Best Trails in Hoover Wilderness

FIve of us did this as a backpacking trip over 3 nights on 7/2/18. Melissa K review is spot on. A few things to add
-Road to the trailhead is paved until 2 miles of dirt road. The rocks on the road made driving slower but not too difficult for a sedan.
-Mosquitoes may be few on the trail but near the lakes or staying overnight, they are LOTS. Be prepared with deet.
- This is not an easy hike and more difficult with a heavy backpack.
- The trail along the eastside side of Saddlebag seems really long but is much easier hiking than the rocky path on the west side of the lake.
-The trail shown behind Steelhead lake leads up the mountain to an abandoned mine. There isn't much of a trail, good luck finding the mine.
- Fishing is decent at Steelhead, Shamrock, and Helen lake. We didnt get a chance to fish Hummingbird or Odell but they looked great. Didnt catch anything over 12"' but saw some larger ones lurking, especially at Helen Lake.
- Couldnt find any suitable camping spots at Odell lake and only a few scattered sites at Hummingbird.
-HIghly recommend camping near Shamrock lakes and hiking the small mountain in the middle of the basin for sunrise. Spectacular views as the sun rises from up from Helen Lake

Flat but difficult hike, some parts a bit technical and scary with a pack. Views are well worth it! Great experience

Completed the hike 7/6 with my sister. This was not an easy hike!!

First, no water taxi - the resort is closed - didn’t see any repair work being done and I believe the place is for sale. You have to hike around saddlebag lake to get to the trailhead.

We did the trail counter clockwise. Yes, many of the sections are flat and there are a few kind of steep sections...but what makes it hard are the jutting rocks (very rocky trail!), the loose scree and talus and the snow crossings and the major amount of areas where the trail is not marked.

As of 7/6, there are two snowfields you need to cross. One is fairly easy and the other is quite steep...as we were going counterclockwise, we needed to climb up the steep snow. My sister had a very tough time with this and got stuck. She was clinging to the side of the snow on the steep hill. She made it but not without bruises and cuts (see pics)

After the 2 snow crossings, the rest of the trail was pretty easy but again, parts were very rocky. There is also a snow cave before reaching lake Helen, but you don’t cross it on the trail. Mosquitos were nearly non existent.

I want to reiterate that this trail is not well marked!!! We had the AllTrails pro with offline maps, which saved us from getting lost. Very few people were on this trail (only saw 3 groups of hikers during our hike). Do not do this hike without some sort of gps map! There are a lot of side trails as well, and you can and will get turned around!

I also wouldn’t bring a dog on this trail - too much loose scree and talus, especially near Lake Helen.

Yes, it’s beautiful and probably one of the most scenic hikes in the area but prepare for a tough, rocky hike. And those snow crossings aren’t going away anytime soon! (The steep one is easier going down so if you go clockwise, it might be easier, but after Lake Helen, you have a steep uphill field of talus to deal with. Pick your poison, I guess)

Incredibly beautiful canyon hike. I have not ever seen these many waterfalls and running creeks on the Eastern Sierra in one place. Beautiful groves of aspen trees, lots of beaver ponds to sit by and serene country.

The only downside is that you can no longer reach Lake Helen due to the shale slides. The mountain has wiped out the last portion of the trail and the shale is not stable. I got about half way up and had to turn back as I was slipping down the slope.

It really is straight up almost the entire way but so worth it! Three ponds surrounding the lake. Beautiful wild flowers, blue sky and incredible views. Careful if you try to walk to other side of the lake. There is a very large glacier that is difficult to traverse. You cannot walk all around the lake as some had suggested. The ground cover is too thick to pass through. The view of the canyon on the side of the lake is worth the walk.

There are brook trout in the lake but weather conditions can make it difficult to catch. There was a pretty strong breeze today blowing across the lake and down the canyon.

What a great hike! Lots of colorful birds, flowers, ferns, buzzing critters this time of year. A must if in the area

@nancy - thanks for the update on water taxi. Will be prepared to hike 9 miles then :).

Absolutely beautiful scenery and the wildflowers were amazingly abundant the entire way. Waterfalls along the way we’re gorgeous. The climb was pretty easy and there are lots of opportunities to wade into the water to cool down. Would definitely do it again!

Breathtaking scenery! Definitely a must-do. The climbing wasn’t difficult and the views are amazing around every corner. The mosquitoes were relentless this time of year so be prepared. This higher altitude of this hike helped us acclimate for a much longer hike the next day. We liked the longer trail on the east side of the lake better than the scree field on the west side because there was some shade, the trail was in good condition, and there were less mosquitoes.

