch is enclosed, so come for the walk rather than a grand overlook.

The first miles climb through redwoods toward Little Bald Hills Backcountry Camp, about 3.3 miles in. That makes a shorter turnaround of roughly 6.6 miles if you retrace from camp. The trail continues another 1.5 miles to the boundary; from there, five more miles on Paradise Flat Trail reach South Fork Road. That is a separate point-to-point outing with different transport, not part of the 9.6-mile return described here.

The path starts in ferny redwood forest on old marine sediment, then climbs into mottled serpentine where Port-Orford cedar, Douglas-fir, and coffeeberry grow. Higher up, red clay supports knobcone pine, huckleberry, and azalea. Near the ridge, the trees open into prairie and shrubland on pale acidic soil, with beargrass and hairy manzanita. The changing plant life is the hike’s main reward.

The opening stretch is lush and shaded, with tall shrubs beside the tread. It steepens into old-growth uplands, then crosses a logged patch of young redwoods before a gravel bypass around cedar-root disease. A brighter Douglas-fir grove follows. Past the camp spur, the route is less maintained and climbs to a broad, pine-dotted savanna ridge. Expect only short glimpses toward the Mill Creek watershed and coast, not a continuous panorama.

Part of the climb follows the Kelsey pack trail, used from 1855 to 1909 to supply mining camps and settlements in the Klamath Mountains. Its old alignment later became a fire road, then was returned to trail with switchbacks in the 1980s. You are walking a route shaped by both the forest and the region’s mining-era travel.

Little Bald Hills Camp has a pit toilet, food-storage boxes, picnic table, fire ring, and a horse corral. Its water is seasonal and untreated, so bring enough water or a treatment method; do not count on potable water along the hike. Overnight camping requires a backcountry permit. Hikers share this multi-use trail with bicycles and pack animals. Pets are prohibited on park trails; service animals are allowed.