A long climb from Kennedy Meadow to High Emigrant Lake. Cascading waterfalls, rushing rivers, wood bridges, towering rock faces and sweeping views of the reservoir and the tops of the Sierras were some of the highlights. During your hike, you will have about a 1500 foot elevation gain. Kennedy Peak is reached via an easy 8 mile hike from the Kennedy Meadows trailhead, located off of CA Highway 108, just west of the Sonora Pass. Saddle up for a trail ride at Kennedy Meadows or Aspen Meadows. See this route and plan your own adventure with komoot! Cross the dam and try your luck from the rocks along the north shore. Return to Kennedy Meadows via Brown Bear Pass- Hike northeast from Emigrant Laketo Emigrant Meadow and then cross Brown Bear Pass, descending to rejoin your original trail a few miles Emigrant Meadow and Brown Bear Pass are part of the 1852-54 emigrant trail. Great hike with beautiful views. An alternate route to Buck Lakes begins at the Kennedy Meadows trailhead high on Sonora Pass. Although the trail is 5 miles longer (18 miles altogether), it takes you up beautiful Lunch Meadow and past magnificent Emigrant Lake along the way. Emigrant Wilderness Topo Hiking Map The Hub of Trails radiating … U.S. Route 395 (from the Eastern Sierras) One of the best trails is Kennedy Meadows to Snow Lake. We drove to the trailhead on Friday night, arriving around 7pm. be careful of the excessive Horse Manure, We stumbled upon this trail while riding up North From Los Banos. Map Information. Off-Trail Granite Above Yellowhammer Lake - Emigrant Wilderness The climb from Yellowhammer to Leighton Lake had some wonderful granite slabs, as well as endless views toward Yosemite. Not the 6.1 miles that the app says. The trail was sandy with lots of horse traffic and poop. Huckleberry Lake and Buck Lakes are known for their excellent fishing. The most beautiful and pristine blue water you will see. I have made two previous trips to this area. Not a fan of sharing the trail with so many horses and mules. Both Salt Lick and Spring Meadows are phenomenal; Long Lakes is an option for sleeping as well. The original Kennedy Meadows lodge was erected in 1917. Have a beer when you finish. Worth it though! Tie it All Up Bring plenty of water a hat for protection because there is little shade. It’s uphill most of the way there, with downhill being a bit slippery in the sand on the way back. This page goes into more detail on the off-trail routes to each lake. We will definitely be back for a full three day trip (camp near grouse creek/end of reservoir on the first night, go up to ridge lake for night 2, and come back on the third day). Bigger and Bigger Bisectable Loops East and West Flank Local Emigrant Wilderness backpackers can ascend the 19.03 miles between the Kennedy Meadows and Sonora Pass Trailheads via Kennedy Lake. - http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/us395 <- Not too crowded on a Thursday afternoon and recommend turning right after the second bridge (wooden one) as it's a much easier on joints than the left steep stone stairs. Kennedy built a cabin, which still stands today, where the resort is now located. We then hiked up to where there is a sharp right on the trail in AllTrails at Summit Creek. Click the marker with our logo for Google Map directions. Regardless of destination, this section of trail involves detailed route finding based on topography. The route via Lower & Upper Lewis Lakes and the drainage begins in Kennedy Meadows off 108 near Sonora Pass. Once you get to the sharp right, there is no trail and you need to scramble quite a bit up granite boulders to keep going in the general direction that is shown on the app (note: it's a straight line so definitely not a real path). Really sandy too for much of the trail. The trail starts out simple enough. The hike begins just past the parking lot and the general store. a lot of bang for the buck! Kennedy Lake is a small lake located around 7800′ in the Emigrant Wilderness, roughly 7 miles from the Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station on Highway 108. It was the perfect hike to introduce a friend to backpacking. all maps: Weather. Kennedy peak consists of red and black volcanic rock and sits at the eastern most conclusion of an alpine cirque that surrounds Soda Canyon. Kennedy Meadows to Emigrant Meadow Lake, to Emigrant Lake, to Huckleberry, to Paiute Meadow and out Crabtree. The dramatic north face towers 3,000' above Kennedy Lake, and it is, I believe, the most scenic peak within the Emigrant. Campsites are better at Blackbird Lake or beyond Emigrant Meadow Lake. Technically most of the campsites are FFS but we didn't have an issue finding a site (may have been because of the major fires that week). Solid hike. For a day hike option, head north from the Kennedy Meadows Campground until you’re ready to turn around. Located only a few miles East of Dodge Ridge ski area and Lake Pinecrest it is a popular place for both dayhikes and overnights of all lengths. It’s was a good trail. Mostly up uphill but it was great ! Great payoff for a relatively short hike. Nice steady uphill hike to lake. Then continue on a more gradual trail as you follow Summit Creek through Lunch Meadow. It was busy over 4th of July weekend but that is to be expected. We park in the designated hiking parking area which adds roughly .75 miles to the hike. The trails accessing Emigrant Wilderness through Leavitt Meadow and Leavitt Lake trail heads on the East flank are well complimented by the network of trails running off the Clarks Fork Road and through Kennedy Meadows on the West Flank. It is a popular destination for vacationers, anglers, hunters, horsemen, and hikers heading into the Emigrant Wilderness. We can see many fine "lollypops," trailhead to trailhead, and grand backpacking loop possibilities in the web of interconnected trails stretched across the Emigrant … << this is taken from http://www.kennedymeadows.com. Lots of great camping site around the reservoir. Option to stay in Upper Relief Lakes. They also have a store and a cafe. I have made two previous trips to this area. The Kennedy Meadows trail forks to the left, climbing up a dusty trail, before flattening out after a crossing a bridge at the entrance to the valley. 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