Duck Lake Trail or Loop is a very nice, moderately challenging hiking trail around Duck Lake (one…read moreof several lakes with that name) in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, an appendage of the Stanislaus National Forest in the Sierra Nevada east of Sonora and north of Yosemite. This is reached by Highway 4 (running across the Sierra Nevada from Stockton to near Markleeville, via Ebbetts Pass). The trailhead is at the Silver Valley Campground on the eastern side of Lake Alpine. If coming from the west, this is reached via a small road to the right off of Highway 4 just east of Lake Alpine, which is just east of Bear Valley. The small access road ends at the campground and just before the campground is the trail head. As of September 2023, the trailhead was not immediately obvious because of damage to the trees and sign. There is limited parking on the side of the road. In its full length includes a roughly 4-mile loop. There are links to other trails as well. Much of the trail is easy going physically, but there are some significant uphill or downhill parts, mostly at the beginning and end; around the lake itself the terrain is mostly easy going, with some woodland, meadows, and granite outcroppings. This trail could take about 2 hours to complete, more or less, depending on a number of factors. For us, the biggest thing to slow us down was the fact that the trail, though obvious in the start/end, tends to become vague and harder to identify in many sections around the lake. It is not especially well cleared for much of that, and mostly one must follow it by being careful about the direction, orienting via the lake, looking for trail blazes, and, especially in the hard granite areas, stone markers which hikers put up. This is a common issue, apparently. Otherwise, it is a very nice hike, and the lake is lovely. There is an old cabin next to the lake, and some pasture areas with cattle since livestock grazing is permitted int the Wilderness. It is peaceful and we only encountered three other groups of people on the entire hike when there in September 2023.

We always love hiking here. It's easy to hike with kids, even though it can get a little rocky and…read morea little muddy. The cave is always beautiful, especially when the water is flowing. Today, there are still descent of people hiking, and we came around 12:30 Easy Hike!Gonna come back again soon. P. S please leave no trace

I went here on a weekday, and when I arrived in the parking lot, I was shocked by how much was…read moregoing on. It definitely did not feel like a safe place to leave a car or to walk alone. There appeared to be drug activity, and there were people living in their cars. It felt more like a place for people to hang out and purchase drugs than a normal parking lot. I observed this as I drove through, which was very concerning. This was a bummer, especially since the trail itself looked beautiful. I'm surprised that law enforcement hasn't been called by the neighborhood, but then again, I understand that people can sometimes become used to these conditions.

Whoa. I've been into…read morethe Sierra Nevada mountain range all my life, so I'm well aware of how rugged and gorgeous it all is. But it seems that the Emigrant Wilderness takes this up a notch. I didn't think this was possible. I bought a backpack last year to take to Channel Islands. Why not use it this year for a semi-major backpacking trip. Of the places I was considering, I narrowed it down to the Emigrant Wilderness. Got my route planned out, and off I went to Kennedy Meadows. I ended up using two trailheads. When I got my wilderness permit, the ranger warned me that snow was blocking a lot of my itinerary. It certainly was. My four days out of Kennedy Meadows turned into only 26 hours. In that 26 hours was jaw-dropping scenery ranging from vast canyons and mountain ranges to pretty seasonal creeks and wildflowers. I camped near Summit Creek, going to sleep with a raging waterfall close by. By now, you're probably thinking of the first few minutes of "The Sound Of Music", and saying "Aw, I wish I was there!" I wish you were too. Be warned that it is pretty strenuous, and you start at 6500 feet. Okay, my second trip: the Crabtree trailhead. I did much less hiking this time, only five miles to Grouse Lake. I didn't need to go any further. The area around Grouse Lake has a lot to see and do: a smallish lake divided by a peninsula, lots of fishing and swimming spots, birds flying and singing, glaciated granite to climb and run on. (And plenty of mosquitoes; bring lots of repellant.) There are other destinations from this trailhead, too; hikers I saw said that they were going to Camp Lake, Bear Lake. It's a remote trailhead, but it filled up on a Saturday afternoon, so beware! A big part of the attraction of the Emigrant Wilderness is that the only "improvements" we've made are trails and the occasional reservoir. Everything else is just as it was when California became a state. It's wild. It does take a bit of effort to get back here. And when you do, you're not disappointed. It's an immersion into the mountains, a place with just you and the Lord, and He rejuvenates your spirit among His handiwork. Dick Proenneke, who lived in solitude near Alaska's Lake Clark, told John Kauffmann for National Geographic, "Mountains are a man's best friends if he only knew it. You hike and climb every day and you don't grow old." (He was 63.) The same can be said for the Emigrant Wilderness. If you get the food situation figured out, you could live here for an entire summer and still not see it all, and still wish you had more time.

