#lakes
6 trips tagged “lakes”
lakes backpacking at a glance
CaliPeaks documents 6 California backpacking routes tagged lakes, ranging from 4.7 to 29 miles with 700–5,300 feet of total climbing. Difficulty spans 13/100 (Easy) on Frog Lake up to 30/100 (Moderate) on Buena Vista Range, which also carries the tag's biggest climb at 5,300 feet. All of these routes require a wilderness permit — each trip page links the booking window.
These routes cross Yosemite National Park and Henry W. Coe State Park, and the months most of them share are September, July, June. Every stat below is cited on its trip page, so you can compare them like-for-like and follow any number back to the managing agency.
Ostrander Lake
Ostrander Lake is the dome-viewer's weekend: a gentle 5.7-mile walk from Glacier Point Road to an 8,500-foot lake on Horse Ridge, ringed by …
Frog Lake
Frog Lake is Coe's easiest backpacking loop: about 4.7 miles from the visitor center to a small pond in a quiet oak canyon, with modest roll…
Laurel Lake
Laurel Lake is the short-haul version of the Hetch Hetchy high country: a 7.1-mile climb from Beehive Meadows to a quiet forested lake that …
Lake Vernon
Lake Vernon is the reward for climbing out of Yosemite's quietest corner: a 19-mile round trip from Hetch Hetchy to a lake backed by an expo…
Lake Vernon and Rancheria Falls Loop
This loop is Hetch Hetchy's grand tour: up out of the reservoir valley to Lake Vernon's granite shore, down through Tiltill Valley's meadows…
Buena Vista Range
The Buena Vista Range is southern Yosemite's forgotten crest: a 29-mile out-and-back from Wawona through Chilnualna's waterfalls to a chain …