Great location right off the 395 to stop and stretch legs and use the park! We definitely want to…read morecome back here and camp on the lake and make a trip out of it. The park has been recently updated and they also have bathrooms.

June 17th was my 60th birthday and the first day of a 5 day road trip to Mammoth Lake. Diaz Lake…read morewas the first campsite of my trip and boy was it hot when I pulled into my campsite. It was 96 degrees! My site was near the lake and had a water spigot. My dog Frankie was hot so I placed her under the spigot and completely doused her with water to cool her off. The site was nice but if I camp here again it will be in the spring or fall. Camping cost me only $21.

Not going to lie, this hike unexpectedly really beat me up. I intended to do the entire loop but…read morewas just so exhausted/overwhelmed when I woke up that I ended up turning back, although I took a different way back. I only made it to Lake 3 but to be fair, it started heavily pouring with intermittent thunder and lightning. The elevation gain destroyed me with my 20+ pound backpack, but I eventually made it to Lake 3 where I joined 2 other girls who basically adopted my clueless self. It is beautiful but perhaps would have been better without the cloudy skies. Overall, I would do this trip again but with more training!!

The Cottonwood Lakes are a series of 5 lakes in the high Eastern Sierra Nevada at about 11,000'…read moreelevation where you can catch California golden trout. This is a great place to camp out if you are looking for a place to acclimate before doing a high altitude hike such as Whitney. For convenience, you can just camp out at the trailhead which is at 10,000'. It takes about an hour to get from the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead to the Whitney Portal. I arrived here on July 3rd in the afternoon and spent one night and the following day fishing and hiking the area as a warmup to Whitney, which I was hiking on July 5th. Ultimately, I did not have any altitude sickness issues beyond a very mild headache which I could treat with ibuprofen. From the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead, the Cottonwood Lakes are about 5.5 miles away, so 11 miles roundtrip. Cottonwood Lake #3 is the largest of the five, and I ended up catching all my trout here. However, I didn't spend much time, if any, at the other lakes due to time constraints. I caught 4 trout in about an hour and a half. It's a very beautiful area, with large open meadows and lots of wildlife. I saw a deer and a pair of coyote while hiking to the lakes. There are also hordes of mosquitos so be sure to bring powerful mosquito repellant. Cottonwood Lakes can also be the midpoint in a hike to Mt. Langley, but that's another review.

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.

+ Pleasant trail. Fascinating views of volcanic igneous rocks. They are black, and have various…read moresmooth, round, and porous shapes. . 3/4mi took 1/2hr. + Opportunity to get some scrambling in around the little canyon of vesicular basalt. . Note: the rocks may be smooth or slippery on the feet, yet they're easy to grip by hand. - No shade. + Free, plenty parking. -- Only 1 restroom by the trailhead. Not well maintained. Outta tp. Trash can full. Stinky. - No hand sanitizer or sink. Didn't see any fossils falling, despite the name. v_v loljk

A beautiful and historical place to see and walk. If you're luck you'll see obsidian, but cannot…read moretake out. Leave as is. Highly recommended.

At first, it was difficult to locate an authorized campsite. Once I got the hang of it, trying to…read morefind a site that was level, had a view of Mt Whitney, and had cell service was the new challenge. I used campsite 26 (one small level spot) but had the right view and one bar of AT&T service. There aren't any bathrooms or water so come prepared.

Great scenery. It gets Cold and Windy in Winter time. I've…read moreheard it's the same in summer time, too. Definitely recommend.

Restrooms top notch. 10/10 acoustics!! The healing frequencies are more accessible than you think,…read moreas your fingertips pull the generously provided one-ply TP and truly appreciate the refreshing chill of a stainless steel toilet. Perfect place to unleash a primal "ROWRRRR" and spiritually recalibrate; especially after 6 hours on 395. Try it. You'll see what I mean. Great for humans. Great for kids and pups. Great for the soul.

Great stop between LA and Mammoth for kids. There are nearby restaurants and gas stations as well.read more

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.

Completed on 8.20.22 We stayed the night at Cottonwood Lakes trailhead campgrounds which sits at…read more10034 elevation, to acclimate ourselves to the altitude. Damn! This trail is GORGEOUS and offers amazing views of lakes, medows, and of course Mount Langley! Started at 5am and was back at the trail head by 6pm, spent 45 mins at the summit and 30 mins swimming at CW lake #4. Yes, it's a long, strenuous hike. 22 miles out and back, with an elevation gain of 4000ft+...If the altitude doesn't get you exhausted, the ascent will. I started to feel symptoms of AMS around 9000ft and then again at 13000ft, take your time, hydrate, and eat. Took the new army pass up, pretty and well maintained trail, as you pass "High Lake" you'll see what's to come... New army pass is almost vertical climb up to a flase summit. You have about another 1500ft of climbing to do, to reach the summit. Desecended down the "Army Pass", this trail is a bit sketchy and nerve-wracking, if you're afraid of heights. It's totally manageable and doable, just try to focus on the trail... I carried 5l of water and lots of healthy and not so healthy snacks. Also GU gels and Tylenol will help you on this hike. There's plenty of water source in the area, so you don't necessarily have to hike with a full pack, just bring water filtering system...you'll be alright. Weather was perfect for this hike...bugs were present, but wasn't too bad. I would definitely hike this trail again! Good luck, do research, and believe what you read. It's really important to listen to your body! Happy Trails!!

This is an often overlooked mountain that is overshadowed by its sister, Mount Whitney. However,…read morethis 14er is nothing to sneeze at. The beauty of this hike is that it is good training for Whitney and it does not require a permit for day hiking, which is what we did. Depending on the trail that you choose, the total mileage can range from 20-24 miles. New Army Pass is better maintained but will add 2 miles each way. We chose to go up New Army and down Old Army for 22 miles. The first 6-7 miles are pretty easy overall, with about 1,000 feet elevation gain. However, keep in mind that the trail starts at 10,000 feet, so acclimation is always recommended. Once you start the switchbacks on New Army Pass, the ascent becomes more difficult. I personally feel that the views on this hike are more picturesque than most along the Whitney trail. What makes this hike really difficult is the last 1-1.5 miles, in which you will gain just short of 2,000 feet elevation. The climb is very steep in loose sand/scree combined with boulder climbing. It reminded me a lot of Iron Mountain in SoCal but with boulders. Follow the rock cairns closely to lead you to the summit of 14,042 feet.

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!

The camp host Gavin is amazing! He did a great job - it was a busy holiday weekend and he worked…read moresuper hard - he was awesome!!! ****Please if you are going to be in the Kern River wear a life vest - water can be very dangerous****

We were disappointed because the information provided when we made our reservation indicated that…read morefires were allowed in the park. Based on that information, we did not bring any gas cooking equipment with us. However, when we arrived, we were told that charcoal grills and campfires were not allowed and that we could only cook using approved gas equipment. Unfortunately, we were not aware of these restrictions when booking. We were especially disappointed that we couldn't enjoy a campfire during our stay. The information on the booking website should be updated to clearly reflect the current fire restrictions so guests can plan accordingly.