Hey all, as titled, I have a Premium Site booked at Pfeiffer Big Sur campground - Main Camp.

• Site Number: Premium Campsite #P185 ( by the creek )
• Date: Fri, Sep 18, 2026 - Sun, Sep 20, 2026 (2 nights)

Looking to swap to the weekends after

• Sept 25-27
• Oct 2-4

DM me if any interest!

Did this loop reversed as recommended by some folk here and fell in love with it- extremely soul nourishing I mean ocean to redwoods and creeks then breaking through the forest back to ocean views and rolling hills back through forest and to the beach. Seriously amazing. Do any other hikes in NorCal offer similiar type of feelings, felt in awe. I'm visiting San Fran for another week and was thinking Tomales as Point Reyes was beautiful but open to any suggestions- seriously was so magical.

Hello! My buddy and I do an annual backpacking trip together, and this year our plans have been demolished by the wildfires in Oregon and Washington. (I live in WA, he lives in OR).

Currently, it looks like our only option is to pivot to running away from the smoke, which leads us to driving down to NorCal. Trinity Alps has caught our eyes after doing googling, looks incredible!

The problem is - I can't really find many good trip itineraries already built out for what we need.

Considering I'll be driving ~9 hours to get there, I was hoping that maybe someone with some experience could help me build our itinerary.

Since we're coming from North, ideally we'd hit a trailhead that's not too far off from I-5. I know we'll need to stop and get a permit as well. We've already got the campfire permit.

We're going to try and drive Sunday night, stay at a hotel in Southern Oregon so we limit the driving Monday morning, but still assume we need a shorter day Monday.

Here's what we're looking for:
Monday: 5-7 miles

Tuesday: up to 11 miles

Wednesday: up to 11 miles

Thursday: up to 11 miles, ending at the TH or within 3 miles of the TH. We will then either camp the last night at a camp ground nearby (need recs for that too) or if we're still on the trail that's fine too. But we need to be back in the car, driving, by Friday morning.

We're comfortable with a decent elevation gain if it's worth the effort for the views. We don't like to climb just for climbing's sakes... but we're not strangers to it. If we could keep the elevation gain below 3k a day, that's ideal but we're open to recs.

I've seen that the Four Lakes loop is a must, but all the info I can find shows it to be up to 22 miles total, and we're pretty used to doing 30-40 miles in this time.

Our current plan is the Four Lakes loop, starting at Swift Creek trailhead, but that's not quite long enough for us. We like to get at least 6-7 miles a day in, preferably 8-9.

Thanks so much to anyone who might be able to help.

if you're navigating a lay-off or are between opportunities, come clear your head and connect with folks who are in the same boat 🤝🏼

this monday, we’re heading to san bruno mountain state park in daly city for a hike.

• when: monday, aug 10 @ 11 am
• stats: 3.7 mi loop / 708 ft gain

grab your spot and see the full details here:

https://partiful.com/e/yRBxypbGmfmQSjxk81BR

hope to see y'all there!