Just hiked this trail with a group yesterday and we we’re all blown away by the beauty this trail offers. If you like beavers you’ll really appreciate the epic views of these clever engineers’ work. My fiancé and I also jumped in for a little impromptu swim along the way! It is pretty easy but does have some rocky points as well as flooded areas that can present challenges for young kids or older people. We hiked with my 71 yr old mother-in-law who has hip problems but she took it slow and still loved it. Overall it’s a real gem!

Hiked July 1, 2018. Intimidated by a bad section of the road, we parked and walked. Road soon improved—should have driven to trailhead. Wildflowers were great and there were many landscape photo ops. Because we started at 2:00 pm we had to stop at the log cabin. We’ll be back!

I hiked this summer 2016 and continued until the trail ends at the cliff wall at Steelhead Lake. Amazing hike.

Best hike in the area. We used to take boat taxi. Sadly, the resort and docks suffered extreme damage from snow 2017. It is now for sale. No boat taxi and store closed. Just add on couple miles to the hike.

Beautiful scenery at every turn! The 1st half on the way to the peak is easy. Climbing to the peak builds the heart rate but the views from the top on both sides are spectacular and I feel like it would be ok to turn around from there if you were looking for a shorter hike. The decent from the peak is a little tricky as the trail is shale and switchbacks and sometimes the trail is lost with snow cover, but there was a crew of three men working on digging the snow away from the trail in a few places. The hardest part is knowing you have to climb back up the peak from the summit.

There were still some patches of snow on June 15, but a beautiful hike! You pass many lakes, and have to cross some sections of creek by stepping on rocks. Definitely recommend!

easy and amazing

I have a question. I’m planning to do this trail for Labor Day and taking my pet. Do they allow dogs in the taxi?

How hot would it be for Labor Day?

5 generations of my family make this place a regular vacation spot. The hiking, the spectacular views and fishing are all amazing. This place is a hidden gem.

Only went till the first waterfall viewpoint in the fall season. It's kinda nice. But walking through the mile and a half of dusty road where only 4x4 can go and cover you in dust killed it.

excellent hike. beautiful fall colors and peeler lake is gorgeous! bring your fishing pole! steep from barney to peeler but mainly flat from twin to barney

I'd give it 6 stars if I could. This is the kind of hike where you stop every 20 steps to take a photo. It's not difficult because the trail is pretty flat. We walked clockwise because I wanted to photograph North Peak and Mt. Conness in morning light and the best views of them are on the west half of the loop. The east side of Saddlebag Lake is much less rocky though and much easier to walk on for our pup. All in all, one of my favorite trails ever.

A very steep trail but as all great things it was worth the effort. The lake was beautiful with snow on some parts of the ground. We fished the whole lake and caught beautiful brook trout. Don't forget to walk around the whole lake. There is a little pond behind the lake with the most beautiful view of the valley below.

This is one of the best alpine hikes I've ever been on. There are at least 8 very nice lakes, several interesting rocks with glacial markings, snowfields, and a miniature glacier near the top that calves into a lake (at least during high snow years like 2016-2017). Furthermore, many hikes in the Sierras and elsewhere build up to a summit. This hike, though, is short enough that you can go past the first summit to see many other cool features, even if you are just doing a dayhike!

While many hikes have one or two of these features, this one has all of them and is not that crowded.

great trail!

Steep, but not too difficult since it's so short (easier if you start early for shade). Lake is in a nice meadow. About halfway point for Tioga Peak.

Overall one of the best hikes we've ever done. Something new to see with every turn. Great views of Mount Conness, beautiful lakes, and snow-covered mountains. A few snow and river crossings in early September 2017. Minimal effort for maximum reward.

My favorite spot on earth!

Climbed to Gardisky Lake with a friend on August 9, 2017. At age 70, I found it tough going up, easy going down -- only about a half hour back to the road. Not knowing the trail, were about to turn back while going up when another hiker told us we were only about 500 yards from the lake. Steep switchbacks, glorious views and wildflowers, dramatic alpine meadow. Tried fly fishing, didn't catch anything even though fish were rising. Very rewarding.

I did this hike aug 6 2017. It's a beautiful hike and the weather was great. Be prepared to get wet crossing some of the streams. There isn't a ferry by Saddlebag lake. This app was a big help with finding the trail.

First half mile was a bit tough.
Great view at the end.

Absolutely fantastic hike. wildflowers everywhere, views of falls and lakes. we hiked up through running water past the top of the falls and ended up at a gorgeous oasis of pools and falls. it was a good workout but our 2 small dogs made it and had a blast.