Starting in the amazing Mammoth Lakes Basin, the Mammoth Crest Loop is one of the best hikes in the Sierra for big views, alpine lakes, and all the other great things about the high Sierra! This 14 mile loop gains over 3,000 vertical feet as it passes incredible alpine lakes like Barney Lake, Duck Lake, and Deer Lakes, and provides some seriously incredible views!
I completed this hike in June of 2021, and I can say that this has become one of my all time favorites! It’s a long day on the trail, but if you can physically take on the challenge, it’s definitely worth checking out!
Miles/Elevation:
14 miles
3,061 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:
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:
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
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 the town of Mammoth Lakes, continue through town and uphill on Lake Mary Road. This road will take you all the way to the lakes basin. Once in the lakes basin, continue to Around Lake Mary Road, and turn left onto this one lane paved road.
Continue on Around Lake Mary Road until you reach Coldwater Campground on the far side. The trailhead is actually in the back of Coldwater Campground, so you’ll need to turn into the campground and continue all the way to the back. There is a large parking area for day use visitors.
Mammoth Crest Loop:
How To Hike:
This hike is a loop, so it can be hiked either clockwise or counterclockwise. One option is to start at the trailhead at Coldwater Campground. The other is to start at the Lake George Campground trailhead, commonly used to access Crystal Lake.
I was camping at Coldwater Campground, so when I did this I hiked straight from my tent. I decided to hike clockwise, leaving the road walking portion back to Coldwater Campground for the end.
I honestly don’t think it matters which way you do this hike. I greatly enjoyed going clockwise, but I also think counterclockwise would be just fine too. The only consideration is if you want to do the road walk first or last. I would decide on that first, and then decide which direction to hike from there!
To Barney Lake:
From my campsite in Coldwater Campground, I had a 5 or 10 minute walk to the trailhead at the back of the campground. At the trailhead, take the Duck Pass trail, not the Emerald Lake Trail. The Emerald Lake Trail will still get you there, but it adds some distance to your already long day.
The first mile and a half of the hike to Barney Lake is a pretty unremarkable slog uphill through the woods. You do get some occasional nice views, and the forest itself is nice too, but it’s mostly uneventful.
Mammoth has tons of bears so make sure to be bear safe!
You will pass by Arrowhead Lake and Skelton Lake on your way to Barney Lake, but the trail doesn’t really get close, and you pass by with just a nice view from above! As you climb, you’ll gradually start emerging above the trees, and you’ll have more views too, especially of the ridgeline on your left.
After about 2.5 miles, you will arrive at Barney Lake. The lake itself is very pretty and is located at the base of Duck Pass. You get a great view looking over the lake towards the pass and the rocky peaks over the lake!
The views are great, but the actual lake itself isn’t very nice. It’s pretty scummy and a bit green, so I wouldn’t recommend drinking here unless you need to, and I definitely would find somewhere else to swim!
Up Duck Pass:
From Barney Lake, the next stage of the loop takes you up and over Duck Pass. You might be able to pick out the trail as it heads up the bare rock, and you’ll probably be able to see hikers heading up and down!
The total elevation gain to the pass from Barney Lake is about 500 feet, so it’s not too bad, but the elevation here can start taking a toll as you will be starting to approach 11,000 feet.
The trail to Duck Pass is rocky, bare, and somewhat exposed. There are some drop offs, but there isn’t anything that should be too worrying. You can walk over to the ledges and dropoffs, but the trail itself never approaches anything where a trip could lead to a dramatic death!
At the top, the views looking back over Barney Lake looking back down towards the Mammoth Lakes are phenomenal. The rocks below Duck Pass and Barney Lake make up the foreground, while in the midground is the forest and lakes you just hiked through and past. The background is made up by some of the many high peaks of the Sierra!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
While the view looking the way you came from Duck Pass is phenomenal, the view on the other side is even better. Once you crest Duck Pass, the surprisingly massive Duck Lake makes for a real spectacle on the other side.
I honestly wasn’t ready for how big Duck Lake was going to be. I knew from the maps it was a pretty big alpine lake, but seriously I think it’s the biggest mountain lake I’ve ever seen not named Lake Tahoe! Beyond the lake is the much smaller Pika Lake, nestled among some very photogenic peaks!
Far in the distance to your right are some rugged peaks of the Sierra. From the pass, you’ll be turning right, so you’ll have Duck Lake on your left and the distant peaks of the Sierra in front of you. This next section of trail is where it gets fun!
To Deer Lakes:
So from Duck Pass, you’ll naturally be drawn toward Duck Lake; however, you actually need to more or less immediately turn right. On Alltrails, it says there is a lower trail that you can take if you accidentally descend towards the lake, but when I went looking for this trail it wasn’t there.
From where I stopped to look at the lake, I traversed along the side of the hill on a clear trail. I then veered right onto a small use trail that lined up with the Alltrails map, but once the trail supposedly turned right to travel up the pass, it totally disappeared. From here, the trail was gone, but I knew I needed to continue climbing, so that’s what I did, trail or no trail!
The climb was pretty steep, but nothing too crazy. Fortunately there was no brush to deal with, so it wasn’t a bushwack through nasty scrub! As I climbed, I was paying attention to where the trail would be, but it seemingly never appeared. Even when I made it back to where Alltrails said I should be, there still wasn’t a trail.
