State Scenic Highway 96 96
State Scenic Highway 96 is a National Forest Scenic Byway in California. Within California it covers roughly 150 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along State Scenic Highway 96 with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
State Scenic Highway 96, the Bigfoot Scenic Byway, follows the Trinity and Klamath Rivers through the region most associated with Bigfoot sightings in the country. The National Forest Scenic Byway designation covers the highway from Willow Creek to Happy Camp, more than half of Route 96's total length, tracing two federally protected Wild and Scenic Rivers along the way. From Willow Creek, a town settled by Chinese laborers from historic mining and lumber camps, the road follows the Trinity River downstream through the Hoopa Valley to Weitchpec, where the Trinity meets the Klamath River, before turning northeast to follow the Klamath itself. This stretch near Weitchpec produced the area's most famous, if only loosely authenticated, photographic evidence of the Bigfoot creature, cementing the region's identity for decades of curious travelers. Dense conifer forest, steep river canyons, and the Hoopa Valley Tribe's reservation lands define a remote drive with few services and even fewer other cars.
- Willow Creek to Happy Camp
- Bigfoot Scenic Byway
- Trinity and Klamath Rivers (Wild and Scenic)
- Hoopa Valley
- Weitchpec river confluence
- National Forest Scenic Byway
Plan a drive on State Scenic Highway 96 →
What is a National Forest Scenic Byway?
National Forest Scenic Byways are routes designated by the U.S. Forest Service that thread through the mountains, canyons and old growth of America's national forests and grasslands.
Where to Stay along State Scenic Highway 96
12 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of State Scenic Highway 96.
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