On my visit to the Mammoth area in June of 2021, I decided to hike the Mammoth Mountain Trail to the summit itself. Known primarily for it’s skiing, Mammoth Mountain becomes a warm weather outdoor destination in summer, and the hike to summit is an excellent day hike!
While this trail will not take you into the backcountry, and you certainly won’t have the peak to yourself, this hike provides awesome views of the high peaks of the Sierra and the broader Mammoth area! It’s also super accessible, and you can even take the gondola down to save your knees!
Miles/Elevation:
8.4 miles (round trip)
4.2 miles (one way)
2,093 feet vertical gain
About Inyo National Forest:
At nearly 2 million acres, Inyo National Forest is a massive area of soaring peaks, desert, ancient forest, and incredibly rugged alpine terrain. Inyo contains the Big Pine Lakes, Mt Whitney, the lower 48’s highest peak, along with some of the world’s oldest living things, the ancient bristlecone pines.
Covering large swathes of the Eastern Sierra Nevada and White Mountains, as well as much of the Owens Valley, Inyo National Forest actually is one of the least forested national forests in the country. First protected by president Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, the forest was initially created to facilitate the creation of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
Nowadays, Inyo National Forest is much more well known as a world class outdoor destination. With renowned wilderness areas such as the Ansel Adams Wilderness, the Golden Trout Wilderness, and the John Muir Wilderness, many of the best backpacking routes in the country pass through Inyo.
In addition to backpacking, there are many other amazing locations in Inyo National Forest that can be easily accessed in a day, either by hiking or by car. These include Mammoth Lakes, Convict Lake, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, June Lake, and Mt Whitney.
Much of Inyo National Forest does not require fees for day use, though some limited access locations may require fees. There is no fee to park at Convict Lake.
About Mammoth:
Hike to Ediza Lake for an up close view of the Minarets and Ritter Range!
Located on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada, Mammoth is a small mountain community known for great skiing, alpine lakes, and world class hiking. The town itself, Mammoth Lakes, named for the numerous nearby lakes, has about 7,000 people, and is one of the largest communities for hours in any direction.
At around 8,000 feet of elevation, Mammoth lies just above the desert treeline. Head out of town and within a mile you’ll be in the scrubland of the high desert. Head towards the high peaks of the Sierra and you’ll very quickly enter the alpine pine forest!
Mammoth Mountain is home to the area’s top ski resort. At just over 11,000 feet, this volcanic complex gets great snow in winter, and in the summer is converted into a mountain biking mecca!
Above the town, the lakes basin offers tons of camping. Situated around Lake Mary, Lake George, Horseshoe Lake, Twin Lakes, and others, campgrounds like Coldwater and Lake Mary provide hundreds of wooded sites. Just don’t expect much for phone coverage up here!
Getting To Mammoth:
The first challenge in getting to this trailhead is to get to the Eastern Sierra. The closest town is Mammoth Lakes, and that will be most people’s base camp when visiting Heart Lake.
Located in the high desert of eastern California, Mammoth is a surprisingly remote place considering it’s in California. The closest sizable city is Reno, about three hours to the north. Los Angeles and Las Vegas are both a bit over 4 hours away, and the Bay Area is about 6 hours away.
The main highway to access Mammoth and the broader Eastern Sierra area is highway 395. 395 runs from just north of the Los Angeles area all the way north to the Canadian border. Reno to Bishop is a straight shot down 395, and Los Angeles is a straight shot north on 395.
There are a couple of small airports in the area, namely Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. However, commercial flights are either sporadic or non-existent. Driving from a larger metro is the easiest way to access the Eastern Sierra for most.
Getting To The Trailhead:
From Highway 395, take the highway 203 exit towards Mammoth. Continue through town and turn right onto Minaret Road to stay on 203. The trailhead for this hike is at the Mammoth Mountain Inn near the base of the gondola and adventure center, a couple miles up 203.
Park in the large main parking lot at the inn/gondola. Walk up the road a few hundred yards, travelling away from town on 203. Just past the lodge, you should see a trail heading into the woods on the left side of the road. This is the trail you will start your hike on!
Mammoth Mountain Summit Trail:
Lower Trail:
Starting just off highway 203, the trail initially travels through high alpine pine forest. The trail itself is pretty nice and well maintained, but the real challenge near the start of the hike is navigation.
Mammoth Mountain is famous for being a great ski resort in winter, but in summer it turns into a swarming anthill of mountain bikers, and the entire mountain is criss-crossed by mountain bike trails. The good news is the trail you’ll be hiking on is not open to bikers, but you will have a lot of navigating to do in order to stay off the mountain bike trails and on the hiking trail.
Fortunately, there are tons of small yellow signs with arrows pointing you in the right direction. This trail is very well marked which makes it manageable, but I still spent more time looking at a map than I would have liked!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
The first 2+ miles of the hike are mostly flat, though you will be hiking up a gentle incline pretty consistently. The elevation will be a bigger challenge for most people than the trail itself, and you do reach 11,000 feet at the summit!
After initially zig-zagging through the forest, the trail wraps around the backside of the mountain as you begin to ascend the lower slopes. As you wrap around the backside, you’ll have climbed high enough to begin getting some nice views looking west into the Sierra. There’s lots of breaks in the trees too as you hike across the bare ski runs!
