Caples Creek Loop route

near Kirkwood, CA

8.7 miles

Distance

1,362 ft

Climb

-1,359 ft

Descent

1 mile

High Point

3 ft

Altitude change

5,591 ft

Altitude min

5,591 ft

Altitude start

5,594 ft

Altitude end

-50.2%

Grade max

84.4%

Grade min

4 miles

Distance climb

4 miles

Distance down

2,657 ft

Distance flat

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Detailed Description

Caples Creek Loop is a 9 mile moderately popular expert route located near Kirkwood California. This hike only route and has a moderate overall physical rating. This route includes 7 trails. This route climbs 1,362 ft with a max elevation of 6,817 ft then descends -1,359 ft.

Trail Issues on Route

Closed: 4 trails (newest: Aug 21, 2021)
Significant Issue / Amber: 1 trail (newest: May 7, 2021)
Minor Issue / Yellow: 1 trail (newest: Jul 26, 2025)

Local Trail Association

Mother Lode Trail Stewardship (motherlodestewardship.org)

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Stats

Distance

9 miles
Altitude min

5,591 ft
Altitude start

5,591 ft
Altitude end

5,594 ft
Climb

1,362 ft
Descent

-1,359 ft
Grade max

-50.2%
Grade min

84.4%
Distance climb

4 miles
Distance down

4 miles
Distance flat

2,657 ft

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Trails in Route

	Caples Spur Road				696 ft
	Caples Creek Trail (Middle)				2 miles
	Government Meadow Trail				2,828 ft
	Government Meadow Trail Extension				2,008 ft
	Silver Fork Trail				3 miles
	Caples Creek Trail (Lower)				1 mile
	Caples Spur Road				636 ft

Details

Riding area

Caples Creek
Primary Activity

Hike
Difficulty rating

Black Diamond
Route Type

Loop
Physical rating

Moderate

Directions

Walk east on Caples Spur Road.
Continue for 2 kilometers.
Bear left onto Caples Creek Trail (Middle).
Continue for 3 kilometers.
Bear right onto Government Meadow Trail.
Continue for 1.5 kilometers.
Turn left onto Old Silver Lake Trail.
Continue for 900 meters.
Bear right onto Silver Fork Trail.
Continue for 4 kilometers.
Turn left onto Caples Creek Trail (Lower).
Continue for 2 kilometers.

Distance (Trails & Routes)

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Trail Conditions

1 Day
1 Week
1 Month
All Time

Unknown
Snow Groomed
Snow Packed
Snow Covered
Snow Cover Partial
Freeze/thaw Cycle
Icy
Prevalent Mud
Wet
Variable
Ideal
Dry
Very Dry

Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)

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The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.

> 96%
> 90%
> 80%
> 70%
> 50%
< 50%
bi-directional trail
no data

Trail Last Ridden

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< 2 days
< 1 week
< 2 weeks
< 1 month
< 6 months
> 6 months

Trail Ridden Direction

The intended direction a trail should be ridden.

Downhill Only
Downhill Primary
Both Directions
Uphill Primary
Uphill Only
One Direction

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Trail Popularity ?

Trailforks scans activity logs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more activities = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.

most popular
popular
less popular
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ATV/ORV/OHV Filter

ATV - 50 inches
OHV, SxS - 60 inches
Jeep - 72 inches

Max Vehicle Width

inches

Activity Log Year

Radar Time

Activity Recordings

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mountain biking recent
mountain biking (>6 month)
hiking (1 year)
moto (1 year)

Activity Recordings

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Downhill Ski
Backcountry Ski
Nordic Ski
Snowmobile

Winter Trails

Warning A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.

trail	date	description
Caples Creek Trail (Middle)	Jul 26, 2025 @ 10:16pm Jul 26, 2025	only one tree down, near the hay flat trail intersection. The trail is overgrown in certain sections, it does need a trim. It's such a great trail, it needs some love.
Government Meadow Trail	May 7, 2021 @ 7:28am May 7, 2021	Couldn't even make it to the river there were so many trees down. Lots of snags still standing too.
Silver Fork Trail	Jun 30, 2020 @ 1:35pm Jun 30, 2020	Riding good, I would say 3 to 4 downed trees, the fire did some damage to some of the rock garden sections but all rideable just got to choose a line. The top sections is a very wide fire road now looks like either from the fire or logging, still fun. Link this in with Thunder Mtn for a long descent.