Black Butte Trail, California

I love the look of this volcanic scramble …

Black Butte Trail

Length: 5.2 miles round-trip

Hiking time: 4 hours

High point: 6,325 feet

Total elevation gain: 1,850 feet

Difficulty: moderate

Season: mid-May through mid-November

Water: none; bring plenty …

Black Butte from the west slope of Mount Shasta. (Photo by John Soares)

The Black Butte Trail is Hike 45 from 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California, third edition. I discuss the same route in Hike 63 of 75 Hikes in California’s Mount Shasta and Lassen Volcanic National Park Regions, revised edition.

Click through to John’s site, Northern California Hiking Trails, for links to his guidebooks.

2 Replies to “Black Butte Trail, California”

Hello Rick. I’m glad Black Butte appeals to you. It’s one of my favorite local hikes. The trail rises at a moderate but constant grade, so it’s an excellent workout.

Haven’t climbed Black Butte yet, only admired it from I-5 (and from the road it’s already striking!) on the way to Mt. Eddy. Definitely on our must-do list, and thanks for the link to John’s article.