One of the best views on the lower slopes of the mountain comes as you cross a ski run beneath one of the chair lifts. Here, you get a great view of the Ritter Range and the Minarets, but you’ll have a chairlift right in your face. It’s not wilderness to be fair, so you can’t be too upset about the chairlift!
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
Eventually, you’ll climb to a point where the trees thin out, and the trail leaves the forest all together. These upper slopes of Mammoth Mountain are almost totally bare, and are basically just a large sand and gravel pit. But it means you’re making progress!
The Upper Slopes:
Convict Lake is a stunning place to hike just outside Mammoth!
Before I started on the upper slopes proper, I took a snack break in one of the last areas of shade I would see on the trail. Then, I pushed on into the alpine.
If it weren’t for the constant buzzing of mountain bikes flying past you, this would be a pretty incredible place to be. As it is, you have consistently awesome views behind you looking into the Sierra, and a giant pile of gravel in front of you to climb!
The trail on the upper slopes is a singletrack use trail clearly visible in the gravel of the mountain, but not extensively marked or constructed. The trail is fine, but don’t expect to find finely sculpted granite steps here!
The Mammoth Crest Loop is one of the best difficult hikes in Mammoth!
The trail continues to wrap around the mountain, and by the time you are on the upper slopes of the mountain here, you’ll be on the south side, opposite of where you started. This means that in addition to having great views looking west, another awesome panorama presents itself looking south. The famed Mammoth Lakes present themselves here looking to the south in their basin beneath the Mammoth Crest! This is definitely the best view I’ve seen of the Mammoth Lakes!
Continue pushing up towards the summit, and before long, you should be able to see the top of the climb. Push through, and you’ll crest onto the broad summit plateau!
Approaching The Summit:
Check out Heart Lake for an easy hike in Mammoth!
The summit plateau of Mammoth Mountain has a couple of distinct areas, all with lots of infrastructure on them. The trail initially comes onto the plateau near the south end of the mountain. Here, there are a number of plaques with historic information about the area, but it’s not the actual summit. You’ve still got a ways to go!
You’ll likely notice that it all of a sudden gets a lot busier once you get to the summit plateau. That’s because you’ll now be among all the people who took the gondola to the summit.
Yes, you could have avoided the last couple hours of suffering up this giant gravel hill by sitting on a cushioned bench and catching a ride up, but half the fun is the journey right? Right???
Anyway, from the southern edge of the summit plateau, make your way along the obvious, broad trail, towards the actual summit. It’s quite easy to see considering there’s a giant gondola station right next to it, and a tower on the summit itself!
Emerald Lake is a nice easy hike in Mammoth!
The final few feet up to the summit itself are steep, but it’s like 50 feet, run up and you’re there! The views from the top are excellent. To the south is the Mammoth Lakes Basin. Looking west you will see the Minarets and Ritter Range, and looking east you’ll be able to see far over the California desert!
Again, the infrastructure kind of kills the vibe. The view looking towards the Minarets is great, but you have to look right over the gondola station. I shouldn’t really complain though, I knew all this stuff would be up before I began hiking, but I think it’s fair to acknowledge it. Don’t expect a true wilderness experience hiking Mammoth Mountain.
From the summit, you have a choice of how to get back to the trailhead. You can hike back down the way you came, or you can take the gondola. The gondola is free, and since I had hiked close to 30 miles the two days prior to this hike, I decided to give my knees and ankles a break and take the gondola down!
Once at the bottom, I walked outside to the parking lot and my hike was over!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 8/10
This is a solid hike that offers some excellent mountain views looking at the high peaks of the Sierra, as well as toward the Mammoth Lakes Basin. However, this trail is a challenge to navigate, is extremely sandy, and is very busy with mountain bikes flying past you at regular intervals.
Because of how built up this area is, and the visitors it gets, I can’t give this hike more than an 8/10. If you placed this exact trail with the same views deep in the wilderness, I might give it a 9/10, but the level of infrastructure and amount of people definitely take away from the experience, though the option to take the gondola down is nice!
Pros:
- Excellent Views
- Easily accessible
- Gondola down
Cons:
- Heavily built up area
- Busy
- Lots of sun exposure
- Sandy
Alternative Hikes:
Little Lakes Valley to Gem Lakes
When To Hike The Mammoth Mountain Trail:
Mammoth has tons of bears so make sure to be bear safe!
The Eastern Sierra in general have an excellent climate for hiking, and that holds true for the Mammoth area. Most days from spring until late fall you will have tons of sunshine, and storms are pretty sporadic, possible, but not daily.
The limiting factor with this hike is snow. Snow can linger into the summer, and early winter storms could snow this area in early in the year. As a general rule, I’d expect this area to be snow free from June until sometime in late October or November.
In terms of the ideal time to visit, I would probably lean towards early summer, just after the trails are clear of snow, or fall. In early summer, the trail should be clear of snow by June, but the mountain will still have some snow up high! In fall, you would be able to see some awesome colors as winter arrives!
I think the big one though is that early season fires are much less common than fires in late summer or fall, so you are more likely to have clear, sunny days that are not choked with smoke in the early summer!
