Best Trails in Inyo National Forest

Amazing Views of Lake Mary, Lake George and at the end the lovely Lake Crystal.
This is a moderate hike with some great elevations, so if you are a beginner then consider this a hard hike ( not for distance , but only because of elevation and lots of curves )

Gorgeous hike! Pretty easy. The back area is no longer flooded. Just had to cross one little stream. We even saw a couple of dear.

Very nice stream running next to the trail. I was rather disappointed with the condition of the lake. It has been stagnant for quite some time and it not ideal for swimming.

Great views and very relaxing once at the lake

Beautiful hike. Moderate but challenging because of the altitude. A little smokey at the beginning because of the fires, but cleared up before we got to Crystal Lake. Cool, clear water with a few people jumping off rocks into it. Saw a few people with fishing poles too and they all said they weren't having any luck. Seemed to take about an hour and 15 minutes to get up there. This was with many stops and a really slow pace.

The trail from Lake Sabrina to Blue Lake is fairly arduous, especially with heavy packs though the scenery is spectacular. The trail from Donkey Lake to Blue Lake is sometimes hard to follow since it’s not well marked.

We took the Reds Meadow Resort path back to Shuttle stop #10 which is recommended to get out because it is the last shuttle stop and usually fills up the shuttles leaving the area. The trail to the base of the Falls is closed now for 2018 for rerouting and restructuring and will reopen in 2019. Air quality was fine despite the fires but it was dry, hot and windy so bring enough water. The waterfall was beautiful and well worth the hike according to my seven year old! This trail has a steeper incline on the way back than to the Rainbow Falls trailhead so thats always an option to get to another shuttle stop too.

Great hike beautiful lake!

This Lake hike was well worth it and the waterfall was a refreshing cool off.

did the loop today it was a great hike, uphill wasn't that bad, was harder walking down the road back.

Steep climb up to Agnew Lake but great views of Silver Lake and the valley on the way up. FYI it's just under 1.5hrs up to Agnew with a few photo breaks

Did this hike with my two kids 8 and 3 and they loved it! Beautiful lake!

toughed hike but the view is all worth it.

I hiked this trail in July. Started at 8am...it got very hot. I think the earlier the better. It's just amazing, like another world. Unfortunately, didn't pick up the interpretive map that explains the numbered points of interest. Get one in the visitor center...the day before an early hike, as they open at 10 I found it challenging d/t the altitude, but worth every pant.

The elevation gain happens fast. And the lake is at 9800 feet, so prepare to be winded.

For starters you have to drive all the way through Coldwater Campground for parking. Restrooms are available. make sure to go early because parking does fill up quickly. Beautiful short hike with small side trails to walk along the creek. Hike is about .75 miles both ways (1.5 miles). Dog Friendly as well.

great day hike an easy-moderate trail, not too stip. Both lakes are amazing and so many different landscapes! great day

Backpacked 2 nights up at Dorthy Lake and had the place to ourselves. Gorgeous mountains, meadow and lakes. But the hike up was HARD. The creek crossing was doable, but after that the trail is washed out and finding it again was a challenge. And once on it, many places were washed out so we had to navigate over rock falls and gullies to pick up the trail again. The air was clear during the day, with some haze, but the smoke blew in at night. A beautiful place but not easy to get there.

Nice trail although smoky due to fires. We liked it much more than the trail from Twin Lakes via Dragon’s Back

Great hike, very beautiful.

Super unique stop right off the 395. I would definitely rate this as easy - very flat and short and you arrive at the shore right away. This is a great place to visit with people of all ages and hiking abilities!

Beautiful!!

Has anybody done Bishop Pass or Treasure Lakes recently? I'm worried about the air quality. Does anybody know how it is up there?

The trail (road) to Morgan Pass via the U.S. Vanadium tungsten mine is quite steep and presently is impassible at the 1.5 mile point. The trail is blocked by a rock slide that is quite risky to traverse. Additional rockslides make the trail impassable further up the canyon. In spite of the slides, the hike to the first rockslide (where I am sounding the vuvuzela) is impressive in spite of the grade. See the photos I have uploaded. As of the date of this writing, there are no plans by the Forest Service to reopen the trail to Morgan Pass. Any hike to Morgan Pass will have to be made from the Rock Creek Trail out of Tom's Place.

We did this with a group of about 20 friends ranging from 50 to 5 years of age all of us in different levels of fitness. It’s not as easy as Devils Postpile but it’s beautiful. The trails are steep and if your not used to the elevation can make it that much more challenging. We packed up a few poles in hopes to get a golden trout and a few brought swim wear. It was amazing but for a 38 y.o. Who does light waking a few times a week I was winded but my camelbak was my best friend and Motrin was my best friend the next day. Enjoy!!

Really 4+ Fun “recovery” hike. Lakes, flowers (for August), few people, and a ghost town. Make sure to visit the Shell Lake above the mines.

Awesome hike. Well marked and worth going to the top to see Valentine Lake. 10.2 miles with 1925 feet of elevation. Not crowded and no smoke today.

Beautiful views. Trail is washed out a bit due to rock slides. After the stream crossing, it’s quite difficult as you’re walking over rocks and have to cross some difficult rock slide areas to get to the trail. No place to camp once you start the trail until you get to Lake Mildred so get an early start as it is all uphill.

This hike is a short, semi-easy day activity. I went on this hike with some of my family members and my dog. For the first mile or so, there is a huge incline that can be pretty tough if you are not used to the altitude. But once you get to the top the views are spectacular. The only problem that i came across was when we got near the lake there were a ton of mosquitos so we ran out of there before we got eaten.