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.

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.

This review is for Lake Sabrina To Blue Lake Trail which was a ~5.9 miles round trip that took ~4…read morehours to complete. This was a stunning hike from beginning to end. Trail was adjacent to Lake Sabrina for about half of the hike with various views of the lake from low to high elevations. There was excessive water at the first crossing; hiking sticks were extremely helpful for balance and getting across safely without getting shoes wet. Second water crossing was much easier with the rocks and logs. ~5% of the trail at higher elevation was still covered in snow. Trail was mostly a narrow and rocky incline towards Blue Lake. Furthermore, about half of the hikers brought their dogs. Beware of altitude sickness! Staying at the city of Bishop with an elevation of 4150ft and then driving the next morning to Lake Sabrina with an elevation of 9128ft resulted in altitude sickness for us throughout the hike. The worse symptom was shortness of breath with some minor headache and nausea. Very limited parking at the trailhead. There are more parking available further in at the boat landing area. Restroom also available at the upper parking lot of the boat landing. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/eMJO8pq-b6Y

Very beautiful lake!! I would definitely come here again! Good amount of fish and the waters are…read morevery relaxing. It's a small to medium sized lake but it's not too busy even on a weekend. Great time to hang out with your family or friends together on a boat or the lake side.

A 6.8-mile roundtrip hike to another fantastic chain of Sierra mountain lakes…read more The street to the trailhead is located between Aspendell and Lake Sabrina. The steep access road is a 2-miles long, mostly unpaved, and one-lane wide. Like with hiking, vehicles coming down the hillside must yield to cars coming up (which rudely did not occur). The road passes the boring North Lake. The trailhead technically is at the North Lake campground, but hikers are not allowed to park there. From the trailhead, Lamarck Lakes are southwest but a second trail goes westward to Piute Pass past Loch Leven and Piute Lake. A sign directs to either location. Starting at the North Lake day use parking lot at 9200' above sea level, the easy-to-follow trail goes to 1.8-miles one-way and up 650' to Grass Lake - so called due to its marshy green appearance (see pic) which is atypical of Sierra lakes. Grass Lake is on a short and fairly flat side spur from the main trail that is clearly marked. At 2.4 miles and 1400' up the trail from the parking lot is Lower Lamarck Lake at 10,600'. Resting below Mt. George Davis this is the best lake of the four and the best part of the hike (see pic) and bound to leave a lasting Lamarck on la mind. At 3.2 miles and 1600' from the parking lot is Upper Lamarck Lake which has little vegetation and mainly surrounded by rock piles. It's still worth trekking to the final lake because the alpine stream connecting Lower and Upper was the second best sight of the hike.

On a recent hiking trip, we explored all the eastern approaches into the southern Sierra, and of…read morethese the Big Pine lakes region is the most beautiful (just google for photos), but also unfortunately the longest trail in. Plus for me and my wife (late 50's) it was coming after several long day hikes, so we hired Glacier Pack Train to make the day a little easier. For an extremely reasonable price they agreed to take us up to the third lake, allowing us to hike the rest of the way, exploring all the other lakes and then hiking down. We were so happy we did this, not only because it made the entire region accessible to us, but because the trail ride itself was so incredibly enjoyable on its own. Even though our experience on horses has been pretty limited, we felt like we were riding ourselves, not just being transported up. Truly a terrific day from start to finish.

Gosh, I wish I could give 1,000 stars! I have been going to the upper lakes with the Stewart…read morefamily since I was a little girl, (which was a looooong time ago!) this is the experience of a lifetime. It's like being transported back in time, before cell phones and cars. Living the life of a cowboy! How incredible to have the experience! You can take a day ride of all of the lakes, (and they know the secret trails that aren't on maps), or you can have your camping equipment put on mules and they will fit you with a well trained horse and drop you off in an incredible campsite. They furnish the bear container, and they pick you up at the end of your trip! This is a great way for families with varying hiking abilities to get into the back country together and establish a base camp surrounded by incredible hiking options from an easy stroll to peak bagging. I feel like you haven't lived unless you ride up to the lakes at least once with Mert and Lizzie. They feel like family!

Loved the Bishop City Park with a stream running through it and plenty or walkways for exercise and…read moreyour pets. Large baseball field, soccer fields, playgrounds. a dedicated dog park community pool, tennis courts, pond where you can see fish, ducks and various birds, and lots of picnic tables. Worth a visit for rest and relaxation or to listen to Bishop stream and small waterfall by the bridge. When driving through Bishop in the future, this is the spot to take your pets for a nice walk and stretch before getting back on the road!

This is a really cute park in the heart of Bishop. You can tell that the planning was intentional…read moreand very thoughtful. Although this area as a whole has plenty to do (in the mountains), the little towns are quite barren for any activity. While walking our pup here, we saw the pond with so many birds, a skatepark, an outdoor pool, tennis court, a baseball field, and more! There were a few sketchy people hanging around, but we were safe and they didn't bother us. For the most part, the people there were playing or just enjoying the grounds. Plenty of parking, and pretty well maintained. We were pleasantly surprised at how large of an area it covered, and our pup enjoyed her walk here.

This peaceful recreation area has spectacular views, a pond with frogs and geese, picnic tables,…read moretennis courts, a playground, a baseball diamond, and a campground, with plenty of parking. The best part is the clean flush toilets, a perfect scenic stop when traveling along the 395.

Doesn't look like much from the 395 but once you drive in, there are large spaces dedicated to…read moresports such as volleyball, tennis, baseball, and more. There are a lake and campground to explore. Clean and green. Recommended to check out.

Beware....Fat shaming! Worst experience We called to book…read moreour ride and spoke to Theresa. She asked the weight and height of the riders. I told her our height and let her know we needed larger animals as we are bigger girls but did not exceed the 250 weight limit requirement. She assured me she had larger animals and it would be fine. I let her know where we were driving from and she said we were an hour and 1/2 away. Theresa called back after speaking with her manager, shortening our ride in half because the trail is up and down hill. She assured me that there was no issue with riding. After a long journey through the mountains, we arrived ready for a fun day riding. When we got there, Theresa looked at us and said our legs were not long enough. We were taken aback. Upon further questions and discussion it became clear that there was alternative reasoning. Even though we all fell under the weight restrictions, we LOOKED too heavy to ride, then later revealed that the owner was trying to sell and would have concerns. The conversation fell into an awkward silence. We were frustrated, disappointed, and upset. I even suggested not going on the trail just riding around camp but they insisted we could not ride the horses safely, apologized, and turned us away. Theresa went as far as to comment to my girls how hard it is to be too fat then offered us cookies! James overheard the conversation and suggested that we meet the horses. We brushed and pet them, which was very kind of him. I would not recommend taking the drive through the mountains for these folks. There were many alternative riding options in the area. I'd suggest taking your business to a place that's more organized, transparent, and kind.

Outstanding! 3 hr ride through some very beautiful scenery and exciting terrain. Simple process to…read morebook, great value and the entire staff are attentive and knowledgeable