crystal lake trail

This trail was recommended by a number of people and they were not wrong. We loved it. Scenery was varied throughout and the end point, at the lake, was just delightful. Recommended for a not very strenuous morning or afternoon hike.

The hike is a terrific, mid- strenuous hike for youngsters but totally doable if there no hurry…why hurry on a hike? God for the whole family; our last hike included an 80 year old Grandpa and an 8 year old! There are vistas over Lake Mary and then at the next turn, Horseshoe Lake with the backside of Mammoth Mt showing its red volcanic rock. SO much to see along the way and then BANG, theres Crystal Lake…beautiful, serene, cold but yes, we still all take the plunge just to say we did!! Beautiful beaches and granite slabs to sun on! Do it!! But be respectful, pick up your trash and leave no trace!

Trail of moderate difficulty. Long uphill but not too strenuous. Take water if warm day. Views are great from the top.

This is the best afternoon hike in the area. A short, beautiful trail with great views leading to one of the area's most beautiful small lakes -- wth Chrystal Crag coming right down into the lake. Time your visit so that you will be returning in the waning hour of the day so that you can see Mammoth's inner lakes and some of it surrounding mountains with this magic time's long shadows and warm color.

If you like hiking, this is the best trail in Mammoth Lakes area, plus there is no fee or parking fee (like Rainbow Fall). It is not easy but not way too difficult. You would need to be in decent physical shape. It is shaded so you can stop and rest along the way, if needed. The lake at the top is very nice, but still just a large lake. I just do not want people to expect something extraordinarily spectacular. Some people do jump into the water during the summer when we were there. So bring something to swim if you want. But the view along the hike is very nice. I would definitely recommend this hike. The trail is much more beautiful than the trail to Rainbow Fall (if you don't care to see a waterfall). If you can't make it all the way to the top, hike half way to where you can view the 2 lakes below then turn around.At the trail head, be sure to stay on the left and start going up hill. When we were there and nobody was around, we took what looked like a trail on the right (straight ahead) which did not go up hill right away. It took us to Horseshoe Lake instead, but not too far! We just returned and saw people going up the right trail! We did get to see another lake, though!Parking maybe tough, so we parked along the road like many people did.

It wasn't so long, but it was steep enough to make us stop several times, there are some Meadows and a little River along, really relaxing and nice to explore.

I like the uphill. My wife didn't . bring a lot of water. great views along the way. I let her sty and I went up for the view of Mary lake.. Worth the extra time.

Reading descriptions of the hike, I think the views you get climbing to the lake have been exaggerated. The trail up is through forest with only about 3 spots that provide limited views of Crystal Crag, Lake George and Lake Mary. It's not until to you get to the highest point on the trail that you get a wide view which also includes Lake Mamie and Twin Lakes, but even then you're looking away from the most dramatic of the high granite peaks in the area. Crystal Lake itself, however, is beautifully nestled in the mountains with steep granite slopes and Crystal Crag towering over the far end. There are plenty of places along the shore where you can find your own isolated rock to lounge on and enjoy a wonderful view of the lake before heading back. The parking lot and pullouts at Lake George were completely full when I got back down around noon, so I suggest starting out early for this hike.

We did this on a pretty hot day, but despite the heat, it was great. American trails never bore me as there is something different at every turn, so give it a go and enjoy the scenery and winding river that you follow.

What a great hike. I was extremely lucky to have found parking, which is free, at Lake George where the trail begins. I noticed as a finished the hike that parking was completely full. I suggest doing an early morning hike ( 8am-9am). The hike to the Lake is mostly up for a good 45 minutes with really good views of George Lake at times. Crystal Lake is awesome for a quick picnic and the water seems clean and inviting, at least one person enjoyed swimming there.

Easy to find parking & trail head, beautiful views of the mountains and lakes, but when we got about 1 mile up the trail, there was snow covering the mountain and we could no longer see the trail and had to turn around. We ended up walking around Lake George, very scenic but wished we could have gone all the way up and around Crystal Lake as we've heard so many great things - next time when the snow has melted!

The trail was really beautiful. We were traveling with a dog - and she really liked it as well. It took us 1 hour to go up and reach the lake and ~20 minutes to go down. View on the Mammoth lakes is amazing!

Trailhead starts from Lake George parking area. Don't hike as much as we would like but this trail is manageable. The views of Lake George and Lake Mary are beautiful. Then you finally get to Crystal Lake! Very clear and. Seen a few people fishing great place for it. We had lunch there. Very peaceful.

Yes, the destinations and views are great, but the trail itself is a complete disgrace to any decent trail. The trail is very rocky and dusty, pounded by pack animals, and the manure isn't very attractive. The switchbacks are the worst ever, for example, as you go up the switchbacks you'll find sections of the trail unnecessarily heading downhill, and this tempts a lot of people to cut the switchbacks. If you want to enjoy the fresh pine scented mountain air on this trail, give yourself lots of space to the person ahead, as eating dust is never fun.

Give yourself a few days to acclimate to the altitude. Trail starts around 9,000 feet. Very good trail up. Be sure to take time to hike all the way around Crystal lake, an extra hour.