Beautiful! We did the Kennedy Lake trail (15 mi) and camped overnight. It was so peaceful!…read moreBeautiful mountains, streams, trees, and wildlife (deer and rabbits). We tried to get to the lake but it was super swampy. It was very cold (30 F in late June so be sure to pack warm stuff! Happy Hiking!

I can't believe nobody has reviewed this awesome hike yet! The hike begins at Mono Village…read moreCampground which can be found by turning onto Twin Lakes road in Bridgeport and taking said road all the way to end, which is the Campground. You can park in the day use area if you're just doing a day hike but if you plan on doing backcountry camping, you'll need to pay them the $10 bucks to leave your car overnight. That $10 will buy you up to 7 days of parking. Follow the road between the maze of tents and motor homes until you reach the sign that marks the official beginning of the trail to Barney Lake. Take that trail roughly 4 miles up and you'll find it. It's simply gorgeous and an amazing view up there. From here, you can turn around and head back or continue up the trail to Robinson Lakes, Crown Lake, Snow Lake, and eventually, Yosemite National Park. The trail is very easy to follow and is mostly on an even level. There's switchbacks towards the end as you near the lake, but they're not bad incline wise. From car to lake and back to the car, it's just a hair over 9 miles. This is one of my favorite hikes in the area and I do it at least once or twice every season. Just please be respectful and leave no trace. Also, this area is known to be popular with Bears. I've personally never seen one here, but a lot of others have. That being said, you have nothing to be fearful of. If you do come across one, give it plenty of room and respect and you'll be fine and for god's sake DON'T FEED THEM! Or any wildlife for that matter. You have no idea how many moronic tourist I yell at for feeding squirrels and deer. Lol.

Chasing (roadside) waterfalls…read more.. This is a pretty decent roadside waterfall off Highway 50 (between Sac and Lake Tahoe) near Pollock Pines. It is pretty during spring as snow melting gives the waterfall a good amount of flow with a drop of 80-ft. Nice stop to stretch out the legs at the same time. The waterfall grabs your attention whether you're driving to or from Lake Tahoe. The falls is to your right as you head to the Lake. I suppose you can pull over on the opposite side of the highway to get a full view of the falls but I wouldn't cross the road as it is dangerous because there are blind turns, sometimes cars and trucks whiz by fast and furious down this road. Easy access where you literally just pull over into a very large pullout right in front of the falls. This waterfalls is about 60 miles from our place. It is worth stopping to look at, at least once, on your way to Lake Tahoe. Review #2106 updated

Worth the quick stop to get out, stretch and check it out on the drive to Tahoe or back! Very cool…read morelittle falls on an easy pull out.

Beautiful trail just outside of Yosemite off of Highway 140 in El Portal. My husband and I hiked…read moreabout 2.5 miles of the trail mid June. The whole trail is 4.5 miles one way- about 9 miles round trip if you want to go all the way to Hite Cove. We wanted to go all the way to the end, however temperatures in the canyon rise fast during the summer and it was easily 100 degrees by noon. The trail follows up above the Merced River. There were a few times when you can get right down to the river. About 1.5-2 miles in, there is a section with rocks that looks like it is made for jumping in the river. The trail is entirely single track with some areas with steep drop offs. Make sure to pack plenty of water, sunscreen, and bug spray. There is very little shade and the trail is almost completely exposed. To find the trail, just look for the Red Bud Lodge and park right across the street. There is a sign that points just to the trailhead next to the lodge. I would recommend to come as early as possible if you are coming in the summertime.

