Aptos Creek Fire Road & Trout Gulch Trail is a 3-mile out-and-back in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park near Day Valley, CA. It climbs 956 ft, with sections as steep as 22% grade. It scores 82/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
0 mi328 – 997 ft · steepest grade: 22%3.1 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 37.02616, -121.88672
Nearest town Day Valley, CA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Aptos Creek Fire Road & Trout Gulch Trail
3 mi · ▲ 956 ft · 1 hr 29 min
Elevation 329–997 ft
Out & Back · The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
Trailhead: 37.02616, -121.88672
Weather Sep 20: Fog, high 70°F / low 52° · precip 1% · wind 3 mph · sunrise 6:55 AM · sunset 7:09 PM
- Start at the trailhead, heading NW.
- 0.8 miBear right onto Trout Gulch Trail, heading W.
- 0.3 miContinue straight onto Aptos Creek Fire Road, heading NW.
- 0.5 miReach Trout Gulch Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.5 miContinue straight onto Trout Gulch Trail, heading SE.
- 0.3 miBear left, heading E.
- 0.8 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
29% dirt71% unspecified
Weather
FogTemperature 70°F52°
Precip1%Wind3 mphUV5Humidity76%
Hourly temperature
70°50°
Sunrise 6:55 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PMSunset 7:09 PM
Mon
62°53°
Tue
77°53°
Wed
89°52°
Thu
81°53°
Fri
86°54°
Sat
80°52°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.1 mi in (~4 min). Leave by 6:45 PM for the 7:09 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:26 PM — 9 min before dark.
Other ways to reach this destination
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