Rainbow Falls is a must do if you're in the area! We also stopped at Devils Postpile, and it was…read moredefinitely worth seeing while you're there :) Make sure to bring plenty of water, wear comfortable shoes, and be ready for the hike down to the actual waterfall once you get to the top, you'll go down to the actual water. The hike back up is a bit of a workout, but it's 100% worth it. The views are beautiful! The water is chilly, but we got getting in. Such a fun experience, and one of our favorite stops on the trip!

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

Amazing! Good signage for the area, great parking, clear marked trails, area fenced off but some…read moresegments of the fence need upgrading or repair. Area appears to be handicapped or kids in strollers accessible. Dogs ok on leashes, pickup up after your dogs. Very cool!!

Really easy to get to, no mosquitos, and not crowded at all. An older gentleman there who I think…read morewas an off duty park Ranger or something told us all about the fault, cases of people falling in, and what to look out for, etc. He said it's more impressive looking from the other side of the main road (going from Mammoth Lakes to Mammoth Mountain), though we couldn't find any signs or trailheads for this part afterwards. Nonetheless this is a pretty neat, quick stop with no hike required to get to it.

Love the old school vibe of this place. A very rustic place. No frill, just basic but VERY clean…read more The water feels like silk on your skin. Lots of families enjoying time with their kids. An attendant watching the pool for safety. Lounge chairs in the sun, chairs and lots of opportunities for shade. A hot water area and a really good size pool for swimming, with a shallow end and a deep end, well signed for depths. They have many snacks and drinks available as well as ice cream. Changing rooms and showers (no soap allowed).No balls or inner tubes allowed but small noodles are ok. All employees were friendly. Overall an awesome place. Recommend: small pad in order to sit in hot tub as the floor is a little rough.

The best water I've swam in, ever. So clean. Very calming…read more Affordable. Therapeutic for body, mind, soul and spirit. I go there at least once a year from the Sonoma coast for decades.

Amazing natural Hot springs. We stopped by here on our way from Tahoe to Mammoth and really enjoyed…read morethe beautiful scenery and the natural Hot springs which were really awesome. One tip if you get to the main springs try not to go to the one on the right which is the bigger pool because it's more stagnant water and so there were a lot of these red looking worms or maggots swimming in there. The smaller pool on the left is much cleaner as there are two mini waterfalls that are keeping the water circulating and fresh. Anything less than five stars is an injustice so a glowing five stars and two thumbs up for Travertine Hot Springs!

Travertine Hot Spring is one of those rare places that stays with you long after you leave…read more I've been lucky enough to experience this spot in multiple seasons and it truly delivers every single time. Whether it's a crisp winter soak with snow on the ground, a calm spring sunrise, warm summer nights, or the quiet stillness of fall, this place always feels right. What makes it special isn't just the hot springs themselves, but the feeling of escape. At night, the sky opens up, endless stars, the Milky Way glowing above you, and if you're patient (or lucky), shooting stars cutting across the darkness. It's peaceful in a way that's hard to find anymore. This is my favorite place to unplug, reset and breathe. No noise, no rush, just nature doing what it does best. Respect the land, pack out what you bring in and soak it all in. If you're looking for a true Eastern Sierra experience raw, beautiful and unforgettable this is it.

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.

Just got back. Fishing is not what it used to be. Not a lot of big fish left. if you like…read morefishing for 6" fish, it's ok. if you go bring 2-3 wt rods, leave the 4 and 5 wt rods at home. Cabins are nice, and the grounds are in good shape. the caretaker is a little unfriendly at times. The people I met there, had been coming for years, so it was more of a tradition for them. They were hoping to catch a small fish, just so they didn't get skunked. Don't waste your money. The calendar on the web site shows that everything is filled up, but it was only 50% full.

Beautiful views and an excellent walk to stretch out legs. Love coming here to visit the site and…read moresee the creek. Maybe you be lucky to find the geocache that's hidden here

If you ever visit Mammoth Lakes area, please pay this geologic site a visit!! It's totally worth…read moreyour time! First of all, it's totally free! No parking fee, no entrance fee! And it's just a short 2.5-mile drive from the Wild Willy Hot Spring. Noted that the road leading to this site is unpaved and may require 4WD vehicles. However, my sister's Toyota Corolla did just fine as long as you drive with care and not speeding like 60mph ;) We arrived around 1pm on a Friday. The parking lot looked full but there were spaces for us. There are a few overflow parkings as well. There were restrooms and a few picnic tables there making the place look very inviting. As soon as you stepped out of your car, you'd be greeted with that familiar sulfur smell of hot springs. Step over to the ledges and you'd be wowed by the majestic beauty of the geologic site! Turquoise hot springs ebbs and flows against the silverfish brown volcanic mountain backdrops! A few greeneries here and there and some yellow wild flowers to complete a gorgeous painting by Mother Nature! If you're a nature lover like me, your eyes will be wide opened and your moth will shape into an "O" LOL. Honestly who needs to go to Yellow Stones while we have this mini version at your backyard ? A quick hike down on pave roads will lead you closer to the hot springs. Dogs are welcomed but they must be on leash and not allowed to come close to the hot springs. Spend as much time here to appreciate the majestic beauty of the site! Some of us even tried to touch the water and it was boiling HOT. So not recommended :)! Please don't miss out on this free, dog-friendly, beautiful geologic site if you're ever in the area!

