This review is for Little Lakes Valley To Gem Lakes which was a ~7.2 miles round trip that took…read more~4.5 hours to complete. Trail will take you to 6 different lakes (Mack, Marsh, Heart, Box, Long and Gem Lakes). With an optional detour to a 7th lake called Chickenfoot Lake (located after Long Lake). Trail was mostly a rocky incline towards Gem Lakes. There were some fall colors on the shrubs but not on the trees of this trail. Beware of altitude sickness! The worse symptom for us this time was shortness of breath. Decent sized parking area at the trailhead. However, it was almost full at sunrise. Restrooms are available within a short walk from the start of the trail. The drive towards the parking lot gets narrow and harder to fit two cars. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/lHZW-RvsUXk

LITTLE LAKES VALLEY TRAIL -…read more It's a very scenic and fun hike. If you're able, make sure you visit most of the lakes ( I think there are seven total). Reaching Long Lake (5th lake) is a good turnaround point for most people. Be prepared to get your feet wet as several portions of the trail were over a stream. TIPS: This trail is not ideal for those who have mobility issues. A lot of rocks, steps, gravel, and in some cases water and snow. Get to the parking lot by 8:30. The lot will fill up fast, and you'll have to drive down the road to find parking. There's a bathroom in the parking lot.

White Mountain Peak is the highest peak in the White Mountains of California, the highest peak in…read moreMono County, and the third highest peak in the state after Mount Whitney and Mount Williamson. Elevation 14,252 ft Distance: 14 Miles roundtrip. Out and back. You start at an elevation of 12,000, so you're only going up around 2,000 - 3000 in elevation. It's kind of tricky for me to figure out since you're going up and down a few times on the trail. The hike is pretty easy for the first 3 -4 miles. There isn't too much of an elevation gain. This part of the hike reminded me of the opening scene from the Sound of Music. The last 2-3 miles are tough. You're basically just going UP. The terrain is similar to hiking West Mt Baldy (lots of loose gravel, tons of rocks). But not as bad. I only say this because I'd slip more hiking Baldy, and I didn't slip once hiking White Mountain Peak. You can see the summit from far away. And on a majority of the hike the summit is in your sights. This could either motivate you or de-motivate you... knowing how much further you had to go. Hiking this trail was an experience. When we were there, it was pretty windy. We didn't see too much wildlife. I only saw groundhogs. *I think*. And we saw a lot of sheep at the Research Station 2 miles from the beginning of the trailhead. Since the elevation at the top of White Mountain Peak is at 14K, you may experience elevation sickness. There is no bathrooms at the top of the mountain but there is one clean one at the start of the trail. Getting to the hike was pretty difficult as well. For 22 miles, before you get to the trailhead you're driving on extremely rocky off-roading type of roads. If you're in a small four door sedan it'll take you an hour to drive that. I would suggest taking an SUV.

Great view. This was my 3rd 14er…read more There is a simple trail all the way to the top. Probably easiest 14er. People seem to do this for training for Whitney. I did just because I wanted to do this! You can camp at the trailhead, the day before the hike to acclimatize. We camped on Sat, and started hiking at 4 a.m, and came back to the trailhead around 11 a.m. It is windy on the trail and the top. I put downjackt and hood all the way. For any purpose, it's a great climb.

Activity Type: Hiking Nearby City: Mammoth Lakes…read moreLength: 13 total miles Elevation Gain: 1,700 feet Trail Type: Out-and-back Skill Level: An overall elevation gain of about 1,700 feet makes this a challenging hike. Duration: 7 to 8 hours, though 2 days is preferable. Season: Late June through mid-October. Trailhead Elevation: 8,300 feet Top Elevation: 9,300 feet Other Uses: Equestrians and leashed dogs are welcome. Bikes are not allowed in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. In a region of exceptionally stunning lakes, Shadow and Ediza are two of the loveliest. Both harbor views of the Ritter Range that are among the finest mountain landscapes in the Sierra Nevada. Rolling through green meadows, conifer forests, and rocky outcrops, the trail rises by gradual degrees up the valley of Shadow Creek in view of Volcanic Ridge, to the left (south). Some stretches have been finessed through rocky benches by the vigorous application of picks, shovels, and maybe a surgical stick or two of dynamite. The best of company, frolicsome Shadow Creek entertains us with music and assorted pretty little tricks, including a very clever cascade around an island of polished granite

Ah-May-Zing! I…read moreheard about Lake Ediza last year while on my way to Garnet via Shadow Creek. Fortunately I had a chance to trek up to Ediza this year. I was told that between the split off from the JMT to go towards Garnet and Lake Ediza there was a piece of Heaven on Earth. Truly the scenery was enlightening. Shadow creek was booming (even in this drought). Like all the high elevation lakes it's quite a trek to get there but the payoff is well worth the pain. When we arrived there wasn't too many good camping spots. We had to go around the lake towards the southwest section and camped a little off the trail. If we had just gone a bit further crossing a small creek to the "island" we would have found an even better spot by the beach area under the cover of some trees. My advice: Get there early and grab a good spot. As beautiful as Lake Ediza is it can get busy. Not Thousand Island Lakes busy, but busy nonetheless.

