One Effn winding road (180) to get to Zumwalt Meadow and it's not only winding ( if you get car…read moresick , this road might be tough ) the road is on the edge of the cliff most of the time. Why is it worth the drive ? Cuz it's simply beautiful and way less crowded than Yosemite. Depends on the time of the year we have this place all to ourselves. Even though 180 is winding, the views of the mountains and the Kings River from this part of the road is spectacular. Just a few more miles further from Zumwalt , you'll find the trailhead to the Mist Falls Trail ( not to be mistaken from Mist Trail in Yosemite).

There is a trail along the river all the way to Muir Road at the Road's End. It's an easy to medium…read morehike. We passed by bridges, giant rocks and a beautiful meadow. The meadow itself is magnificent with grass field and hills. Half of the trail was not shaded, so be prepared to get some radiation shields (SPF, hats and sunglasses)

Voilà, home to the famous Mt Whitney! + Also, lots other…read morecools hikes and sceneries in the area. Oh, so blessed to be living in CA. - Downside is it's prob far away from your home, so prep for a +5hr car trip~ - Desert-y terrain. Almost nothing out there. Everything so far apart. . Stock up well on snacks, drinks, supplies before you head out.

Located in California's beautiful Eastern Sierra, the Inyo National Forest offers clean air,…read morecrystal blue skies, mountain lakes and streams, challenging trails, high mountain peaks, and beautiful views. With over two million acres, the Inyo National Forest is home to many natural wonders, including Mt. Whitney, Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes Basin, and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, as well as seven Congressionally-designated Wildernesses, comprising over 650,000 acres of land. This is a 3 nights 4days backpacking trip totaling 22.5 miles in the Ansel Adams WIlderness and the setting is amazing. We started at Agnews Meadow to John Muir Trail looping back thru Pacific Crest Trail. John Muir Trail Section: The John Muir Wilderness is massive in length - over 100 miles at its longest point. It covers the central/south portion of the Sierra Nevada range, on both the west and east side. The west side offers access from California's Central Valley and has many small towns and camper facilities. The east side is steep, very steep, and is accessible from the Owens Valley. Named after the father of environmentalism and champion of the national park system, this Wilderness has everything the Sierra Nevada has to offer -- lakes, meadows, streams, mountain peaks, forests and more. The John Muir Trail travels about 53 miles in the John Muir Wilderness. In terms of the John Muir Trail, this Wilderness essentially covers the area between National Parks/Monuments. The mid-point for the Trail lies here. Typically, it is at (or near) Edison or Florence Lakes that the through hiker will take a brief break and re-supply. The John Muir Wilderness also affords the hiker spots to soak their feet in hot springs, grab a warm meal, and "traverse" from "easy" east side access points to west side access points for the trail. As the trail begins a long set of switchbacks, one of the most panoramic views along the entire John Muir Trail is gained. Between the trees one can see the Minarets, Mt. Ritter and Banner Peak. Summer is an excellent time to see wildflowers along the trail. At higher elevations, even in late Summer the wildflowers are blooming due to the late snow melt. The order of the Lakes as we hiked in is as follows: Shadow Lake, Clarice Lake, Garnett Lake, Ruby Lake, Emerald Lake, Badger Lake and Thousand Islands. I can not choose which lake to mention as my favorite. They're all breathtaking. But Garnett Lake and Thousand Island stays in my mind the most. Ruby Lake is mysterious looking and Shadow Lake is rewarding in a sense since this is the first lake you will see after the final push in a difficult steep switchback leading to it. Mosquitoes are abundant during summer here that makes it not my favorite :( but it is beautiful nevertheless. As you ascend to over 9500 feet mosquitoes get lesser and you're back in a cooler condition. There are definitely snow on the trail and in some areas more than others as we started on the JMT above 9600 feet. One section between Ruby Lake and Garnett Lake the whole1000 feet of trail was covered in snow. I would recommend a trekking pole and crampons for faster crossing. You could definitely do it without but the snow will slow you down. Some areas are as deep as 5 feet of soft snow. Clarice Lake at 9600 was about 80% frozen. We took a break here and listened to the frogs complain :) The trail from Clarice Lake to Garnett Lake was covered with snow. I decided to throw my pack down and follow it by sliding down the hill on my behind. It was fun! The majestic beauty of both the Minarets, Banner Peak(12,936 ft) and Mt Ritter (13,143 ft) is the backdrop on most of my pictures of Shadow Lake. Awesome! Lots of wild flowers on the way down thru the PCT. Had a semi encounter with a bear on the trail. We heard him but never got to see him from about 20 feet from us. Hope this review will somehow encourage Yelpers to explore Ansel Adams Wilderness! Enjoy my pictures. I walked uphill to 10,1000 feet and and a total of 22.5 miles to snap them :)!

