Granite Chief Trail–Siberai Basin Loop Trail, 4 sights is a 12.1-mile out-and-back in Chickering American River Reserve near Alpine Meadows, CA. It climbs 3,453 ft, with sections as steep as 28% grade. It scores 87/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
0 mi6,254 – 8,695 ft · steepest grade: 28%12.6 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Granite Chief Trail 39.20030, -120.23701
Nearest town Alpine Meadows, CA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Granite Chief Trail–Siberai Basin Loop Trail, 4 sights
12.1 mi · ▲ 3,453 ft · 5 hr 46 min
Elevation 6,255–8,695 ft
Out & Back · Chickering American River Reserve
Trailhead: Granite Chief Trail · 39.20030, -120.23701
Weather Aug 4: Clear, high 86°F / low 50° · precip 0% · wind 2 mph · sunrise 6:05 AM · sunset 8:11 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading NW.
- 150 ftContinue straight onto Granite Chief Trail, heading NW.
- 3.5 miContinue straight onto Pacific Crest Trail, heading S.
- 1.5 miTurn left, heading SE.
- 0.2 miTurn left onto Western States Trail, heading SE.
- 0.3 miContinue straight onto High Camp to Emigrant Ridge, heading S.
- 0.3 miTurn left, heading E.
- 300 ftBear left, heading E.
- 500 ftSharp right, heading NE.
- 50 ftBear right onto Siberia Basin Loop Trail, heading NE.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading NE.
- 150 ftTurn right, heading NE.
- 250 ftTurn right onto Siberai Basin Loop Trail, heading NE.
- 250 ftReach Granite Chief Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 200 ftTurn left, heading S.
- 250 ftTurn left, heading S.
- 150 ftTurn right onto Siberia Basin Loop Trail, heading SE.
- 50 ftBear left, heading SE.
- 50 ftSharp left, heading SE.
- 500 ftBear right, heading S.
- 300 ftTurn right, heading NW.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto High Camp to Emigrant Ridge, heading SW.
- 500 ftContinue straight onto Western States Trail, heading SW.
- 0.3 miTurn right, heading SW.
- 0.2 miTurn right onto Pacific Crest Trail, heading N.
- 1.5 miContinue straight onto Granite Chief Trail, heading NE.
- 3.4 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
5% dirt3% gravel92% unspecified
Weather
ClearTemperature 86°F50°
Precip0%Wind2 mphUV8Humidity24%
Hourly temperature
90°50°
Sunrise 6:05 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:11 PM
Tue
86°61°
Wed
85°58°
Thu
88°58°
Fri
88°59°
Sat
89°59°
Sun
89°57°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 3.3 mi in (~134 min). Leave by 5:37 PM for the 8:11 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:46 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from Granite Chief Trail Trailhead
- Granite Chief Trail 3.1 mi · ▲ 764 ft
- Granite Chief & Granite Chief Trail via Pacific Crest Trail 10.7 mi · ▲ 3,046 ft
- Washeshu Peak–Granite Chief Trail, 4 sights 12.6 mi · ▲ 3,431 ft
- Polar Bear Lake–Granite Chief Trail, 4 sights 13.4 mi · ▲ 3,632 ft
- Shirley Lake–Granite Chief Trail, 5 sights 14.1 mi · ▲ 4,074 ft
- Tinker Knob & Granite Chief Trail via Pacific Crest Trail 14.9 mi · ▲ 3,978 ft
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Hikes near Alpine Meadows, California