Considering that everything else in El Portal is some pee stained remnant from the Sears catalog,…read morewe didn't have high hopes for the 'trail' that came recommended. It's not that encouraging as you drive up either. Seems very average and nondescript. As it was our first night in the greater Yosemite area, we definitely wanted to get out and so we went for it. In retrospect, I would say it was one of the nicer hikes we went on. You walk high above the Merced River on a narrow trail amongst wild flowers and with a beautiful view of the mountains. The power of the river and the beauty of the land impressed all of us. It and easy/intermediate hike. One drawback is that it's not a loop. So you can go as long as you want (to the end even) and come back. We went and hour and turned around. Recommend.

Loved this place! Beautiful scenery. Friendly folks. Great sites! WiFi works great when campground…read moreisn't full

My last review was over 12 years ago so I figured I should update!…read more Summer of 2020 we had to get out of the house and tried to get in to camp at the upper twin where we've always gone. No such luck as everyone else had the same idea as us! We were devastated and were searching for a good campground experience for the kids. I immediately thought of here and told my husband to drive down the road as quick as possible! They had one campsite available within a few days so we made that reservation asap. What started out as a complete bummer ended up being a wonderful week we spent here! We enjoyed it so much we came back in 2021 and 22. Hell, we're coming back twice this summer! Great fishing, awesome pizza, great Bloody Mary's, and so much more. Thank you guys for helping us out a few years back and for taking care of us since then.

The Rubicon Trail was certainly a hike that we stumbled upon by chance. After visiting Baldwin…read moreBeach, we were looking for somewhere to see the infamous Emerald Bay and see the lake from a different viewpoint. After paying the $10 entrance fee to park, we saw that there was an option for a hike to get to a waterfall. One thing to keep in mind is the steep incline throughout most of the trail - this would definitely be a hike that I would consider as moderate difficulty. Overall, I believe that my Apple Watch clocked 3.75 miles for the hike round trip! Getting to the waterfall and spending time in the visitors center and around the base of the lake was a treat!

I picked the perfect day to hike; temp was 70 around 2 pm. I had read that the D.L Bliss Camp…read moreaccess to the Rubicon trail was closed but Emerald Bay was open. We headed to EB camp grounds. Being this the first time we attempted to hike at The Rubicon, we had questions. The park rangers gave us a free 20 min pass to drive inside and see where the trail was. We explored the area; some construction was happening but trail was accessible. We were happy with what we saw, it was a beautiful day and I had a backpack full of water and snacks. We went back to pay the 10 dollar fee for the day pass and we headed out towards our journey. The path was pretty easy heading to Vikingsholm Castle hardly broke a sweat. We enjoyed clear beautiful panoramic views of the lake. It was quite breathtaking. Not too many people on the trail and that was quite peaceful and enjoyable. A lot of people when we arrived at the Vikingholm Castle. We took a few photos there and enjoyed the cool breeze then headed back. Boy oh boy did I underestimate that climb back to camp. My mind was saying "yes you can" but my old bones and lungs were not very convinced. I hadn't been hiking like this in about 5 years but I survived without reaching for my Life Alert pendant; kidding, not kidding. It was just a reminder that I have to do this more often to get conditioned again. It was a nice accomplishment even though I just did 1.5 miles of the 12 mile hike. I'll push to do 3 next time. It was really great to get out and enjoy nature like that. We are so lucky to live so close to all this beautiful scenery. It was quite refreshing, I felt great. We stopped at Camp Richardson on our way back and enjoyed some ice cream; a perfect ending to our beautiful day.

This ended up being one of my favorite hikes in Lake Tahoe. It's definitely more enjoyable in the…read morespring or fall, when there's less fog and you can fully take in the surrounding scenery, but even so, I was happy with the experience. Reaching the waterfalls was especially rewarding and made the hike well worth it.

Hike was about 2 hours total-- one hour there, one hour back…read more It was such a fun hike! Maybe not so much for my mom because she was lowkey struggling since it started to become a rocky trail, the closer you get to the waterfall. It's not a smooth, walk-in-the-park trail, since it's rocky, so just be prepared! I've seen lots of people use hiking sticks or trekking poles-- they were definitely prepared. The view at the end is definitely worth it!