A short hike around Convict Lake was needed a few weeks ago. Convict Lake has always been one of my favorite places to spend time. The environment offers an abundance of recreation activities. Some of those activities are camping, fishing, hiking and horseback riding.
The lake resides at an elevation of 7800 feet and 15 minutes drive from Mammoth Lakes. Thousands of visitors stop at Convict Lake for day trips, or multi-day trips. It is a great place to visit to escape the summer heat, especially from the desert heat. Average temps in the summer will get up to 85 in the day and 60 at night. The summer temps definitely entice many visitors who just want to cool off and relax.
This Trip
This was just a day trip to escape the heat and relax. With such beautiful weather I had to take advantage and hike the lake trail. The lake trail is about 3 miles with some amazing views. The trail is a fairly easy hike with short uphill climbs. Most of the trail is on rough rocky or sandy surface with a short distance on a boardwalk. The boardwalk was installed on the west side of the lake to walk over the running water in the spring.
The trail offers some amazing views of the mountains and the pristine mountain water. I always enjoy the clearness of the lake. It is easy to see fish swimming by and fishing is usually very good here. For this trip, I only stopped by to do a hike and take in the scenery.
I usually start the lake trail hike on the north side but this time I started the south side. It doesn’t really make a difference which side you start out. Along the hike I did see a few fish swimming below but my camera wasn’t good enough to see them.
Other Trails
There are a number of trails to hike near the lake. I plan to hike the trail to Mildred Lake and Lake Dorothy in the near future. These lakes sit above Convict Lake and help feed water in Convict Lake. The trails to these lakes is much more daunting so experience is necessary. Elevation gain is much more aggressive to these lakes.
The John Muir Wilderness Trail transits through the Convict Lake area. This trail travels 100 miles along the crest of the Sierras. Much of this trail is covered in snow during much of the year so it is important to check conditions beforehand.
There are other trails around the lake that are less know and still offer amazing views.
Picturesque Images
Wildlife Images
References
- Visit Convict Lake Resort website to reserve cabins, watercraft, horseback rides and more
- Visit Convict Lake Campground to reserve a campsite (Campsites fill up quickly so be sure to reserve well in advance)
Conclusion
Convict Lake is almost a 3 hours drive from home and well worth it. The drive runs north/south along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. The views along this drive are stunning and make for a relaxing and peaceful drive.
I have camped, fished and hiked Convict Lake many times over the years and it never gets old. This time was no different and the weather was absolutely perfect. The wildlife is in abundance here often seeing deer up close and an occasional bear.
If you have never visited I highly recommend stopping by to experience for yourself. If you happen to drive highway 395 in this area, be sure to drive the extra couple miles west, you won’t be upset. Be sure to check out my first article on Convict Lake with some more photos camping and fishing.
Photo & Video Equipment
- Photos taken with Samsung Galaxy A52 phone
- Videos taken with GoPro 9