I got from the Benton side and enjoyed the beautiful views of the mountains on the Benton Crossing…read moreRoad. There is absolutely no internet service. At the Hot Creek Geologic Site, they have restrooms. Then, we can walk down the path to see the hot creek. Very nice views but it smelled so bad. Not the best idea to check it out when you have a stomachache.

Beautiful lake with nice trails around it. The beach can be busy but worth it to lounge in the…read moreshallows, great for pets. Cool water and picturesque views of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Lots of boats, kayakers and paddle boarders on the lake enjoying the summer day. Interesting history about the lake, had to look it up due to the name. In the late 1800's there was a prison outbreak and many convicts fled here to hideout. Tip: instead of paying $ for parking, go through the wooden poles to the right before the toll booth to park for free and access the same beach. dirt road but worth it to save $.

+ Fun, beautiful place to kayak. We enjoyed the 4-person tandem pedal kayaking with Convict Lake…read moreResort Marina Rental. . Pedal kayaking is done with your feet, like bike riding, instead of with your arms. + CLRMR's 4-person pedal kayak raft is secure, reliable, and good quality. + Pleasant ambience. Aside from 1 or 2 other boats blasting music, it's almost like we had the whole lake to ourselves. . Life vests are under our seats, and optional. . No seat belts. . Lotta fishers here, - so gotta be careful not to pedal close to their lines. - 4 stinky, under-maintained restrooms (37°35'38.8"N 118°51'04.4"W). - Water spigot not working. + Free parking, - but very crowded.

Devil's Postpile is real underappreciated gem in the Mammoth Lakes area IMHO. It is a great entry…read morepoint to hike out to some gorgeous sites like Rainbow Falls and prisine lakes like Superior Lake. Unfortunately for those who are visiting, one must be aware of shuttle service that does not run all week. The schedule details are on the NPS site. I wanted to leave this review to recognize the heroic actions of a few of the crew from the NPS. Our backpacking party (including my two small children) were stranded on a Tuesday because of the suspended shuttle service back to the Main Lodge. Crow (one of the NPS staff manning the facilities at the ranger station) really saved our butts and invited us to stay at one of their private campgrounds (with nice facilities) for a night until they could be allowed to drive up in a convoy at 3pm the next day. Crow and his crew drove a party of six hikers up to the Main Lodge that afternoon. He really is my family's biggest hero this summer!

Construction on Thursdays = Major Delays. Not recommended for families with babies or toddlers…read more We arrived at the Village at 8:30 a.m. to catch the 8:45 shuttle to Devils Postpile, only to be told the first shuttle was delayed until 10:05. Since we were already committed, we drove to Main Lodge instead, where we found a huge line from everyone waiting on the delayed shuttles. At every step, we asked staff for updates, but no one warned us how bad the delays would be. We were told the shuttle ride would take about 20 minutes, but it ended up taking over an hour because of stop-and-go traffic from construction. The return trip was even worse. We boarded the shuttle at 1:30 p.m. and didn't get back to Main Lodge until after 3:00 p.m. The shuttle was hot, overcrowded, made multiple stops, and even returned to Devils Postpile before heading back. Staff seemed just as uninformed as visitors, and no one could provide accurate wait times or expectations. Our timeline: * Arrived at the Village: 8:30 a.m. * First shuttle departed: 10:05 a.m. * Reached Devils Postpile: Just after 11:00 a.m. * Boarded return shuttle: 1:30 p.m. * Returned to Main Lodge: Just after 3:00 p.m. The ticket agent refunded our shuttle tickets and admitted they didn't realize how severe the delays were because multiple agencies are involved. If you're traveling with young children, especially babies or toddlers, I'd avoid visiting on Thursdays during construction. It turned what should have been a simple outing into an exhausting, all-day ordeal.

Finding a place to park for this hike was a struggle! We failed the last time we visited but…read moremanaged to figure it out this time. We parked at Yosemite Valley Trailhead Parking, took a short walk to Happy Isles and where the restrooms were, then took the free shuttle, got off after one stop at Mirror lake! And going back to the parking lot, we took the shuttle one stop again and it was a short walk back to the parking lot. This hike reminds me of the Little Yosemite hike in Sunol, CA in the Bay Area! It's paved for most of it and there's restrooms at the beginning and about midpoint of the hike. The fall foliage was beautiful, but the lake wasn't full since its fall. There was still some water in it since it rained and snowed not too long ago.

I had not done my research and was taken aback that mirror lake was completely empty when we came…read morein late September 2025. I was hoping to show my husband the lake for the first time to get the beautiful reflection but not this time. It was still fun to walk around in the lake bed and hike the surrounding trail and picnic here, but a real bummer not to get the reflection.