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.

Great place to visit for all family! We discovered this place by chance, but we fell in love with…read morethe natural beauty--clear water, drinkable air, and a pure, peaceful atmosphere!

Everywhere online says that this trail is a 6 miler, but it is most definitely 7 to get Blue Lake…read more Just keep that in mind when you don't reach the lake at 3 miles. Also keep in mind that this is a backpacking trail where you can continue beyond Blue Lake and reach numerous other lakes such as Dingleberry Lake, Hungry Packer Lake, Moonlight Lake, etc. However, my group of friends opted for a day hike since we aren't experienced backpackers. Soon after beginning the hike you get to Sabrina Lake which is neat in and of itself, but was not our final destination. If you wanted it to be, it could, as there are plenty of people enjoying the basin on their boats. Fun fact, Sabrina is pronounced SUH-BRAH-EE-NUH, not SUH-BREE-NUH, as one local informed us haha. Anyway, this hike was unlike any other I've been on due to the terrain. I've never been to the Sierras and it's so cool that it's like a dessert, alpine hybrid. There are beautiful alpine flowers (pink, purple, and orange) along the entire hike, two mini falls/streams that you have to cross, and plenty of rocky switchbacks. I would not call this a very intense hike as there aren't any portions that involve climbing or jumping. The only challenge I can imagine is if you didn't bring snacks/lunch to enjoy once you reach the beautiful Lake Blue. Lake Blue is crisp looking and crisp FEELING. You will definitely get hypothermia if you stay in for longer than a couple minutes. My feet were almost instantly numb, and my two friends that dared to (quickly) dunk their bodies in were extremely thankful for the hot noon sun that warmed and dried them fairly quickly. Make sure to bring bug spray because in the areas where you cross streams, there are HUGE SWARMS OF MOSQUITOS. Also there are bears and long-horned goats apparently, so be prepared in all situations. Happy hiking!

What a fantastic trip put together for us by the Sierra Mountain Center. From the start Emma was…read morefantastic and professional in the coordination efforts for our Palisade Traverse trip. My son and I had a 1:1 guide ratio and the guides, Dave Stimson and Tyler Logan, were exceptional. Exceptional in their knowledge of the route, their efficiency with rope craft and their trailside manner - despite the exhausting climb we had such a fun time. We are already planning next year's outing with SMC. You can see a video of the trip here: https://theearthbeneathyourfeet.com/Hikes/HikeDetails/5574743739453848794f31484538675743512b3472513d3d

Overall, It was a great experience. Very comforting to have everything sorted and just focus on the…read moremovement. The weather was great. Almost too hot but better than too much snow. Our guide, Dave was EXCELLENT. Social, made great food, and paced us very well. We all had a wonderful time!

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.

Glacial erratic boulders for the win. We had no idea how gigantic and mind-blowing these boulders…read morewould be before heading out on an unpaved road to see the sights in Buttermilk Country in the East Sierras (so named because there was a dairy in this location many decades ago). The boulders are scattered as if a giant had thrown down his marbles and left them where they lay. Glacial activity, however, is responsible for leaving these most scenic reminders of the Ice Age. Now I had never heard of the sport of "bouldering" before visiting here (I am so old we called it climbing on rocks) but apparently it is all the rage. We came across small groups of "boulderers" who bring out chalk and crash pads to help them "send" (short for ascend) to the top. (I was going to say peak but most boulders really can't be said to have a peak, unless they split in two as you can see in the pictures.) Apparently bouldering is all the rage but this is also the perfect spot for hiking and photography. Free parking on the side of the road. Four-wheel drive suggested as the unpaved road can be rough.

If you're a boulderer, then this is definitely a place to check out. Road tripped out here w/ my…read moreman and a couple friends. It was HOT out there but all worth it. If you're bold, you can go up some high balls! Very scenic & beautiful. Bring tons of water & be ready to climb some boulders. Loved it!

Our favorite of the Mammoth lakes, but all of them are amazing. Will definitely be back and camp…read moreagain!

9/30/2022 After…read morefishing at Lake Mary with no success, decided to stop by Lake George. A great decision! This lake is perfect in size, and today's views were breathtaking.... Fall colors were vibrant, and there was no winds... plus it was early! I picked the perfect spot... You could see the fish cruising and they were big!... Made the best decision getting a second rod, and did utilize it nicely.. Definitely will be back the same time next year! Four trout weighing in at over 10 pounds... Not to brag, but my first one was the biggest.. closer to three pounds.!

You can't beat this campground for its proximity to the Big Pines Creek trail head. If there's one…read morebit of practical hiking advice I can offer, it's to camp here for at least two days before hitting the trail if you live at a low elevation. I was not acclimated and it made my hike unexpectedly grueling. It's an absolutely beautiful hike, and I wish I was less focused on simply breathing! The entirety of the campground is surprisingly fancy as campgrounds go. Lots of manicured public spaces. But the store always seemed closed which probably had something to do with the government shutdown happening at the time. Directional signage within the campground (to specific site numbers and to the trailhead) is pretty awful and I wasted a decent amount of time trying to find my site. I got up pretty early to hit the trail (just as the sun rose), and had to use AllTrails to point me to the trailhead. In early Oct, it can get pretty cold up there so setting up camp at 4:30pm wasn't ideal. Try to get there earlier bc it cools down really fast. My specific site (26) was really private and very nice. It looked just like the pictures on Recreation dot gov. It sits beside a bubbling little stream, yet mosquitoes were never an issue. It was also the most level and tidiest tent pad I've ever had the pleasure of sleeping on. There was a major drop-off between the car pull-in and the campsite, so I had to be extra vigilant about not breaking my neck during the frequent back and forth loading and unloading.

I come here every year, usually in June or mid-August to hike the Big Pine Lakes trail. This year,…read morethe only reservation I could get was for April. We stayed over the weekend and it was absolutely freezing!!! Driving up, you could already see the mountains covered in snow and I knew right away we were in trouble! It got down to 21 degrees! I had double gloves, double layers, double everything and I still couldn't feel my fingers!!! Lol. I was so glad I brought my snow cleats because they helped a lot since the trails were covered in snow! For safety reasons, we decided to only hike up to Lake 2. The usual beautiful turquoise blue lakes were nowhere to be found and instead replaced with a half frozen lake. It was still a cool sight to see and I'm grateful I got to experience it at least once in my life because I swear, I will never stay here again in April! No way! Hahhaha. I definitely would not recommend camping here that time of year unless you have an RV or are really prepared for winter conditions. We were a big group which made the experience a lot more fun. I love this campground and there's a reason it's so hard to book. It's truly beautiful up there. If you're lucky enough to snag a reservation, definitely check it out.

Its a amazing place to camp or just fish maybe rent a cabin. Either way you can't go wrong…read more The sights are awesome Kids will have a blast Enjoy

6/7/2025- Annual…read morefishing trip was truly a memorable one- Started to get a little worried wThursday evening and Friday- with no bites... The bank was filled with anglers- and no one was getting any bites- a few in boats-.. No bear visible- only heard someone yell "bear alert".. but didn't see one like last year's.. Late last night- success! Caught one around 8:30 pm.. a nice way to end the evening.. Saturday morning - bright and early- caught three!... Can't wait until the fall..