| Directions to Battle Creek Ranch
From Red Bluff:
Travel east on Antelope Blvd-Hwy
99E for three miles to Hwy 36.
Turn left (north) on Hwy 36 and go 11 miles to
The Dales.
Turn left at Dales Cafe onto
the Manton Road (A6). You will travel north and east 7.5
miles to Wildcat Road (it’s just past the bridge over South
Fork of Battle Creek).
Turn left onto Wildcat and proceeded 1.7 miles
to the turnoff to Darrah Springs State Fish Hatchery (just past
the bridge over the North Fork of Battle Creek).
Drive into the hatchery and
follow the paved road for 1 mile. At this point take the
left fork leading past the houses. The pavement will end just past
the houses and then you will come to a fork in the road.
Take the right fork and drive over Baldwin Creek
(it is a small reservoir at this point) then look a little to the
right and you will see a gate.
Drive up to the gate, open
with the combination (The combination is changed each year,
and will be provided to you with confirmation of your trip deposits)
and, please, lock it behind you.
In about a half mile you will
come to a cattle guard and another gate. It’s not locked,
but be sure to close it behind you.
The road leading to the Baldwin
Beat and The Wall Beat is just a few yards down the road.
If you are going to the parking areas for Trout Camp or the other
beats continue on the main road. There are prominent signs posted
for all beats and parking areas.
From Redding:
Travel east 22.5 miles on Hwy 44 to Black Butte
Road (across from the county store).
Turn right (south) and go 7.3 miles to the Darrah
Springs State Fish Hatchery entrance.
Turn onto the hatchery road and follow the detailed
directions above.
From The Burney Area:
You will need to travel to
the Old Station area and pick up Hwy 44 heading west. Stay
on Hwy 44 through Shingletown and go 6.5 miles to the Black Butte
Road turnoff.
Now follow the directions from Redding & Red
Bluff shown above from this point on.
Caution Please take care not
to park your vehicle in any tall weeds as a hot exhaust system can
start a fire. Also, the ranch owners have no sense of humor when
it comes to smoking anywhere on both ranches except at Trout Camp.
BATTLE CREEK RANCH BEAT DIRECTIONS
Trout Camp:
After you pass through the
second gate you will need to continue on for another 1⁄2
mile. A sign will indicate the road leading to the camp. Turn
onto this road and follow the signs to the parking area. You can
access some of the upper ranch beats by walking over the foot
bridge by the camp and striking off across county.
If you chose to drive to
the parking areas for the different beats just be sure you park
in the assigned parking areas. Baldwin Reach: This reach
includes portions of both Baldwin Creek & Battle Creek. After
you go through the gate proceed one half mile to a cattle guard
and a second gate. Let yourself through this gate (no lock involved
but please close it behind you), and look for the sign on the
road (just a few yards past the cattle guard) to the Baldwin Beat.
Turn left on this road and
follow it to the parking area by the canal. Although it
is not as easy to access and fish along as the Coleman Beat, it
takes much less effort to get to and fish than the Wall and Canyon
Beats do. You can walk down to Baldwin Creek by going over to
the above ground water pipe, and follow that down into Baldwin
Creek. From here, you can follow the creek down to Battle Creek.
At this junction fish downstream all the way to the start of the
Wall Beat.
You may elect to start at the top of the Wall Beat
and fish upstream to Baldwin Creek and then hike up this stream
to the parking area. See Wall Beat directions.
The Wall Reach:
Follow the signs just past the second gate and
proceed to the end of the road and park by the bridge going over
the canal. Walk over the bridge and down the road. Go through
two gates (close them behind you, please) These two gates are
directly above a underground gas pipe that runs south-west. There
are two orange and white signs(/////) that signal where the pipe
is buried.
You will want to angle to the right after going
through the second gate, to the buried gas pipe and follow it
down to the stream. Keep an eye out for the orange and white barred
signs. This reach is from the pipe downstream to the third bend,
which is the start of the canyon reach.
Canyon Reach:
Follow the main access road for approximately 1
mile after you go through the second gate. You will cross over
a canal at this point. Proceed along the canal road for 1⁄2
mile and look for the sign leading down off the canal road. The
road leads across a flat and into the trees and winds it way down
towards the creek.
This can be a bad road Just remember this is for
the adventurous fisherman. A trail of ribbons will show the way
to a gully leading down to the beat area Whatever you do when
you finish make sure you save enough daylight time to get all
the way back to your car. Remember, if you get confused as to
where you are the canal is always above you. Always carry the
map with you.
BURTON RANCH BEAT DIRECTIONS
Barn Reach:
Follow the instructions
on how to enter Battle Creek ranch. Check your odometer
as you get to the second gate that is about 1⁄2 mile from
the ranch entrance gate. You will proceed 1.8 miles west to a
locked gate. You will be driving right along the canal for much
of this distance. Using the combination provided (The combination
is changed each year, and will be provided to you with confirmation
of your trip deposits), let yourself through this gate and look
to the left for the sign to the barn beat parking area. Follow
this road down off the canal road and on to the parking area.
You can park in the corral
or even under part of the barn if you wish. Walk to the
west, through the corral and you will be in a meadow. Follow the
tule ditch through the meadow. The ditch will bend to the left
and go over the edge of the canyon. Cross over the ditch (it should
be a little swampy) and look for the trail of ribbons leading
from the canyon’s edge down to the stream. You can follow
these ribbons, or create your own route. You are near the upstream
end of the barn reach at this point. From this point you may fish
a short distance upstream, but most of this beat is downstream.
You may prefer to walk along the canyon’s edge for a mile
or so, and then go down into the canyon and fish back up to the
ribbon trail. Then climb out to the meadow where you are parked.
No Man’s Reach:
This is the easiest of all
the beats to access from a parking area. Check out the
directions to the barn beat. After you go through the locked gate
on the canal you will need to proceed 1.4 mile more along the
canal to get to the turn off to the No Man’s reach. The
turn off is just as you reach a rock wall along the edge of the
canal. It’s a sharp turn to the left that may require a
bit of jockeying to negotiate. You will need a 4-wheel drive for
this road. There is a green gate at this point and if it is locked,
the combination (The combination is changed each year, and will
be provided to you with confirmation of your trip deposits) will
open it. There is a sign and trail of orange ribbons marking the
road over to the parking area. The parking area is approximately
1⁄2 mile from the canal. You will be parking right next
to the canyon’s edge. Follow the ribbons down to the stream
and fish downstream to the S- curves or walk along the canyon
edge to the curves and fish back up to the ribbon trial and climb
back out to your vehicle.
Spring Branch Reach:
To reach the parking area
for this beat follow the directions to No Man’s. Just
as you reach the No Man’s parking area you will see a trace
road leading to the right. Follow this road to the end- about
1/3 of a mile. Walk along the ridge until you see the big S cures
at the top of the Spring Branch Beat. You can then drop down to
the stream and fish downstream or keep walking along the ridge
towards the bottom of the beat. Now you can fish back up through
the cures and then retrace your route to your vehicle. You will
need a 4 wheel drive or posi trac to travel this road.
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