Macdoel in Siskiyou County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Yreka Trail - Quite Stony Today

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, June 19, 2020

1. Yreka Trail - Quite Stony Today Marker

Inscription. "Started at 6 went on to pine woods took dinner no water or grass then passed on to Butte Creek & followed it three miles & campt round a little lake quite stony to day poor country"
- Hinsdale Truman Shepard Sep 4, 1852

Erected 2012 by Trails West, Inc. (Marker Number Y-6A.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the California Trail, the Trails West Inc., and the Yreka Trail series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is September 4, 1852.

Location. 41° 43.04′ N, 121° 56.496′ W. Marker is in Macdoel, California, in Siskiyou County. It is on no nearby street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Macdoel CA 96058, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on California’s Modoc Plateau,

in the Shasta Cascade,

and in the Klamath Mountains.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and specifically in the Pacific Northwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Cascade Range,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western

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World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Yreka Trail - Up Butte Creek (approx. 2.9 miles away); Yreka Trail - Out of Danger (approx. 2.9 miles away); Yreka Trail - One Very Steep Stony Hill (approx. 3½ miles away); Yreka Trail - Quite a Stream (approx. 3.7 miles away); Yreka Trail - Near a Little Lake (approx. 4.3 miles away); Yreka Trail - No Water (approx. 5.3 miles away); Yreka Trail - Are Yet On Butte Creek (approx. 6.7 miles away); Yreka Historic Trail (approx. 7½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Macdoel.

More about this marker. A number of Trails West, Inc. markers (like this one) are located on private property and have had authorization from land owners to allow visitors on their property. PLEASE be respectful of the land and STAY ON THE DIRT ROADS to the marker locations.

Of all the markers within the Yreka Trail series, this is the most difficult to get to. It designates the original 1852 trail route

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, June 19, 2020

2. Yreka Trail - Quite Stony Today Marker

View of marker looking north. An original 1852 trail remnant can be seen by hiking 100 yds northeast and through a gate.

that passed through here before being replaced in 1854 by a shorter and easier route. A high-clearance 4x4 vehicle is required to visit this marker and in good weather (summer months) since you'll be driving over a dry lake bed (don't cross it if its muddy!) and hard-to-find dirt track roads which are more or less the original trail route. The marker is located about 100 yards southwest of an original segment of the trail that you may hike up to and visit. You can access the dirt road to the marker from Old State Hwy at these coordinates: 41°41'48.8"N 121°57'44.2"W.

Regarding Yreka Trail - Quite Stony Today. Trails West, Inc. sells a driving guidebook titled A Guide to the Yreka Trail which provides maps and additional history on the Yreka Trail as it passed through designated marker locations. Purchasing this guidebook prior to visiting the Yreka Trail markers is highly encouraged to gain a better experience of the history of this historic trail.

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, June 19, 2020

3. Yreka Trail

An original 1852 trail remnant as it heads up a rocky escarpment to the top (and through a gate) and then meanders southwest towards marker location.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 20, 2020, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This page has been viewed 247 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 20, 2020, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.