We camped at outpost and trail camp for it to be more scenic overall it was very fun. And it's not…read morea steep trail overall at all. The normal Mount Whitney trail is 22 miles round trip 6000 feet of gain and the mountaineers is the same gain but in 8 miles

Marvelous experience! Truly deserving of its title Tallest Peak in the Contiguous US. We went the…read morelonger 45-mi route from Cottonwood Pass, which took us 3 days 2 nights. Camped 1st night in the forest by a creek, 2nd night by Guitar Lake. Lots of privacy throughout this ordeal. Each day we passed about 10 ppl each. Heard cows mooing. Saw pikas, marmots, chipmunks, and fighter jets. Mesmerizing night sky completely blanketed with stars. Tough altitude experience. Lightheadedness and windedness from AMS will kick your butt. Better train beforehand by hiking shorter mountains such as San Gorgonio (11.5k', tallest peak in SoCal). Many people camp at least one night somewhere along the trail to help acclimate/acclimatize to the lower air density overnight. Turns out the hut at the summit (14.5k') will protect you from lightning. You will definitely need a water filter. Don't wanna lug 5 L of water for 20+ miles. Refill your bottles at creeks and lakes.

A fun trail to walk with kids. There's plenty of free parking in the lot. The route to the hike is…read morereally just a dirt road. The trail is about a mile to and back. There are 2-3 porta potties available at the parking lot. There is very little to no shade. It's literally the desert and rocks. I do not recommend this hike during the summer. It's definitely too hot. Remember to bring a hat, sunscreen, and water!

+ Short, beginner-friendly hike. About 1.25 mile, 30 minutes…read more + Fantastic photo ops with vantages of arches circumscribing Mt Whitney. + Free access and parking. . One or two porta-potties. . Moderately crowded. . Minimal shade. - No water.

Among my favorite trailheads of the Eastern Sierra, South Lake (a.k.a. Bishop Pass) has much to…read moreoffer for climbers, hikers, and fishermen alike. The parking lot is at 9800 feet and from the start you can take in the views of wildflowers, alpine lakes and 12,000+ ft granite peaks. If you're willing to put in some effort (~7 miles and ~3600 ft of gain) you can hike to the top of Mt Agassiz from Bishop Pass and catch a glimpse of five 14ers towering over Palisade Glacier, one of the best views in the Sierra. The most common approach for the traverse of these 5 peaks, starting with the SW Chute of Thunderbolt, is also accessed from Bishop Pass. Additional technical climbs can be found on Mt Goode, Hurd, and Cloudripper. Trailhead amenities include restrooms and bear boxes. Overnight travel requires a wilderness permit, available at the White Mountain Ranger Station in Bishop. This trailhead is popular with backpackers so strongly consider reserving in advance during peak season weekends.

Exceptionally beautiful! I hiked from the South Lake Trailhead to Chocolate Peak. This hike was…read moreabout 7 miles round trip with 2,400 ft elevation gain. There were wildflowers and plenty of beautiful lakes all around. From the peak, you could see many rugged snow capped mountains in the high country. And beautiful lakes below. Be sure to bring bug spray. There were lots of mosquitoes too!

Less than 10 minutes drive from Cedar Grove visitor center,…read more parking at the Roaring River Trailhead Parking lot, then 5 minutes walk to Roaring River Falls, it's an easy walk and not crowded.

Well worth the drive up there. Such a beautiful and peaceful place. Quick walk from the parking lot…read moreand connected to 2 other short trails if you want to continue hiking.

Marble Falls , Sequoia National Park…read more First time I did this 5 years ago it was breathtaking gorgeous. Misty , foggy , a bit dark in lush green rainforest like tropical jungle. Second time was like that also. Third time today (04.10.22) not so rainforests - like due to burns. Really sad. Almost the entire place was affected by the fires. Looked completely different from last two times I did this hike. Nevertheless the water was raging at the falls. Some sketchy areas on the trail due to washouts. Sad to see graffiti on some boulders ( they weren't there 4,5 years ago). Tons of native species like Mariposa Lilies , Ithuriel's Spears, Pink Fairy Lanterns, a few blooming Yuccas , birds eyes gills, popcorn flowers, fiddlenecks, Madia , Chinese Houses , Tritelea, California Goldfields, Brodiaea, baby blue eyes etc. First time I did this 5 years ago and second time 4 years ago , my hiking buddies and I did not see a single other hiker but today tons , too many to count. It's too crowded now. Because of the burns and the crowd , 4 stars otherwise if this was 5 years ago definitely 10 stars.

Not a difficult hike, and pretty close to the main entrance of Sequoia National Park. You have to…read morego through the Potwisha campgrounds and park your car at a small parking lot. You start by following an aqueduct and then at a sign, you turn right and start going up. It is a moderate distance, 3.5 miles to get there. The views are breathtaking and you have a waterfall reward at the end. Which actually may vary if in the dry season. Alternative: If you don't want to hike that long and still want to see a nice amount of water, instead of going left on Powisha Campgrounds, go right and park at this little construction site. Follow a small trail, that will lead you to a bridge. Before you reach the bridge, will see to your left ancient paintings and if you keep an eye on the grounds around the bridge, you will see holes in the granite (mortars) that were made by local tribes to grind nuts. We were advised not to go too far past the bridge because it "gets snaky". We didn't see any rattlesnakes, but kept close to the bridge, which was gorgeous with a swimming hole and a little private beach.

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.