Head up the trail across a well made log bridge, rock hop one more creek and come to a junction. Head north through pine forests along Cottonwood Creek. Langley, Cirque Peak and the Pacific Crest Trail. Cottonwood Lakes Loop starts from Horseshoe Meadow and travels from the Golden Trout Wilderness into John Muir Wilderness. This was my second backpacking trip. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the date(s) you selected. The Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead offers hikers an excellent starting point to explore areas/destinations such as the Cottonwood Lakes Basin, the Golden Trout Wilderness, Mt. Spectacular loop with tough climb over Old Army Pass. Roots Rocks Rhythm Trail Guide. Continue about 20 miles up this precipitous two-lane to the signed parking area for the section of Cottonwood Lakes Trail leading to New Army Pass. Hiked up to #5 on 7/4 free fishing day and our group caught 6 nice Golden trout kept a couple to taste- amazing! At 10,000 feet in elevation, Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead Campground makes a good place to spend a night before setting off into the John Muir Wilderness and Sequoia National Park. no photos have been added for Cottonwood Lake Trail yet, add a photo. Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center This is a difficult one way trail to Long Lake in Golden Trout Wilderness. I did a solo backpacking 1 night. It's important to keep on it so if you aren't sure, go back and make sure. I rate it as "hard" for a day trip. Cottonwood Lakes Trail Itinerary Day 1: Huntington Beach → Lone Pine → Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead → Cottonwood Lake #2. 4.2 miles into this section, go straight on the middle road and pass Lost Lake. Hiked Mt Langley on 8/29/20. You can chose to complete the loop section anyway you like. The Loop which can lead you to 5 lakes, starts from Horseshoe Meadow and travels from the Golden Trout Wilderness into John Muir Wilderness. Several intersecting trails allow for different route options Many hikers set out for Cottonwood Lakes (6 miles) either as a day hike or overnight trip. The first lakes going counter-clockwise are worth stopping at! There are bathrooms, bear bins, garbage, informative displays, and potable water. Cottonwood Lakes Trail Path alongside a wooded creek, climbing fairly gently above the timberline, past meadows and boggy areas, to a high basin containing several beautiful lakes, directly beneath the Sierra crest. I'd rate this as "hard. Views of the waterfall and Langley were amazing. Post a … Cottonwood Lakes Foot Trail is a 11 mile out and back trail located near Mesa, Colorado that features a lake and is rated as moderate. Please choose a different date. A 30 foot section required a scramble at 900 ft above the lake and another section about 10 feet required holding onto the rock while shuffling along a foot wide ledge (don't look down here). Book. Fishing was relatively slow. The hike begins at 10,090 feet, so expect a headache if you haven't acclimated properly. Follow this road through incredible rock formations before heading up the mountain gaining thousands of feet over a few miles. Do not attempt to do the entire thing in one day unless you regularly do really long hikes. No major incline for the most part, except for nearly vertical rock scramble in the middle of the hike. TDD: 760-876-6228 The trail is easy to follow and well marked. Cottonwood Lakes 115 A/5; In summary . Completed this with my dog over the weekend. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until October. Cottonwood Lake to the Poplar Gulch Trail starts from the scenic little log cabins around Cottonwood Lake, this trail follows South Cottonwood Creek up Green Timber Gulch and into the mountains – as if any of these trails go anywhere else. They were overfished, but the California Department of Fish and Game has. large granite boulders! The hike starts from the Cottonwood Lakes Campground, already at 10,000 feet, so your car does most of the legwork to get you to altitude. Located near Horseshoe Meadows, the Cottonwood Lakes Basin has many pristine alpine lakes and creeks located between Mount Langley and Cirque Peak. Poles still a necessity and not for faint of heart but hopefully gone in a few days. Occasional high wind gusts. The trail begins to gain elevation and you will want to avoid a turn off toward Golden Trout Camp. The Lakes were super beautiful and worth the hike alone. 6.1 … Please note that the gate leading to this trailhead is currently closed (06/04/2020). Creeks and streams a half hour in to the hike Once on top head South to find New Army Pass. A loop through Cottonwood Lakes Basin with two totally unnecessary passes thrown in for bonus. My GPS estimated 17.5 miles and it took us 9 hours round trip. If both fill you are permitted to camp / sleep in your car. The six mile walk out the final day was again beautiful! ", Very well marked trail, beautiful lakes, I found a nice spot to camp at the bottom of lake 3 almost at lake 2. The Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead marks the start of a great adventure into beautiful meadows, lakes, and alpine terrain. Length 11 miElevation gain 1469 ftRoute type Out & back Had the lake to ourselves! Yes, 2 days The words: Cottonwood Lakes Hours: Daily 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Head to Lone Pine, CA. Leave Horseshoe Meadow and hike 3.5 miles up the 1,200-foot climb to Cottonwood Pass. The Cottonwood Trail is an 85 km partial loop that can be started at either Kathleen Lake or the Mush Lake Road. The trail turns west and at around 4.5 miles you enter an open meadow with excellent views of the Sierra Crest ahead. It begins at the Horseshoe Meadow parking lot at an elevation of 10,000 feet. I got a headache, probably the altitude, so I didn’t make the whole loop. There is a small amount of rock scrambling but most of the trail is just sand/rocks. We stayed below High Lake since everyone was gassed. Cottonwood Lakes Trail [CLOSED] is a 25.9 kilometer heavily