Hiking Long Lake Loop + Mount Elwell on Gold Lake Highway

Hiking Long Lake Loop with a side trip up to Mount Elwell is one of our favorite hikes on the insanely beautiful area along Gold Lake Highway!

If you’re looking for an adventure in Plumas National Forest, hiking Long Lake loop is a great option! Not only is it a loop (which if you don’t know by now we’re big fans of) but you can also add on Mount Elwell to experience a peak with incredible views in every direction. And there are also several options for extending the loop to check out even more of the gorgeous lakes in the area. Hiking Long Lake loop offers a little bit of everything while doing a great job of showcasing the beauty of this special area.

Quick Info: Hiking Long Lake Loop

Distance: Long Lake Loop is 4.7 miles roundtrip but we added on Mount Elwell peak as well as Silver and Round Lake bringing the total to about 9 miles roundtrip.

Difficulty: Moderate

Directions: From Graeagle, head south on CA-89 for about 1.5 miles. Then turn right onto Gold Lake Highway and follow that for 6.7 miles. Turn right onto Elwell Lodge Road and after a mile you’ll reach the parking area for hiking Long Lake Loop. Click here to get directions to the trailhead.

Trailhead Amenities: Vault toilets, picnic table and a water spigot

Our Experience Hiking Long Lake Loop + Mount Elwell and Round Lake

When we arrived at the trailhead we found about eight other vehicles, vault toilets, water and three trailheads: Long Lake, Bear Lakes and Silver Lake trails. We got our boots on and started hiking Long Lake loop around 9:30.

The trail begins with a gentle climb through a pleasant stretch of woods and boulders. And quickly reaches the intersection with the other two trails. From here, we decided to hop off the loop trail for a quick quarter mile hike to the shore of Long Lake.

After just a short climb we made it to the shore for our first glimpse of beautiful Long Lake. Long Lake is a big lake with a gorgeous backdrop! From this angle we loved the dramatic granite features along the shoreline with a nice mix of conifers to complement it. We also couldn’t help but notice how brilliant blue the water was! If Long Lake was your destination for the day, it looks as though there might be some good deep spots to jump in off the granite. But this wasn’t our final destination and it was a bit early for a swim. So while we were here we took in the scenery, tried out the bench made out of logs and headed back to our connector trail to continue hiking Long Lake loop.

Hike it Later – Pin it Now!

Once back on the loop trail we began to climb as the trail continued following the shoreline. The views of Long Lake continued to capture our attention as we hiked through the rocks and trees. As we were hiking Long Lake loop the views and angles of the lake and the surrounding landscapes kept changing, revealing new beauty and perspectives. And from these new vantage points we were able to see several of the islands in the lake.

Next, the trail descended and crossed an inlet before climbing rather steeply again. This section of the trail was steep and more rocky.

And the views from this far side of the lake were just amazing. The sun was hitting the ripples of the lake putting on a dazzling show of sparkles across the water. And we were just enamored by the deep contrasting colors of the vegetation and granite against the incredible blue of the lake.

After more climbing and unbelievably gorgeous scenery, we reached the split in the trail for our side adventure to the Mount Elwell Peak.

Hiking to Mount Elwell Peak

At the intersection towards Mount Elwell Peak, there was no surprise that the trail would continue to climb. But we were pleasantly surprised that a good portion of the climb was still through some trees giving us some nice shaded spots. And with the continued climb came more amazing views of the incredible vast landscape below. It was cool that we could enjoy such great views along the way.

Near the top, the peak seemed to be made up of a pile of large boulders. So we climbed around and up the rocks to reach Mount Elwell Peak. And then the views somehow got exponentially better! The panoramic views were fantastic, the best we’ve seen in awhile.

We could now see numerous tropical colored lakes nestled in the sprawling granite below. And we could see how far the forested granite landscape expanded. Finally our eyes reached the dramatic and towering Sierra Buttes across the way. And then the views extended even further beyond! It was an incredible and very memorable vantage point overlooking this unbelievable area that we had never even heard of just one month before this!

Since hiking Long Lake loop and Mount Elwell Peak, we have done the Sierra Butte Lookout hike as well. And I’d easily say that this view is just as great if not better than the view from the lookout! We definitely recommend making the hike.

While we were at the top of Mount Elwell we met a cool fellow hiker and had some good conversations to go with the good views. Then it was time to keep on keeping on! From here we hiked back down to the intersection and continued hiking Long Lake loop.

Back on Long Lake Trail

Once back on Long Lake trail we descended and the trail began putting distance between us and Long Lake. We passed Mud Lake and then the trail climbed again up to Helgramite Lake. Shane got some good skips in at Helgramite.

Further up the trail, we could see even more brilliant blue lakes. And now it was warm enough to swim so we took a side adventure along Silver Lake over to Round Lake.

Silver Lake and Round Lake

At the intersection with the Long Lake loop trail we were already at Silver Lake. We followed the trail as it paralleled the lakes shoreline. We thought Silver Lake was beautiful! And if we hadn’t just hiked a bunch we might have been more inclined to go off the main trail along the shoreline to look for a spot to jump in. But the good rocks to jump off of close to the trail were being used so we decided to continue on to Round Lake. We might as well see it while we were this close!

About a half mile from the intersection at Silver Lake we reached Round Lake. Round Lake was gorgeous as well with dramatic granite backdrops and beautiful blue water.

We continued along the trail until we found a good spot to jump in from. There were some boulders just off the trail that jutted out into the deep water. We had a great time jumping in here.

The water was not nearly as cold as the higher elevation lakes that we typically jump in so we were able to use the goggles and swim around a bit.

After we had enough swimming, we headed back to the intersection and continued the final leg of hiking Long Lake loop!

The Final Leg of Long Lake Loop

The scenery along this leg of the loop was still beautiful. Cool trees, vibrant vegetation and more great views of Long Lake. The trail remained higher than Long Lake until eventually it passed Long Lake altogether so we never did end up taking the chance to swim in Long Lake but it sure did give us some beautiful vistas and a memorable adventure! If you hike this loop and want to swim in Long Lake, the lake is most accessible at the beginning of the hike or if you have the energy you could add it on to the end of the loop hike.

Before we knew it we were back at the parking area with another incredible experience for our souls! The beauty, energy and experience of some hikes can be so powerful leaving lasting impressions beyond words. This was one of em 🙂

Thanks for Keeping Up with The Lost Longboarder!

We hope you enjoyed this article about our experience hiking Long Lake Loop! It was even better than we could have imagined. So far, we’ve seen so much beauty in the Gold Lake Highway area and can’t wait to discover more.

If you’re interested in seeing some more awesome hikes that we’ve gone on during our travels, check out the articles below:

• Point Trail in West Clear Creek Wilderness
• Backpacking Oh Be Joyful Pass + Blue Lake
• Black Rock Canyon Oasis
• Humphreys Peak via Inner Basin Trail

We try to go on great hikes like this Long Lake Loop hike as often as we can! And when we’re not adventuring, we’re working on our hand painted one of a kind longboards! If you’d like to check out our latest lineup, head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop!

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