Wow!! Just got back from a two night backpacking trip. I stood at lake one and lake two and it…read moredidn't disappoint. This is my third time here and first time as an overnight. I got to explore, fish, swim, relax, and wake up to an amazing view. This hike is hard especially with a 35-40lb backpack. Plenty of tent site if you got a permit.

Stayed couple days in mid-May at the Upper Sage campground and did the hike to the first two lakes…read more Due to snow, it's where most people turned around. It was the perfect distance for a nice day hike, at about 10 miles. Nice reward of picturesque lakes at the end, and you turn around head back. I went down to touch the water, but some people went swimming in the ice cold water! This was a very popular trail and seemed like everyone brought their dogs. Out of maybe 20 parties with dogs, 1 actually had it on a leash. I would recommend starting this hike early so you can grab a parking spot at the trailhead and avoid the heat.

Pro tip: Take the shuttle (approximately $15 per person round-trip). You take it from the Main…read moreLodge and they run every 20-30mins from 7amish to 730pmish (as of Aug 2025). You want to get off at Red's Meadow and hike to the falls. It's easy-easy/moderate and is the shortest distance to the falls. Do not take it from Devil's Postpile because it will add 1.5 miles of open sun hike to the falls. Once there, reward yourself with glass of wine and lunch. The water is cool to cold (depending on the time of year) and refreshing. Highly recommended

There's almost a guaranteed rainbow and maybe even a double rainbow if you're lucky at Rainbow…read moreFalls! From the shuttle stop, it's a 1.6 mile exposed hike to the falls, then some stairs to the bottom. We were prepared wearing our swimsuits to take a dip in the frigid water! Totally worth it. So beautiful!

Learning and the hands-On was well choreographed. Have taken many of these classes over the years…read morethis was by far the best strongly recommend to family friends and your organization.

Activity Type: Hiking Nearby City: June Lake…read moreLength: 20 total miles Elevation Gain: 3,580 feet Trail Type: Loop Skill Level: Difficult Duration: 3-4 days Season: Mid-July through September Trailhead Elevation: 8,200 feet Top Elevation: 10,300 feet Local Contacts: Ansel Adams Wilderness; Mammoth Lakes Visitor Center Let your own abilities determine which of these two hikes you will take into the spectacular country around the base of Mount Ritter and the Minarets. The Ediza Lake hike follows excellent trails to a beautiful destination. The traverse hike--which continues from Ediza Lake on a steep and sketchy route to Iceberg, Cecile, and Minaret Lakes--requires route finding skills, a bit of easy scrambling, and, for much of the summer, an ice ax for crossing the icy slopes around Iceberg Lake. At Minaret Lake, the traverse route rejoins well-maintained trails for the descent to Devils Postpile National Monument.

What a beautiful waterfall in Sierra National Forest…read more The effort to reward ratio is really high on this hike. It's a short uphill hike up and then back down, an out and back. Alltrails estimates 40 minutes all together. We took our sweet time up, taking photos and noticing the butterflies, and then sat at the waterfall for a long time, before a much faster descent back down given the downhill. The trail is straightforward to follow. We didn't encounter too many bugs or have to worry about bug bites. The waterfall is absolutely beautiful. It's massive even in the summer. Then facing the other way are neverending trees. There is an outhouse for a restroom at the front. If you are in the area, this one doesn't take long and is worth it, highly recommend!

Nice hike with a treat at the top...a waterfall! On the morning we were there, the trail was very…read morepopular. It's uphill all the way to the falls, but there were many wide spots to let people pass or to stop and rest along the way. Most people wore masks and everyone was very friendly and polite. There's a small parking lot at the trailhead and a restroom, too. It was about a mile each way, I think. Nice views!

Mist Falls Trail is an absolute gem! The view was breathtaking, making every step of the hike worth…read moreit. Despite the hot weather, the trail is well-shaded by trees, which kept the route constantly cool and comfortable. Whether you're a seasoned hiker or just looking for a beautiful nature walk, Mist Falls Trail is a must-visit. Highly recommended! It is at an incline going up most of the way so be prepared!

Terrible. Really tough hike. If you hate yourself you'll love this hike. And if you thought you…read morecould reward yourself with food the park sells think again but the food is atrocious. Got a good tan though would come back

I love hiking the Crystal Lake Trail. It's a scenic, popular hike in Mammoth offering panoramic…read moreviews of the Sierra Mountains. The hike itself is an uphill, 3.5 miles with elevation starting near 9,000 feet leading to lake. I was lucky to get a beautiful, sunny picture perfect day. There's plenty of shade due to the dense forest of pine, fir and hemlock trees that line the path. The trail is well kept and clearly marked. It is a dog friendly trail - I took my pup and she did great. The lake is very beautiful and because I went during the week in the offseason, there wasn't anyone else around. It was very quiet and all you could hear was wind, birds and the water. I would recommend this trail to everyone. The views are spectacular but the lake itself is breathtaking making the trek up there worth it.

This review is for Crystal Lake Trail which was a ~3.2 miles round trip that took ~2 hour to…read morecomplete. This was one of the more strenuous hikes in Mammoth Lake due to the continuous incline to the top with an overlooking view of Lake George and Lake Mary! Trail can be difficult to follow in some areas. Best view of Crystal Lake would be on the right before you follow the trail to the left. Crowded with limited parking available. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/aHW-s-pHAIw