trafficked loop trail located near Lone Pine, California that features a lake and is rated as moderate. Since we arrived after 5PM, we made prior arrangement with the park rangers to pickup our overnight permit at the late night pickup box outside Lone Pine. Next time. It starts off fairly level then descends a bit to the golden trout camp area. We saw a family of mountain sheep approach our campsite but they never threatened or came too close. The Cottonwood Lakes Trail gives you easy access to Mt Langley. The conditions were great, sunny days. HOME Cottonwood Pack Station is located near Lone Pine, California and operates under permit by the Inyo National Forest and Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park.. We offer supported hiking trips as well as traditional horse packing trips. Cottonwood Lakes can be a first night stopping place for hikers setting out to connect to the John Muir Trail or a basecamp for local adventures from fishing to peak bagging. After a mile there is reliable water in the form of a creek. Cottonwood Lakes Loop starts from Horseshoe Meadow and travels from the Golden Trout Wilderness into John Muir Wilderness. There are excellent views of Rainbow Lake below and excellent aspen viewing in the fall. We knocked off a few miles the first afternoon and camped short of the fork in the trail. The trek up the pass was pretty gradual, though there were really steep grades on some spots but after coming down on the other side of the mountain, we were glad we … Deet worked perfectly so lather up and they leave you alone. Pass over the log bridge or rock hop, and proceed on the flat trail skirting a meadow that holds Cottonwood Creek. The stats: Trailhead: Cottonwood Lakes Trail Passes: New Army Pass and Old Army Pass Trip odo: 17.6 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 3,900/3,900ft For Days? Rewarding and beautiful hike. I’ve always heard of the beauty in the Cottonwood Lakes Basin. This is a difficult one way trail to Mount Langley in Sequoia National Park. South Fork Meadow offered good views of tree-stubbled granite lumps to the east. The summit of Langley was pretty tough as it was our first 14er, but as long as you follow the cairns, pack enough water and food, it's doable and not very technical. Awesome hike especially the view at New Army Pass. read more about your privacy and HikingGuy.com here. Located 1 mile south of Lone Pine, at the junction of Highways 395 and State Route 136. The weather was terrific the whole time, hovering in the mid-70s during the day and only dipping into the 30s at night. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until October. It was easy to lose the path traversing left at the end of the lake. And most of the time a had a jacket on!! +++Watch for Rocks in the road+++++ Follow signs for hiking or horses depending on your pleasure. The trail head is close to the trail head to Mt Whitney. It's a walkup campground, $6 cash. Beautiful meadows and plenty of water New Army Pass coming down was very relaxing compared to the breathless, steep ascent. Located south of Mount Whitney and west of the city of Lone Pine, the trail travels through the Golden Trout Wilderness and the John Muir Wilderness to end at the border of Sequoia National Park. Chicken Spring Lake via Cottonwood Pass Trail [CLOSED], Horseshoe Meadow to the Kern River [CLOSED], Horseshoe Meadows to Mount Whitney and Whitney Portal Trailhead via New Army Pass, Mount Langley Loop via Cottonwood Pass [CLOSED], Cottonwood Lakes Campground to Mount Langley, Mount Whitney via Cottonwood Lakes Walk-in Campground, Trail Pass to Trail Peak via Pacific Crest Trail, Horseshoe Meadows, Pacific Crest Trail, High Sierra Trail, Golden Trout Loop [CLOSED], Cirque Peak Via Cottonwood Lakes and New Army Pass Trails, Cottonwood Lake and Long Lake via Cottonwood Lakes and New Army Pass Trail, Cottonwood Lake #3, #4, #5 via Cottonwood Lakes and Army Pass Trail, John Muir Trail - Cottonwood Lakes Trail Head to Happy Isles [CLOSED], John Muir Trail: Horseshoe Meadow to Happy Isles [CLOSED], Horseshoe Meadow Loop via Trail Pass Trail [CLOSED], Horseshoe Meadow to Haiwee Creek [CLOSED], Trail Pass to Cotton Wood Lakes Loop [CLOSED]. Map showing trails to Cottonwood Lakes in the John Muir Wilderness, along with a trail elevation profile. The trail rolls up and down with no major climbing as it crosses streams, winds through pine and aspen forests past beaver ponds. Pass the junction with the New Army Pass Trail at 3.5 miles. Wonderful trail- easy for the most part excluding a half hour of switchbacks in the middle of hike The paved road is usually open late May to late October. Cottonwood Lakes Trail provides a scenic romp through the Southeastern Sierra with alpine lakes and mountain views. Before of the CA forest fires if hiking this month, it is nearly impossible to breath up there after noon and will NOT be a fun trip. The trail is 16 + miles roundtrip and traverses a mostly sandy bottom for the first 4 miles. Continue on and pass Cottonwood Lake Three on your left and then end at Cottonwood Lakes Four and Five. Just five miles to the third lake, but you get to see two before that Season opener for us, I’m ready to go again! When … Read More They formed into their own species of trout by becoming isolated in these mountain lakes thousands of years ago by volcanic activity. The elevation and mileage was difficult for my skill level, but now looking back I know it is a fairly easy hike. There are camping areas around the Cottonwood Lakes and I've heard you can catch some nice fish there. From Whitney Portal Road turn-off, the drive up to the trail head is approximately 30 minutes. Defiantly recommend this hike!! Trail Products. Fairly easy hike in from the trailhead, minimal elevation gain over 6 miles. This trail goes by Cottonwood Lake #1 and Cottonwood Lake #2. Open late May to late October of 14,032-foot Mount Langley in Sequoia National Park to online! To those who are into Sierra hiking, or just any hikers altitude... 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