Top 5 Favorite Mammoth Hikes

Top 5 Favorite Mammoth Hikes

2017-07-27 Off By The Nomadness Team

We have been going to Mammoth for years and have shared these majestic mountains with the kids through the years and now get to share them again with the grand kids. Here are our top 5 favorite hikes in Mammoth Lakes:

MCGEE CREEK  Elevation ( 8,100 ft) to

The trail head is 8 miles south of the Mammoth turnoff on US 395, turn west at the McGee Creek exit. Follow this road 4 miles, past the McGee Creek Pack Station to the road end parking.

The trip to McGee Lake begins as the trip to Steelhead Lake, until the junction with Steelhead lateral. Continue on the main trail here, taking the right branch of the fork. The trail will lead south over a forested and rocky slope, then through meadows and under White Bark Pine, Lodgepole and Mountain Hemlock to the slopes below McGee Lake (10,480′). Nearby, at Little McGee Lake, Crocker Lake and Golden Lake there is good fishing. Continuing on the trail past McGee Lake will lead you to McGee Pass (11,900′), and from there to Fish Creek, and Lake Edison.

Duck Lake  (10,427ft.) Strenuous Hike, 5 miles

Trailhead is at the very end of Coldwater Campground Road. Duck Lake has an intense, deep-blue color, and is reached by ascending the steep switchbacks of Duck Pass. Along the way are Arrowhead, Skeleton and Barney lakes. Just after Skelton, an neglected trail leads West to Emerald Lake. This is a nice option to the usual Duck Pass trail that gets overused from pack animals. Just past Emerald, take another trail West to Barrett Lake, and then back to George.