However, once I seemingly made it to the top of the climb, I stopped to reevaluate. Looking ahead of me, I finally found the trail, and unfortunately, I still had a nastly little climb to do! It couldn’t have been more than a couple hundred feet, but it looked steep!
I made my way cross country once more to the base of the hill where I found the trail, and then made my way up the climb. Once at the top, I was finally at the top of the hike! You’ll be at about 11,200 feet here, the high point of the loop!
From the top of this climb, you’ll be able to look down a rocky valley almost totally devoid of green plant life. The trail now should be obvious, and you’ll have a nice gentle descent for a bit!
At the bottom of the valley, you’ll be able to see the Deer Lakes beneath you, but you’ll have a short and steep descent down to them. This is probably the sketchiest part of the day, as the trail here is crazy steep, and goes down some really loose rock. I don’t think I’d call it a scramble, but it’s definitely the most technical part of the day!
Once at the bottom, you’ll arrive at the Deer Lakes! These lakes are really nice, and make for an awesome place to stop for a rest. The views are phenomenal, the water is clear, and it’s a great place to hang out!
The Mammoth Crest:
Make sure you have our ultimate road trip playlist if you’re driving to Mammoth!
From the Deer Lakes, you unfortunately have one more climb to deal with. I was pretty tired by this point, and on paper, a 600 foot climb didn’t seem so bad, but out on the trail under the sun, it was pretty brutal! I also hadn’t really spent much time above 11,000 feet so far this summer, so I was still struggling at elevation a bit!
The climb up from the Deer Lakes is pretty steep, but you’ll have awesome views the whole time, especially looking north towards the Minarets which now will be within view!
This climb takes you to the top of the ridgeline known as the Mammoth Crest. When you’re in the lakes basin, this is visible as the jagged and nearly vertical wall of rock to the west. While the trail doesn’t actually go to the rim of the crest, there are a few different places to reach the cliffs. I saw an open area and headed towards the cliffs!
From the top of the Mammoth Crest, the views looking into the lakes basin are pretty awesome! You can see pretty much all the lakes, and the mountains beyond to the east! I actually think these are some of the weaker views on the hike, but it’s really cool to stand on the edge of the crest and look down into the basin you started in!
From the ridge, drop back down to the trail and continue on the trail as it traverses across the backside of the crest. The backside of the crest isn’t nearly as severe as the Mammoth side, but it does give you some phenomenal views looking deep in the Sierra’s!
Eventually, you’ll reach the end of the Mammoth Crest and the terrain opens up to the point you’ll be walking across a broad, open, sandy plain. It kind of comes out of nowhere, but this broad sandy part of the hike signals the end of the Mammoth Crest. Here, you are back to the volcanic remnants that make up Mammoth Mountain, and here you will eventually begin your descent!
Down and Finishing:
You’ll eventually come to an intersection where you can either continue straight or turn right to descend downhill. You’ll want to take this right to head back down into the basin.
The rocks change again here to a very distinct red color as you get into an even more volcanic environment. The descent is pretty straightforward, though long. You’ll have excellent views looking into the basin as well as along the crest itself. The views of Crystal Crag, the most visually striking aspect of the crest, are especially awesome!
The one thing to make note of on the descent is the possibility of a short side trip to Crystal Lake. Crystal Lake is probably the most well known day hike here, and if you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth the detour. It would add on half a mile or so, but it’s worth it if you haven’t seen it. An argument for starting your hike over here is you’ll have more energy to do the detour to Crystal Lake!
Once you’re passed Crystal Lake, it’s less than a mile back to the trailhead and paved roads! Unfortunately, once you’re on paved roads, you aren’t actually done with the hike.
As you probably remember, you didn’t start your hike here. To finish up, you have about 2 miles of road walking to get back to the campground where you started. Parking at the trailhead for Crystal Lake would mean you don’t have to deal with this road walk at the end, but I figure a flat road walk is better when you’re exhausted than a tough descent!
There are two ways to complete the road walk. Coldwater Campground is basically on the far side of Lake Mary, so you can walk on either side of the lake to get back. I took the near (south western) side of the lake, but you can also take the far (north eastern) side of the lake too. Alltrails takes the far side, which kind of annoys me because I think it’s slightly longer, and Alltrails doesn’t officially verify I completed this hike because I took the near side of the lake. Dumb.
Anyway, after an easy if not boring road walk that seems to drag on endlessly is done, you are finished with the Mammoth Crest Loop! This is an awesome hike that should be a priority if you are in the Mammoth area. It’s definitely become one of my favorites!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 10/10
This trail definitely deserves a 10/10 ranking and quickly became one of my favorites. The views can compete with the views on any hike in the country. You pass at least 7 different lakes. The trail is mostly well maintained and easy to walk on. There’s even a bit of off trail travel in the high alpine.
All of that adds up to a great trail that compares with any hike you’ll find in the US!
Pros:
- Tons of alpine lakes
- Amazing views
- Hike from your tent
- Sense of exploration and exploration
Cons:
- Road walking at the end
- Lots of sun exposure
Alternative Hikes:
When To Hike The Mammoth Crest Loop:
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 mountains will still have 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!
3 Comments