Shelly Meadows Trail Head

Elevation:4,000'+/-

Location:

About 7 or 8 miles from the paved road outside of Greenview.

Directions to Shelly Meadows TH. This trail head is not marked on my newest version of MMW map as a TH. Road going in to it is not always in good condition, so the going can be slow. There is a gate that can be locked across it, by the timber company who owns the land it is on, but isn’t at this time. Might want to call Ranger Station first to find out for sure however.

Off of Hwy. 3, between Fort Jones and Etna, take Quartz Valley road and then turn left on the first street, which is Main Street,that goes thru the tiny town called Greenview. Take Kidder Creek Road heading west at the Post Office. Stay on that road all the way to the Trail Head. It will be paved for a couple of miles, and will then turn to dirt. Follow this road along/above Kidder Creek until you spot a bridge across the creek. There is no TH sign of any sort, so you have to be watching for the bridge. If you come to an especially steep climb which has a TH at the top of it (+/- 1/2 mile of steep climb)before the sharp turn to the right - you have gone a little too far. Turn around and go back to the bottom of that steep grade, and the th is right at the bottom of it.

Road Conditions:

Fairly well maintained dirt road. Narrow in places, so be alert and watch ahead for on-coming traffic. There isn't much traffic, but it's not uncommon to meet a vehicle going the other direction. There is one very sharp turn, at one of the creek crossings, which you must take as wide as you possibly can - and watch your trailer tires in your rear view mirror carefully as you make the turn. If you have a very long trailer, do not attempt it. (Mine is 18' and can just barely makes this turn with my crew cab truck)

Map:

Forest Service Klamath Natl. Forest Map or Forest Service Marble Mountain Wilderness map. One mile square to the left of R.10.W. (top of map) 1 1/2 mile squares above T.42.N. (side of map)

Open by:

Shelly Meadows/Kidder Creek TH is usually open by early June. However, you must cross Kidder Creek to get to the trail, and it can be deep, fast and dangerous to cross early in the season. Be careful! Once the creek slows down some, it's safe to cross.

Trail Head Ammenities:

Only enough room to park one or two rigs. The old road where we used to park has been blocked off, so can only park in wide spots beside the road - of which there are not many.
There is not much room to turn around horse trailers. I can wiggle mine around with a lot of work, but it's not easy. Easier to go on up to the Kidder Lake TH to turn around, although it's a steep climb up there, and should be done in 4-wheel drive if pulling a trailer.
This is not a heavily used Trail Head.
No fees.
There is one trail heading out of this trail-head.

Comments:

Even though the ammenities are not good at this trail head, it's a nice way of getting into Shelly Meadows quickly. However, it's a steep trail in sections, and in some years cattle have damaged the trail pretty badly. I haven't taken this trail in a few years, so don't know if it's still being maintained or not. About 10 years ago it was completely rebuilt, and was a pretty nice trail, although the cattle damaged it pretty badly the following year.

This TH is not marked, so sort of have to know where it is - or be alert to watch for signs of it. It is just before the steep climb to Kidder Lake Trail Head.

Trails out of Shelly Meadows/Kidder Creek TH:

To reach the Shelly Meadows trail, you go UNDER the bridge to cross creek,(take the road/trail to the right side of the bridge to get down to the creek) which can be too high and swift early in the year to cross safely. Then follow the road up to the first turn to the right. Take that road up to the end, which is a logging landing. The trail goes out the end of the landing, and goes up to Shelly Meadows where it meets the PCT. It starts out climbing VERY steeply out of the log landing, but then becomes more manageably steep for the rest of the way up to the PCT, on the top. A nice day ride loop can be made going from Shelly Meadows Trail head, up to the PCT then down thru Kidder Lake Trail head, or the other direction. It's a fairlyl long day ride, but a very nice one, with time for a stop at the lake.

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