Stanislaus National Forest · California
Highland Creek
17 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 20E04 · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse
Trailheads Highland Creek Trailhead (at Highland Lakes) Drive there · Silver Valley Trailhead Drive there
Highland Creek Trailhead (at Highland Lakes) the Forest Service's write-up
This trail follows Highland Creek canyon down to Hiram Meadow and can be used to hike all the way to the northeast end of Spicer Reservoir; it continues to Rock Lake, Duck Lake, and ends at the Silver Valley Trailhead at the east end of Lake Alpine. It also connects with trails to Elephant Rock Lake and Union Reservoir.
Elevation: 8635 feet.
Lat/Long: 38.4850, -119.8099
This trailhead on fs.usda.gov
Silver Valley Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up
The Silver Valley Trailhead accesses the Highland Creek Trail (20E04), the Emigrant Trail (19E01), Duck Lake , and Rock Lake .
Lat/Long: 38.480782, -119.985877
Elevation: 7300 feet
This trailhead on fs.usda.gov
Every trail in Stanislaus National Forest
About this trail's facts
The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.
